Shared Folders overview

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Shared Folders overview

You can use Shared Folders to view a summary of connections and resource use for local and remote computers. Shared Folders replaces resource-related components in Control Panel in Microsoft Windows NT® 4.0 Server.

With Shared Folders, you can:

• Create, view, and set permissions for shared resources.

• View a list of all users who are connected over a network to the computer and disconnect one or all of them.

• View a list of files that are opened by remote users and close one or all of the open files.

You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group, Server Operators group, or the Power Users group to use Shared Folders. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings might also prevent you from completing this procedure. File sharing options may be limited if simple file sharing is enabled. For more information about simple file sharing, see article Q304040, "Description of File Sharing and Permissions in Windows XP," in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.

For information about publishing a shared folder in Active Directory, see Publish a shared folder.

The subfolders in Shared Folders contain information, arranged in columns, about all the shared resources, sessions, and open files on the computer. If Services for Macintosh is installed, information about resources that are managed by that service may appear as well. The column headings in these folders are defined as follows:

Shares

The following table shows the information that the Shares folder contains about the shared resources that are available on the computer.

Column	Description
Share Name	Lists the shared resources that are available on the computer. In some cases, a connection to a printer is monitored here as a connection to a named pipe. A shared resource can be a shared directory, a named pipe, a shared printer, or a resource of an unrecognized type.
Folder Path	Displays the path to the shared resource.
Type	Displays the type of network connection: Windows, NetWare, or Macintosh.
# Client Connections	Displays the number of users who are connected to the shared resource.
Description	Describes the shared resource.

Sessions

The following table shows the information that the Sessions folder contains about all the network users who are connected to the computer.

Column	Description
User	Lists the network users who are connected to the computer.
Computer	Displays the computer name of the connected user's computer.
Type	Displays the type of network connection: Windows, NetWare, or Macintosh.
# Open Files	Displays the number of resources that have been opened on this computer by this user.
Connected Time	Displays the hours and minutes that have elapsed since this session was established.
Idle Time	Displays the hours and minutes that have elapsed since this user last initiated an action.
Guest	Specifies whether this user is connected to this computer as a guest (displayed as Yes or No).

Open Files

The following table shows the information that the Open Files subfolder contains about all the open files on the computer.

Column	Description
Open File	Lists the names of open files. An open file could be a file, a named pipe, a print job in a print spooler, or a resource of an unrecognized type. In some cases, a print job is shown here as an open named pipe.
Accessed By	The name of the user who has opened the file or accessed the resource.
Type	The type of network connection: Windows, NetWare, or Macintosh.
# Locks	Displays the number of application-initiated file locks on the resource.
Open Mode	Displays the permission that was granted when the resource was opened.