Chapter 1. Getting Started with the GNOME Desktop / 1.6. Accessing Network Resources
	1.5. Managing Folders and Files with Nautilus		1.7. Accessing Floppy Disks, CDs, or DVDs

Accessing Network Resources

This section helps you access network resources using the following tasks:

Connecting to Your Network

You can connect to a network with wired and wireless connections. To view your network connection status, click Computer. In the Status area of the main menu, the Network Connections icon shows your network connection status. For example, in the following figure, the computer is connected to a wired network using an Ethernet connection.

Figure 1.12. Network Connections Icon in the Main Menu

Click the icon to get information about your connection, such as the IP address, gateway address, and similar details. Click Configure Networking in the Connection Information dialog box if you need to configure your network setup method or edit your network card configuration.

For information, see Chapter 11, Managing Network Connections.

Accessing Network Shares

Other network devices, like workstations and servers, can be set up to share some or all of their resources. Typically, files and folders are marked to let remote users access them. These are called network shares. If your system is configured to access network shares, you can use Nautilus file manager to access them.

To access network shares, double-click your Home directory icon on the desktop, then click Network Servers in the left pane. The window displays the network shares that you can access. Double-click the network resource that you want to access. You might be required to authenticate to the resource by providing a username and password.

Figure 1.13. Network File Browser

To access Novell shares, double-click the Novell Services icon. A list of Novell shares available to you is displayed.

To access NFS shares, double-click the UNIX Network icon. A list of UNIX shares available to you is displayed.

To access Windows shares, double-click the Windows Network icon. The Windows shares available to you are displayed.

Adding a Network Place

Click Computer+Nautilus File Browser+File+Connect to Server.
Select a service type, then specify the required information for your type of service.
Specify the name you want displayed for this connection, then click Connect.
An icon for the network place is added to the desktop.

Sharing Directories from Your Computer

You can make directories on your computer available to other users on your network.

Enabling Sharing

Use YaST to enable sharing on your computer. In order to enable sharing, you must have root privileges and be a member of a workgroup or domain.

Click Computer+More Applications+System+YaST.
In YaST, click Network Services+Windows Domain Membership.
In the Windows Domain Membership module, click Allow Users To Share Their Directories.
Click Finish.

Sharing a Directory

If directory sharing is enabled on your computer, use the following steps to configure a directory to be shared.

Open the file manager and browse to the directory you want to share.
Right-click the directory you want to share, then click Sharing Options.
Select the Share this folder check box, then type the name you want to use for this share.
If you want other users to be able to copy files to your shared directory, select the Allow other people to write in this folder check box.
(Optional) Type a comment, if desired.
Click Create Share.