1. Browse to that folder in
Windows Explorer, right-click it, and choose Properties.
2. On the Sharing tab, click the
Advanced Sharing button, click Share this folder, and set the shared folder
name, as shown in Figure 12-1.
The name you set here is what different computers can see. This name can be
different from the folder name itself. If you are trying to use a name more than twelve
characters long, Windows warns you about a possible incompatibility with some
operating systems. Figure 12-1 shows the My pictures folder shared as Lifehacker Pics.
Figure 12-1: Share a folder within the folder’s Properties dialog box below the Sharing tab.
3. Next make the folder writable
from different computers by clicking the Permissions button and ticking the full
Control check box.
NOTE By default, Windows
security still permits you to access only shared folders from another
computer if you enter a legitimate username and word for the shared pc.
It’s not a bad security setting to leave turned on, however if you’d like the
folders were public to everybody on your network without requiring a
password, open the Start menu, type Advanced sharing
settings, and press Enter. Find the section labeled Password
Protected Sharing and turn it off.
4. Now, right-click your shared
folder, select Properties, and click on on the security tab. Click the Edit button;
then click Add. Type guest into the large text
area, click Check Names, and then click OK.
5. Select the Guest user in the
Group or usernames section and set permissions to full control. This gives any
user on your local network full read-and-write access to this shared folder..