Install File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks Windows 7

You can turn your humble Windows client computer running Windows 7, 8, or 10 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.
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It’s a server when someone else sends a print job to your printer or accesses a file stored on your computer’s hard drive.

Here are the steps to enable file and printer sharing in Windows 7, 8, and 10:

Click the Start button, type Control Panel, and press Enter.
This step opens the Control Panel.
Click the Network and Internet icon.
Double-click the Network and Sharing Center icon and then click Change Advanced Sharing Settings.
This step opens the Advanced Sharing Settings page, which lists network settings for each network you’re connected to.
- For a home computer running Windows 7: Two networks are listed: Home or Work, and Public.
- In Windows 8 and 10: The Home or Work network is called Private.
- For a computer connected to a domain network: A third network named Domain is listed.
Click the down arrow next to the network you want to enable file and printer sharing for.
- For a home computer: Click the down arrow next to Home or Work (Windows 7) or Private (Windows 8 and 10).
- For a computer connected to a domain network: Click the down arrow next to Domain.
The figure shows the settings for a Domain network. The settings for a Home or Work network are the same.
Do not enable file or printer sharing for the Public network. Enabling file or printer sharing on a public network exposes your computer’s data to other users on the same public network.
Select the Turn on File and Printer Sharing option.
Click the Save Changes button.
This action saves your changes and closes the Advanced Sharing Settings page.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

Networking For Dummies ,

About the book author:

Doug Lowe is the bestselling author of Networking For Dummies and Networking All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies. His 50+ books include more than 30 in the For Dummies series. He has demystified everything from Microsoft Office and memory management to client/server computing and creating web pages.

This article can be found in the category:

General Networking ,

In Windows 10, you can share your printer with many PCs on your network. To share a printer from the PC that the printer is connected to (the primary PC) with secondary PCs that the printer is not connected to, you must set up sharing settings for the printer, connect the printer to the primary PC (either wirelessly or by using a USB cable), and then turn on the printer. Also make sure the primary PC is turned on, connected to the printer, and connected to the network.

Note: When sharing a printer, make sure that sharing settings are set up on the primary and secondary PCs. Also, make sure you know the name of the primary PC. For more info, see the Set up Sharing settings and Find your PC name sections at the end of this topic.

There are two ways to share your printer: using Settings or Control Panel.

Share your printer using Settings

Select the Start button, then select Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners.
Choose the printer you want to share, then select Manage.
Select Printer Properties, then choose the Sharing tab.
On the Sharing tab, select Share this printer.
If you want, edit the share name of the printer. You'll use this name to connect to the printer from a secondary PC.

Share your printer using Control Panel

In the search box on the taskbar, type control panel and then select Control Panel.
Under Hardware and Sound, select View devices and printers.
Select and hold (or right-click) the printer you want to share, select Printer properties, and then choose the Sharing tab.
On the Sharing tab, select Share this printer.
If you want, edit the share name of the printer. You'll use this name to connect to the printer from a secondary PC.

Select the Start button, then select Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners.
Choose the printer you want to share, then select Manage.
Select Printer Properties, then choose the Sharing tab.
On the Sharing tab, select Share this printer.
If you want, edit the Share name of the printer. You'll use this name to connect to the printer from a secondary PC.

In the search box on the taskbar, type control panel and then select Control Panel.
Under Hardware and Sound, select View devices and printers.
Select and hold (or right-click) the printer you want to share, select Printer properties, and then choose the Sharing tab.
On the Sharing tab, select Share this printer.
If you want, edit the share name of the printer. You'll use this name to connect to the printer from a secondary PC.

Connect the shared printer to another PC

There are two ways to connect a shared printer to another PC: using Settings or Control Panel.

Select the Start button, then select Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners.
Under Add printers & scanners, select Add a printer or scanner.
Choose the printer you want, and then select Add Device.
If you don’t see the printer you want, select The printer that I want isn’t listed.
In the Add printer dialog box, select Select a shared printer by name, and then enter the computer or device name of the primary PC and the share name of the printer using one of these formats:
- \\computername\printername
- http://computername/printername/.printer
When prompted to install the printer driver, select Next to complete the installation.

For more info about the computer or device name, see the Find your PC name section in this topic. By default, you need the user name and password of the primary PC to access the printer.

In the search box on the taskbar, type control panel and then select Control Panel.
Under Hardware and Sound, select View devices and printers, and then select Add a printer.
Select the printer you want, select Next. When prompted, install the printer driver.
If you don’t see the printer you want, select The printer that I want isn’t listed.
In the Add a device dialog box, select Select a shared printer by name, and then enter the computer or device name of the primary PC and the share name of the printer using one of these formats:
- \\computername\printername
- http://computername/printername/.printer
When prompted to install the printer driver, select Next to complete the installation.

For more info about the computer or device name, see the Find your PC name section in this topic. By default, you need the user name and password of the primary PC to access the printer.

The settings you use to share devices is often turned on by default. If not, follow the steps in this section to turn settings on using settings or Control Panel.

Select the Start button, then select Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi.
Under Related settings, select Change advanced sharing options.
In the Advanced sharing settings dialog box, expand the Private section. Next, under Network discovery, select Turn on network discovery.
Under File and printer sharing, select Turn on file and printer sharing.

In the search box on the taskbar, type control panel and then select Control Panel.
Select Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center > Change advanced sharing settings.
In the Advanced sharing settings dialog box, expand the Private section. Next, under Network discovery, select Turn on network discovery.
Under File and printer sharing, select Turn on file and printer sharing.

Find your PC name

You’ll need the name of your primary PC, also called the computer name or device name, to connect the secondary PC to the printer.

In the search box on the taskbar, type computer name.
Select View your PC name.
Under Device name, you’ll see the PC (computer) name.

In the search box on the taskbar, type control panel and then select Control Panel.
Select System and Security > System > See the name of this computer.
Under Computer name, you’ll see the PC (computer) name.

Select the Start button, then select Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners. Choose the printer you want to share, then select Manage. Select Printer Properties, then choose the Sharing tab. On the Sharing tab, select Share this printer.

File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks.

Choose Start | Control Panel | Network Connections | Local Area Connection..

Click Properties..

Select File And Printer Sharing For Microsoft Networks, and click the. Properties button..

Use the options in the File And Printer Sharing For Microsoft Networks..

Go to Control Panel -> Network and Sharing Center..

Click Choose homegroup and sharing options..

Click Change advanced sharing settings....

For Home or Work (current profile), make sure the following are selected: ... .

For Public, make sure the following are selected:.

Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click on the Network and Sharing Center icon. Click on the Change adapter settings link on the left side. Right click on the network adapter (ex: Ethernet 2) you want to turn on or off file and printer sharing for Microsoft networks, and click on Properties.