Windows 8 In Depth

Understanding the Universal Naming Convention

You can specify folders and files on your own hard disk using a full pathname and filename in the MS-DOS filename syntax that looks like this:

c:\folder\subfolder\filename

Similarly, you can specify printers, folders, and files on a network using a syntax called the Universal Naming Convention, or UNC, which looks like this:

\\computername\sharename\subfolder\filename

Notice that a UNC name uses backslashes, not forward slashes like an Internet URL. Anywhere a Windows application lets you enter a pathname or filename, you can also enter a UNC name.

For example, I might have a folder on my hard disk named C:\users\brian\documents\plans. If I want to give officemates the use of these business documents, ...