Networking For Dummies, 11th Edition

Chapter 3

More Ways to Use Your Network

IN THIS CHAPTER

Transforming your computer into a network server

Sharing folders with network users

Working in the Public folder

Sharing your printer

Using Office on a network

Working with files offline

Chapter 2 introduces you to the basics of using a network: logging on, accessing data on shared network folders, printing, and logging off. In this chapter, I go beyond these basics. You find out how to turn your computer into a server that shares its own files and printers, how to use one of the most popular network computer applications — email — and how to work with Office on a network.

Sharing Your Stuff

As you probably know, networks consist of two types of computers: client computers and server computers. In the economy of computer networks, client computers are the consumers — the ones that use network resources, such as shared printers and disk drives. Servers are the providers — the ones that offer their own printers and hard drives to the network so that the client computers can use them.

This chapter shows you how to turn your humble Windows client computer into a server computer so that other computers on your network can use your printer and any folders that you decide you want to share. In effect, your computer functions as both a client and a server at the same time. A couple of examples show how:

• It’s a client when you send a print job to a network printer or when you access a file stored on another server’s hard drive. ...