How to Turn On or Off File and Printer Sharing in Windows 10 (2024)

FAQs

How to Turn On or Off File and Printer Sharing in Windows 10? ›

Select the Start button, then select Settings > Network & internet , and on the right side, select Sharing options. Under Private, select Turn on Network discovery and Turn on file and printer sharing.

Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Network. Click TCP/IP->Network adapter, click Properties, and then click the Bindings tab. Click to clear the File and Printer Sharing check box, click OK, and then click OK. Restart your computer.

Quick Guide: Enabling File Sharing on Windows 10

Select View network status and tasks > Change advanced settings > Turn on file and printer sharing. Once file sharing is enabled, you can press Save Changes. You may need to enter your admin password to make this change.

In the “Shared Folders” window, in the left menu, select “Shares” (see Screen 2), and on the right, select the shared folder to which you want to close sharing, right-click on it and click the “Stop Sharing” button in the context menu (see Screen 3).

Turning off file sharing will prevent wireless access to files on your computer over the network you're connected to, thus making your computer more secure.

Turning on sharing changes your firewall settings to allow some communication, which can be a security risk. If you know you won't need to share files or printers, the safest choice is No, don't share or connect to devices.

In the Print dialog box for your specific printer , look for an option that prints to file. Now uncheck this option.

Open the Control Panel and click on Network and Sharing Center. Click on Change adapter settings. Right-click on the network connection you want. Check or uncheck File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks .

Select the file or folder you want to share. Go to the Share tab, and then in the Share with section, select Specific people. Enter email addresses for the people you want to share the file with, select Add for each one, then select Share.

How do I enable file sharing command? ›

Type CMD in the Search bar. Right-click on Command Prompt, and select Run as Administrator. Type netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="File and Printer Sharing" new enable=Yes, and hit Enter. Exit from the command prompt, and check if it will work.

The Server for Microsoft file and printer sharing is installed and enabled by default on a Windows desktop computer. This service allows other computers on the network to access shared files and printers. It is essential for network communication and resource sharing.

Press Windows Key + R for Run Command – Type spool – Right Click on Printers folder – From the drop down click on Properties – Click on Security Tab – Click on Edit under Group or user names – One by one give permissions for all – Click on Apply and then OK.