If you’ve ever worked in an office setting, you’re probably familiar with the idea of a network. If you haven’t, I’ll explain. Picture if you will an office with around twenty employees. Each employee has his or her own computer. Inside the walls of the building are Ethernet cables that connect a main computer, known as a server, to each employee’s computer. The server, in simple terms, is the main “hub” of the network, and grants each computer access to the network, and serves as a place to save files so that they can be shared with other employees on their own computers. Simply, a network is a series of computers connected to each other. I guess I should have started with that definition! Anyway, networking is helpful for sharing files without needing to e-mail them or place them on a flash drive. This is where homegroup comes in. If you own multiple computers, and you’re running Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10 on them, you too can share files…without all the wiring and expensive servers. Interested? Good. Let’s dig in.
First of all, it’s important to note that to set up a homegroup, all computers in your home must be connected to your home wired or wireless network. If a computer has Internet access, it’s connected to your network. Secondly, don’t worry about security concerns. If a stranger were to tap into your wireless network, he wouldn’t automatically be able to access your files. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s go over what you can share. If you’re so inclined, your pictures, music, videos, documents, and printers can be made accessible to those who are members of the homegroup. You may choose as many files or folders as you wish to make available to others. It’s also possible to share with specific people and not all members of the homegroup. While these files can be accessed by others, you can prevent them from making changes without your permission. Also, if you’ve changed your mind and have embraced your inner only child and don’t want to share anymore, you can leave the homegroup at any time. Hey, I was an only child, I know what it’s like.
If you’re using a Windows 7 or Windows 8 (8.1) P.C., a homegroup was created the very first time your computer was set up. To access the settings for the homegroup, you’ll find the HomeGroup applet in Control Panel. To do this, in Windows 7, click “Start” then “Control Panel”, and finally, click “HomeGroup”. In Windows 8, move the mouse all the way to the right edge of the screen until you see the “Search”, “Share”, “Start”, “Devices”, and “Settings” icons appear. Click “Search” and type “homegroup”. Click on the top result, “HomeGroup settings”. In Windows 10, type “homegroup” in the search field to the right of the “Start” button at the bottom of the screen. In my case, my Windows 7 desktop created the homegroup before any other computers had the opportunity, essentially making it the “server” of my network. In order for other computers to join the homegroup, you’ll need to enter the password on each of them. On the computer that created the homegroup (my Windows 7 desktop), you’ll see the password at the bottom of the HomeGroup window we opened earlier. Click “Show password” if needed to display it. Open the HomeGroup window (using the steps above) on the computer(s) you wish to join the homegroup, and click “Join now”. You’ll then be prompted for the password from the main computer. Simply follow the steps on the screen and you’ll successfully join the homegroup. To access files shared by computers on the homegroup, click the folder icon on the taskbar at the bottom of the screen, or search for “file explorer”. You’ll see “Network” on the left side of the screen. Click the arrow to the left of “Network” to expand the list showing the computers that are members of your homegroup and are currently powered on. Double-click on the computer you’re interested in, and navigate to the folder of your choosing to view files as if you were sitting at that computer.
Homegroups are a poor man’s version of a complex networking environment. While Windows has been around for years, the power and versatility of the operating system continues to astound. Effortlessly sharing files among computers is just another example.