file sharing

[Guest]

What's the best way to share a file among 3 users (all running xp pro sp2)
that are in the same Workgroup (others are also part of the workgroup),
without affecting existing file sharing within the workgroup. I thought I'd
try to set up a sep. group and give the access to that group, but when i
tried simulating this on my computer (running xp home) by booting in safe
mode, I could not locate the group names to add. I know that to grant user
permissions, the users have to be added to the source computer; how does it
work for groups?

 

[Malke]

What's the best way to share a file among 3 users (all running xp pro
sp2) that are in the same Workgroup (others are also part of the
workgroup),
without affecting existing file sharing within the workgroup. I
thought I'd try to set up a sep. group and give the access to that
group, but when i tried simulating this on my computer (running xp
home) by booting in safe
mode, I could not locate the group names to add. I know that to grant
user permissions, the users have to be added to the source computer;
how does it work for groups?

You've got the right idea but the wrong operating system. XP Home does
not give you the ability to create user groups and set fine-grained
permissions and rights. XP Home only authenticates as Guest.

If you need this ability, either upgrade to XP Pro or put the files in a
zipped folder and password-protect the zipped file. Use XP's Help &
Support to learn about password-protecting zipped files, or you can use
third-party zipping software like Winzip.

Malke

 

[Guest]

The Computer I'm trying to do this on is running PRO. Maybe what I'm asking
is unclear. I wanted to give access to a file for a new Workroup, by
changing the Workgroup names on each of the 3 computers. I don't want to
affect other users within the existing workgroup, who share files from one of
those computers now, that's why I was trying to simulate this on my computer
first, and I know you can't get to the security tab in xp home, unless you
boot in safe mode. I hope this makes more sense now.

 

[Malke]

The Computer I'm trying to do this on is running PRO. Maybe what I'm
asking
is unclear. I wanted to give access to a file for a new Workroup, by
changing the Workgroup names on each of the 3 computers. I don't want
to affect other users within the existing workgroup, who share files
from one of those computers now, that's why I was trying to simulate
this on my computer first, and I know you can't get to the security
tab in xp home, unless you
boot in safe mode. I hope this makes more sense now.

Yes, this makes more sense now and I can see what you are doing wrong.
Workgroups have nothing to do with security - they are simply a
cosmetic and organizational device. You need to create a new user
group, for ex. "Marketing", and add the users to that group who should
have access to certain resources (don't forget to add yourself!). Then,
after disabling Simple File Sharing (Folder Options>View) you can set
the permissions on whatever files you want to only allow that group
access. When another user not in the "Marketing" group tries to look at
that file, s/he'll get an "access denied" error message.

Malke

 

[Guest]

That's along the lines of what I was thinking. These three users belong to
an existing workgroup, called Arrowpak, Other users of that workgroup share
a file on one of the 3 users' computer now. If I change the workgroup for
these 3 people, called 'marketing', I'm assuming the resource that is being
shared among 'Arrowpak' can still be shared by granting permissions for that
dataset to 'Arrowpak'. The end result should be that the 3 members of
'marketing' will share 1 file and the existing members of 'Arrowpak' will
still be able to share the other file.

 

[Malke]

That's along the lines of what I was thinking. These three users
belong to
an existing workgroup, called Arrowpak, Other users of that workgroup
share
a file on one of the 3 users' computer now. If I change the workgroup
for these 3 people, called 'marketing', I'm assuming the resource that
is being shared among 'Arrowpak' can still be shared by granting
permissions for that
dataset to 'Arrowpak'. The end result should be that the 3 members of
'marketing' will share 1 file and the existing members of 'Arrowpak'
will still be able to share the other file.

You're not listening. The name of the Workgroup is irrelevant. No
security is provided by the Workgroup name. Once again:

1. Disable Simple Sharing.
2. Create a new *user* *group* called Arrowpak.
3. Add users to the new group, including yourself.
4. Set permissions on files as desired.

Malke

 

[Guest]

I can't see how that will work. Some users need to access 1 file on one of
the computers and 3 users need to access another file on a different
computer. If there's only 1 workgroup involved, I don't see how to do that
without setting up permissions for the individual users, which I don't want
to do. The idea was to set up the permissions by workgoup name.

 

[Malke]

I can't see how that will work. Some users need to access 1 file on
one of the computers and 3 users need to access another file on a
different
computer. If there's only 1 workgroup involved, I don't see how to do
that without setting up permissions for the individual users, which I
don't want
to do. The idea was to set up the permissions by workgoup name.

Bob, you apparently don't understand how permissions work in multi-user
operating systems like XP. No matter how many times I tell you that the
peer-to-peer network naming convention that Windows uses - Workgroups -
has nothing to do with setting permissions or security or user control
- you insist on thinking this is something that is going to work for
you. It isn't. You manage access, permissions, and security with users
and user groups.

Either do some reading at these links or have a professional come
on-site and set you up properly.

User Management and Security in Windows XP:
http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/wxppusrm.html

How to disable Simple Sharing and set permissions on a shared folder in
Windows XP (Pro only)
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=307874

HOW TO: Set, View, Change, or Remove File and Folder Permissions in
Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308418

Malke