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To share a file or folder with your fellow computer users, move the file into your Shared Documents folder, which lives in your My Computer window. (You must move or copy a file into the Shared Documents folder; shortcuts don't always work.)

After you place your file or folder into your Shared Documents folder, it appears in the Shared Documents folder of everybody else using your computer.

Administrators can share folders without having to move them into the Shared Documents folder. The trick is to follow these steps:

1. Right-click on a folder you'd like to share and choose Sharing and Security from the pop-up menu.

Open My Computer and right-click on the folder you'd like to share. When the menu appears, select Sharing and Security. A window appears, showing the Properties for that folder. It opens to the Sharing tab.

Right-click on a folder and choose Sharing and Security to share the folder on the network.

2. Click the box marked Share This Folder on the Network.

A check mark in that box lets everybody peek at, grab, steal, change, or delete any of the files in that folder. To let visitors look inside the files but not change them, remove the check mark from the box marked Allow Network Users to Change My Files.

3. Click OK.

Now that particular folder and all its contents are available for everybody on the network to share.

With Internet Explorer 6 in Windows XP, you can make a Web page available offline and view it when your computer is not connected to the Internet—for example on your laptop during a flight. This feature is also handy for viewing Web pages at home without tying up a phone line if you have a dial–up Internet connection.

To make the current Web page available offline

On the Favorites menu, click Add to Favorites.

Select the Make available offline check box.

 To specify a schedule for updating that page, and how much content to download, click Customize.

Follow the instructions on your screen.
To make an existing favorite item available offline

On the Favorites menu, click Organize Favorites.

Click the page you want to make available offline.

Select the Make available offline check box.

To specify a schedule for updating that page, and how much content to download, click Properties.
To view Web pages without being connected to the Internet

After you mark your favorite pages for viewing offline, you can view them offline by following these steps

Before you disconnect from the Internet, on the Tools menu, click Synchronize.

When you're ready to work offline, on the File menu, click Work Offline. Internet Explorer will always start in Offline mode until you click Work Offline again to clear the check mark.

In your Favorites list, click the item you want to view.
You can also make Web pages available offline without adding them to your Favorites list, by saving the pages on your computer.

Follow these steps

On the File menu, click Save As.

Double–click the folder you want to save the page in.

In the File name box, type a name for the page.

In the Save as type box, select a file type.

Do one of the following:

To save all of the files needed to display this page, including graphics, frames, and style sheets, click Web Page, complete. This option saves each file in its original format.

To save all of the information needed to display this page in a single MIME–encoded file, click Web Archive. This option saves a snapshot of the current Web page. This option is available only if you have installed Outlook Express 5 or later. When you choose Web Page, complete, only the current page is saved. With Web Page, complete and Web Archive, you can view all of the Web page offline, without adding the page to your Favorites list and marking it for offline viewing.

To save just the current HTML page, click Web Page, HTML only. This option saves the information on the Web page, but it does not save the graphics, sounds, or other files.

To save just the text from the current Web page, click Text Only. This option saves the information on the Web page in straight text format.

The Windows Update feature notifies you of the latest updates and bug fixes for the Windows XP operating system directly from the Microsoft Web site. To launch the Windows Update, you click the Start menu, point at the All Programs button, and then click Windows Update in the Programs menu.

As soon as you click select Windows Update on this menu, Windows gets you online and connects you to the Windows Update Web page on the Microsoft Web site.

To have your computer checked out to see whether you're in need of some updated Windows components, follow these steps:

1. On the Microsoft Windows Update Web page, click the Scan for Updates hyperlink.

When you click this hyperlink, the Windows checks your system for needed updates. After checking your system, the number of updates appears in the list of three types of updates (Critical Updates, Windows XP, and Driver Updates) in the pane on the left side of the window.

2. To have the Update Wizard install particular updates in one or more of the various categories, click the check boxes in front of each update name and description.

3. After you have all the updates that you want selected, click the Review and Install Updates hyperlink in the pane on the left side of the window.

4. Click the Start Download button on the Download Checklist page.

A license agreement dialog box then appears. Choose the Yes button to sell your soul to the devil (just kidding) and start the download.

After you click the assent to the license agreement, the Microsoft Windows Update page downloads and installs the updated files for the component(s) you selected. When the download and installation are complete, the message Download and Installation Successful appears on Windows Update Web page.

5. Click the Close box in the upper-right corner of the Windows Update Web page to close this browser window.

Just in case you're the type who would never think to use the Windows Update command on the Start menu, Windows XP turns on an AutoUpdate feature that automatically starts bugging you about new Windows features that you can download and install.

AutoUpdate indicates that Windows updates that could benefit your computer are available by placing an Install Reminder icon (with the picture of the Windows logo above a tiny globe) in the Notification area of the Windows taskbar. From time to time, a ScreenTip appears above this Install Reminder icon, telling you that new updates are available.

To get the Windows updates downloaded or to silence the Install Reminder, click that icon in the status bar. Windows then displays an Updates dialog box with three buttons along the bottom: Settings, Remind Me Later, and Install.

To go online and have Windows download and install the new updates (using the procedure outlined in the steps in the preceding section), choose Install. To be reminded to update at a later time, choose the Remind Me Later button and then select the time interval that must pass before the Install Reminder starts prompting you again in the drop-down list box of the Remind Me Later dialog box that appears.

To turn off the AutoUpdate features so that it never bugs you again, follow these steps:

1. Click the Start button and then click Control Panel.

2. Click the Switch to Classic View button at the top of the Control Panel navigation pane on the left side of this window.

3. Double-click the System icon to open the Systems Properties dialog box.

4. Click the Automatic Updates tab and then in the Notification Settings section, click the Turn Off Automatic Updating, I want to Update My Computer Manually radio button.