1. Network Locations in Windows 7
Home: Most trusting; conducive to file and printer sharing; network discovery turned on
Work: Network discovery turned on but provides stricter security than Home
Public: Used to connect to public networks; least secure
Network discovery is a Windows feature that enables your computer to find other computers and devices (such as printers on a connected network). It also lets you control whether other computers can see your computer on the same network.

2. What Should You Use?
Use HomeGroup or Public folders if you have a small office/home office, all computers running Windows 7
Use a workgroup if you have a peer-to-peer network that includes a mix of computers running Windows 7 and Windows Vista or Windows XP, and you want to share files between the computers
Use domains and Active Directory in larger business environments

3. HomeGroup Setup

4. HomeGroup Setup

5. HomeGroup Setup

6. HomeGroup Setup

7. HomeGroup Setup

8. Controlling HomeGroup Access

9. Public Folders
A quick-and-easy way to share files with network users and with other users on your computer
Default Public folders include Public Documents, Public Music, Public Pictures, and Public Videos

10. Public Folders
Public folder sharing in Windows 7 turned off by default (except on a homegroup)
When Public folder sharing is turned on, anyone on computer or network can access these folders
Can’t limit which files or folders are shared in a Public folder—everything is shared; anyone with network access can read and write files in Public folders

11. Turning Public Folder Access On/Off

12. Turning Public Folder Access On or Off

13. Turning Password-Protected Sharing On or Off

14. Basic and Advanced Shares
Allow you to control who may access specific files and folders located in your libraries
Advanced sharing offers the most options and is the best choice for protecting confidential information
File sharing and network discovery must be turned on
Best practice is to turn on password-protected sharing

15. Setting Up a Basic Share

16. Setting Up a Basic Share

17. Setting Up a Basic Share

18. Setting Up a Basic Share

19. Setting Up an Advanced Share

20. Setting Up an Advanced Share

21. Setting Up an Advanced Share

22. Setting Up an Advanced Share

23. Setting Up an Advanced Share

24. Drive Mapping
An easy way for users to get to a shared item
Mapped drive is a shortcut to a shared folder or drive on another computer across a network
In Windows 7, network drive letters start from Z: and work down
Select any drive letter that’s not already in use

25. Drive Mapping

26. Permissions
Rules applied to users and groups to limit actions they can take on shared resources
Permission Level
Description
Full control
Allows users to view and change files and folders, to create new files and folders, and to run programs in a folder.
Modify
Allows users to change files and folders but they cannot create new ones.
Read & execute
Allows users to view the contents of files and folders and to run programs in a folder.
Read
Allows users to view the contents of a folder and to open files and folders.
Write
Allows users to create new files and folders and to change files and folders.

27. Changing a Folder’s Permissions

28. Printer Sharing
Allows a computer user to share his or her attached printer with other users on a network. Use the Devices and Printers applet to manage and share printers. To share any printer, you must ensure that file and printer sharing is turned on in the Advanced sharing settings page (accessed from the Network and Sharing Center).
You have two primary ways to work with a printer: Device Stage and the Properties dialog box. Device Stage is a window that’s unique to each device in Devices and Printers. Just double-click a printer’s icon to open its Device Stage window. Demonstrate how to share an attached printer.

29. Advanced Sharing Settings
To share any printer, you must ensure that file and printer sharing is turned on in the Advanced sharing settings page (accessed from the Network and Sharing Center).

30. Devices and Printers

31. Device Stage

32. A Printer’s Properties Dialog Box

33. The Sharing Tab

34. The Advanced Tab

35. Updating a Printer Driver
A printer driver is a small software program that prepares application data to print to a specific printer.
The Add Printer Driver Wizard is one way to update a printer driver.