Page 935 - Windows 10 May 2019 Update The Missing Manual: The Book That Should Have Been in the Box

Tip

File sharing also lets you access your files and folders from the road, using a laptop. See
Chapter 12 for more on this road-warrior trick.

Music and video playback. Windows Media Player can stream
music and videos from one PC to another on the same network—

that is, play in real time across the network, without your having to
copy any files. In a family situation, it’s super-convenient to have
Dad’s Mondo Upstairs PC serve as the master holding tank for the

family’s entire music collection—and be able to play it using any
PC in the house.

Printers. All PCs on the network can share a printer. For

instructions, see the free PDF appendix called “Fancy Printer
Properties.” It’s on this book’s “Missing CD” at

missingmanuals.com.

Note
Your network might include a Windows 10 PC, a couple of Windows 7, 8, XP, or Vista machines,
older PCs, and even Macs. That’s perfectly OK; all these computers can participate as equals in
this party. This chapter points out whatever differences you may find in the procedures.

File Sharing 1: Nearby Sharing

Setting up file sharing traditionally requires a lot of steps. (Even the

HomeGroups concept, the Windows 7 attempt to simplify the process, was
so baffling that Microsoft eliminated it in April 2018.)

Today, Windows 10 offers a feature called Nearby Sharing, which is a

loving homage to (or maybe a shameless rip-off of) a Mac feature called
AirDrop.

Nearby Sharing is a breakthrough in speed, simplicity, and efficiency.

There’s no setup, no passwords, nothing to email. It lets you transmit files