Next, arrange the sharing you need by choosing suitable sharing and discovery settings. You need to authenticate yourself to User Account Control for most of these settings. Follow these steps:

1. To enable your computer to see and be seen by other computers on the network, click the drop-down button on the Sharing and Discovery bar to display its controls, select the Turn on Network Discovery option button, and then click the Apply button.

2. If you want to share files and folders within folders other than the Public folder, click the drop-down button on the File Sharing bar to display its controls, select the Turn on File Sharing option button, and then click the Apply button.

3. If you want to share items in your computer’s Public folder with other computers on the network, click the drop-down button on the Public Folder Sharing bar to display its controls. If you want to share items so that others can open them but not change them, select the Turn on Sharing So Anyone with Network Access Can Open Files option button. If you want others to be able to change the files you’re sharing or create new files in the folders you’re sharing, select the Turn on Sharing So Anyone with Network Access Can Open, Change, and Create Files option button. Click the Apply button.

4. If you want to share a printer attached to your computer, click the drop-down button on the Printer Sharing bar to display its controls, select the Turn on Printer Sharing option button, and then click the Apply button.

5. If you shared the Public folder in step 3 or a printer in step 4, but you want to restrict access to the folder or printer to those people who have user accounts on your computer but are accessing the folder or printer from another computer, click the drop-down button on the Password Protected Sharing bar to display its controls, select the Turn on Password Protected Sharing option button, and then click the Apply button.

6.If you want to share music, picture, and video files in your media library, click the drop-down button on the Media Sharing bar to display its controls, and then click the Change button. Windows displays the Media Sharing dialog box, which walks you through the process of specifying what you want to share and whom you want to share it with. Article 22 shows the Media Sharing dialog box and explains the process in detail.

7.  button.´Click the Close button the  Windows closes the Network and Sharing Center window.

Sharing Files and Folders

Windows Vista provides two easy ways of sharing files and folders:

• Use the Public folder to share the file or folder with all other users of the computer and users of other computers on the same network.

• Change the permissions on a particular file or folder so that it’s shared with one or more other users. You can decide exactly who you want to share the file or folder with.

The next two sections discuss these ways of sharing a folder.

Sharing Files and Folders with All Other Users of Your Computer and Network

To share a file or a folder with all the other users of your computer and the network to which it is connected, put the file or folder in the UsersPublic folder. If you’ve turned on Public Folder Sharing in the Network and Sharing Center, as described in “Choose Sharing and Discovery Settings,” earlier in this article, Windows makes the file or folder available to all other users of the network; if you allowed others to change items, they can edit or delete a file or folder, or create new files within a folder. If you allowed others only to open the file, they can open it but not save changes to it within the Public folder. If you’ve turned off Public Folder Sharing, items you place in the Public folder are available to other users of your computer but not to users of other computers on the network.

Sharing a File or Folder with Specific Users

Sharing a file or folder with everyone can be useful, especially for items such as music files that everyone needs to access. But often you’ll want to share a file or folder with some people but not with others. To share a file or folder with specific users, follow these steps:

1. Open an Explorer window to the folder that contains the file or folder you want to share. For example, choose Start Computer to open a Computer window, and then navigate to the folder.

2. Select the file or folder, and then click the Share button on the toolbar. You can also rightclick the file or folder, and then choose Share from the shortcut menu. Windows displays the File Sharing dialog box .

3. In the drop-down list, select the user with whom you want to share the file or folder. Select the Everyone All Users in This List item if you want to share it with everyone. Your own username appears in the list, but you already have access to the file or folder. You can also choose the Create a New User item in the drop-down list and create a new user, but normally it’s best to share only with the existing users.

4.Click the Add button to add the selected user or group to the list in the list box. Windows assigns the user or group the Reader permission level. This permission level allows the user or group to open the file or folder, but not change it.

5. If you want to give the user or group a different level of permission for this file or folder, click the drop-down button next to the Reader item, and then choose Contributor or Co-Owner from the drop-down list:

Contributor The user or group can open all the files in the folder, add new files, and change or delete files they add. They cannot change or delete files you’ve created.

Co-Owner The user or group can work freely with all the files in the folder, changing or deleting them as needed, or adding new files.

6. Click the Share button to apply the sharing you’ve set up, and then authenticate yourself to User Account Control. Windows Vista applies the permissions, and then displays a File Sharing window telling you that the items are shared. The window may include a link that lets you automatically send details of the shared file or folder to the user or users with whom you have shared it.

7. Click the Done button. Windows closes the File Sharing window.

Seeing the Files and Folders You’re Sharing

When you share a file or folder, Windows Vista adds to the file or folder’s icon a little square icon showing the heads and shoulders of a couple of regular folks. If you’re using Extra Large Icons or Large Icons in Explorer, and you’re sharing only a few files and folders, you may be able to use these squares to keep track of the items you’re sharing - but more likely, you could use an easier way of tracking these items. To see which files and folders you’re sharing, follow these steps:

1. Click the Start button, right-click the Network item, and then choose Properties from the context menu. Windows displays a Network and Sharing Center window.

2.At the bottom of the window, click the Show Me all the Files and Folders I Am Sharing link. Windows displays a Shared by Me window showing the items you’re sharing .

If you want to stop sharing one of the files or folders, click it in the list, and then click the Share button on the toolbar. Alternatively, right-click the file or folder, and then choose Share from the shortcut menu. Windows displays the File Sharing window . Click the Stop Sharing button. Windows removes the permissions, and then displays a File Sharing window telling you that you have stopped sharing the file or folder. Click the Done button.