Sharing Files on the Web

With Web shares, you share files over your intranet or the Internet. Web shares are accessible in Web browsers using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). If the system you're currently logged on to has Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) installed on it, you can create Web shares by using Windows Explorer. In Windows Explorer, right-click the local folder you want to share, and then, from the shortcut menu, select Properties. In the Properties dialog box, select the Web Sharing tab, which is shown in Figure 21-24.

Use the Web Sharing tab to share a folder using HTTP.

Figure 21-24. Use the Web Sharing tab to share a folder using HTTP.

In the Web Sharing tab, use the Share On drop-down list box to select the local Web site on which you want to share the folder. If this is the first share for this folder, select the Share This Folder option to display the Edit Alias dialog box shown in Figure 21-25. Otherwise, click Add to configure an additional share.

Set the share alias and access permissions.

Figure 21-25. Set the share alias and access permissions.

The Edit Alias dialog box allows you to set the alias and access permissions for the folder. In the Alias box, type an alias for the folder. The alias is the name you'll use to access the folder on the Web server. This name must be unique and must not conflict with existing folders used by the Web server. For example, if you type the alias MyDir, you could access the folder as http://Localhost/MyDir/.

Next, set the access permissions for the folder. You use the available options as follows:

  • Read Allows Web users to read files in the folder

  • Write Allows Web users to write data in the folder

  • Script Source Access Allows Web users to access the source code for scripts

  • Directory Browsing Allows Web users to browse the folder and its subfolders

Tip

Directory browsing isn't required

Directory browsing isn't required to read or access files in a directory. This permission is required only if you want to allow users to browse the contents of folders when you don't provide a default document (such as Default.htm or Index.htm). Generally, it's a poor security practice to allow directory browsing when the server is accessible to the public Internet; you don't want external users going through lists of files (in most cases). On a private network where the Web share is meant to provide quick access to a set of documents, however, you might want users to be able to browse directories; users could then browse a directory and select a file to work with.

After you set the access permissions, set application permissions for the folder. You use the available options as follows:

  • None Disallows the execution of programs and scripts

  • Scripts Allows scripts in the folder to be run from the Web

  • Execute (Includes Scripts) Allows programs and scripts in the folder to be run from the Web

When you're finished setting permissions, click OK. To further restrict access to contents of a shared folder on an NTFS volume, set file and folder permissions as outlined in the section entitled "Managing File and Folder Permissions" earlier in this chapter.

Note

Web shares are subject to the access controls enforced by the Web server and the server running Windows Server 2003. If you have problems accessing a share, check the Web server permissions first, and then check the Windows Server 2003 file and folder permissions.

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