Windows 8 File Sharing: How To Share Users & System Folders On Network
The Windows 8 ribbon-based Windows Explorer has certainly changed the way
of organizing files and folders, as one can easily find all the basic and advance
file management options without having to search through Organize and Windows
Explorer right-click context menus. Apart from ribbon-based Explorer and extra
tools to manage files and folders within a directory, Windows 8 comes with simple,
yet more secure file sharing feature, allowing users to share files and folders with
users on public network, as well as Homegroup and Work network groups. Just like
previous Windows versions, including Windows 7 and Windows Vista, you can easily
establish connection with PCs running Windows 8, and start transferring data without
having to manually set IP addresses. Since Windows 8 File Sharing feature is an improved
version of Window 7 Sharing, it includes some additional file sharing parameters to make
shared files secure from external attacks. In this post, we will guide you through the
process of sharingUsers and System folders across the network, so that you can easily
transfer files to network PCs, and share your system folders with Homegroup users.
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The process of sharing files across the network in Windows 8 is similar to Windows 7.
The only difference that you will notice while connecting your PC to network is that
Windows 8 doesn’t prompt you to create or join Homegroup/Work network group.
Therefore in order to share system files and folders on the network, you have to first
create a network group, and then allow share object (likeHomeGroupUser$) to access
shared files and folders. Before you begin sharing files and folders, make sure that
you’re logged in to Windows as Administrator, and PCs connected on a network are
on a same workgroup. To view the workgroup, open Computer Properties dialog and
check PC’s workgroup from Computer name, domain and workgroup settingssection.
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Share Folders From ‘Users Profile’ Locations & Local Drives
If you want to quickly share a folder residing in local drives or User Profile folders,
open Properties dialog from right-click context menu, and then head over to Sharing tab.
From Network File and Folder Sharingsection, click Share to open File Sharing dialog. Now,
select Everyone from drop-down menu, and clickAdd.
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This will add Everyone group in File Sharing list, and allow you to change folder access
permission. Using Read pull-down menu, you can give read and write permissions to
users, and remove Everyonegroup from the File Sharing list.
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Once done, click Share to share the folder on the network. It will open a separate dialog,
allowing you to email and copy the shared folder link.
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Now, you can access the shared folder from any PC connected on the network.
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Share Folders From System Wide Locations
It’s worth mentioning here that Windows 8 require you to change folder permissions
in order to share system folders. You will notice that Share option in File
Properties –> Sharing tab is disabled for system folders; you can only use Advanced
Sharing option to share system folder with Homegroup users. It’s advisable to join
a Homegroup (or other network group) before start sharing system folders. For this,
right-click network icon in Windows 8 system tray, and select Open Network and
Sharing Center.
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From left sidebar, click HomeGroup followed by Join now. it will open Join a Homegroup
wizard, asking you to specify types of files that you want to share with Homegroup users.
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Once you’ve specified the types of files, enter the Homegroup password
(accessible from PC where Homegroup was created) to connect your PC to Homegroup
network group
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Once you’re connected to Homegroup users, it shows all the shared libraries,
devices and file types.
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Now, right-click the system folder you want to share with others, and from Share
with menu, selectAdvanced sharing.
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It will take you directly to Sharing tab to customize the sharing permissions.
Now, click Advance Sharing.
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First off, enable Share this folder from top-left corner of dialog box,
and then click Permissions.
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Upon click, it will open Permissions window, allowing you configure file access
permissions for existing groups and users, and to include required Users/Groups
to file access permission list. Since we need to set file access permission for
HomegroupUser$ object, so that users who belong to Homegroup network
group can access the files and folders. To begin, click Add.
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This will open Select User or Groups dialog. Here, you need to enter the
object name(s) that you want to add to permission list. In order to easily
include the homegroup user object name, click Advanced.
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It will open Advanced view for selecting Users or Groups. Click Find Now,
and then selectHomeGroupUser$ from search results. Once done, click OK.
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This will add HomeGroupUser object to Select Users Or Groups window. Now, click OK.
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Upon click, it will add the HomeGroupUser object to File Permission list,
allowing you to configure file access permission. Just select the HomeGroupUser
group, and enable Full Control checkbox from Allowcolumn, present in Permission
for HomeGroupUsers$ section.
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Once done, click Apply followed by OK. It will take you to Advanced Sharing dialog.
Clicking OK will share the system folder across the network. You may need to reboot
the PC to let Homegroup users access shared system folder.
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If you get ‘Windows cannot access the <shared folder name>’’ message while
accessing the shared system folder from a remote location, make sure that Network
Discovery and File Sharing options are enabled in Advanced Sharing (accessible from
Network and Sharing Center).
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If all else fails, try taking ownership of system folder by following the steps mentioned
here, and then share the system folder to access it over the network.