Network shares under Windows 8 - how it works

Create a home network group or join a home network group

To share your files with others, you must first join a homegroup. If there is not yet one, you have to create a new one.

Open the control panel.
Click on "Network and Internet" and then on "Homegroup". It will now search for homegroups in your network. If a homegroup is found, you must enter the associated password.
If no homegroup is found, you need to create a new one. To do this, click on "Create homegroup" at the bottom right.
In the dialog click on continue and choose what kind of files you want to share. If you only want to share individual files, it is best to first select "not released" everywhere. Click on Continue".
After a short time you will see the password for the home network group, which you should note down. You can also look it up in the Control Panel at any time.
The home network group is now created. Other PCs in your network should now be able to find them and use them with the password.

If you are in a home network group, you can share files or entire folders so that the other participants can share them.

In Explorer, navigate to the file you want to share.
Click on it and select the "Share" tab at the top of the menu. Here you have different options to choose from.
If you only want to make the file available on the home network for display, ie read-only access, select "Home network group (display)".
If you would like to make the file available for editing, select "Home network group (display and edit)".
If you only want to share the file with a specific person, click on "Specific person" at the bottom and select it in the following dialog.
If you no longer want to release the file, select "End sharing" to the left of the selection window.
On the far right under "Extended Security" you will find further options for sharing, for example monitoring the file.

This practical tip shows you how to use your Fritzbox as a network storage device.