Enabling file sharing in Windows RT

One of the first things after testing development tools with my new Windows 8 RT tablet, I wanted to make sure some of my files are available on the device, mainly eBooks in PDF and ePUB formats. Most of these I have on my main machine, so I thought of simply opening the files on the tablet over the network and copying the files there.

In Windows operating systems, it has been pretty much trivial to enable a folder to be shared. With a share, you can then use those classic UNC paths to open a remote computer and copy your files to the destination. But with Windows RT, the default UI to share a folder in the desktop view is missing, so you need to do things on the command-line.

Here's a quick summary on how this. Firstly, Windows RT operating systems have by default disabled the Server service, which is a key to being able to share folders. So, your first task is to enable and start this service. To do this, to go the Start screen, search for "services", and then start the management console for local services (this runs on the traditional desktop). Once you have the list of services in front of you, find the "Server" service, and open its properties. First, enable the service by setting the startup type to Automatic, hit Apply and then start the service.

The next task is to actually share a folder. In a regular Windows installation, you would right-click a folder somewhere, choose Properties, and then use the Sharing tab to share the folder. But in Windows RT, this tab is not available, so you have the use the more traditional "net share" command to do the task from the command-line.

This can be done as follows. Start a command prompt with administrator privileges (in the tablet's Start screen, search for "command" and then flick down to select "Command Prompt"; once selected, click the "Run as administrator" button on the lower appbar) and type in the following command:

net share SharedFiles=C:\MyShareFolder /GRANT:Everyone,FULL

Once this is done, you can see the files (provided your tablet is connected to the network and the screen is not locked or dimmed) using a traditional UNC path like this:

\\my-tablet

Note that above, the share created will be fully accessible to everyone on the network. You can limit this by adjusting the GRANT parameter, for instance giving your Microsoft account (Live ID) e-mail address in place of the word "Everyone". Remember that you cannot use your domain account here, as Windows RT tablets cannot be joined to the Active Directory (AD) domain.

Hope this helps!

Keywords: how to share folder in Windows RT, net share command, cannot share folder in Windows 8 RT tablet