Share and Set Permissions for Folders and Files with Windows XP Professional

Summary

Simple File Sharing is always turned on with Windows XP Home Edition and enabled by default in Windows XP Professional if it is not a member of a domain. Unlike Windows XP Home, you can disable Simple File Sharing to have more control to shared files and folders with Windows XP Professional. You must create identical usernames with passwords that matches the other machines when taking advantage of Windows XP's advanced file sharing.

More Information

1. Open Windows Explorer or My Documents, and then locate the drive or folder you wish to share.
2. Right-click the folder you wish to share and click Sharing and Security.
3. In the Properties dialog box, as shown in the picture below, click Share this folder to share the folder with other users on the network.
   
   
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4. Type a new name for the shared folder in the Share name text box. This doesn't change the name of the folder on your computer. The name of the share you give it will appear on other networked computers.
5. To add a comment about the shared folder, type the text into the Comment box.
6. Click Permissions to set permissions for the shared drive or folder.
7. To set permissions for a user that doesn't appear in the Group or user names box, click the Add button.

Notes:

•  Simple file sharing must be disabled in order to set permissions for the share so you can use advanced file sharing.
•  You can set permission only on a partition that uses NTFS file system.
•  Windows XP requires passwords with usernames when accessing shared resources. You can use Group Policy to change this behavior.