Search Windows xp lan Resources

In WINXP, the "Network Neighbor" folder function is further enhanced, making it easier for users to search for information and resources throughout the local network. In earlier versions of Windows, the computers in the Working Group of the user are directly displayed in the "Network neighbors" folder, and are now placed in the "neighboring computers" folder. The new "add network neighbor wizard" allows you to create a direct link to network resources in this folder. The network resources here can be folders shared by other computers or FTP sites on the Internet. In WINXP, you can also create a web folder for your web in "Network neighbors", and browse, manage, and edit the content of your web site through this folder.

As long as you know the name of the computer that you want to access, you can use the WINXP search function to quickly find and access the computer in a LAN with many clients. The procedure is as follows: Right-click the "Network Neighbor" icon and choose "search computer" from the shortcut menu to open the search computer window (Figure 45 ), in the "computer name" text box on the left side of the window, enter the full name of the computer where the shared resource is located, and click "Search, the computer to be searched is listed in the list box on the right of the window. The search result list box on the right of the window lists the names of all computers that match the search criteria, their locations, and remarks. Double-click the name of the computer to access the shared resources on the computer.

If you need to frequently access a shared folder on a network computer, you can also use WINXP's ing network drive function to map it to a network drive and specify a logical drive letter. To map a network drive, go to "my computer" or "Network Neighbor" and select the "tool"> "ing network drive" command, open the ing network drive dialog box (Figure 46 ). In the "Drive" drop-down list, select the drive name, enter the path of the network drive in the "folder" text box, or click the "Browse" button, in the open "Browse folder" dialog box, specify a folder shared by the network. Select the "Reconnect at login" check box to re-detect the network drive when you restart and log on to the network. Click OK. The network drive is added. Open the "my computer" window and you will see the "network drive" (Figure 47), and the new network drive name is displayed, double-click it to directly access this shared folder. If you need to disconnect the network drive in the future, right-click the drive icon and select the "Disconnect" command from the shortcut menu.