How to Access Files and Printers

To access files and printers on the Premium Server, one must first map a drive on the workstation to the ES1 Premium Server in the ESERVICES domain. For many departments, this is done by a login script on the server which maps drives to departmental workstations automatically. You can open My Computer on your desktop to find out if your workstation is already mapped to the Premium Server ES1 share directory. If so, you do not need to follow the steps described in "How to map drives". You will see a drive, (J:) for example, mapped to a share on ES1, which will look similar to the following illustration:

How to map drives

Before we learn how to map a drive, it is first necessary to understand the concept of "mapping" itself. When a document or a person tells you to "map" a drive, what he or she really means is that they want you to enter a series of commands that allow your computer to easily access a particular directory or storage point on another server. Once you have followed the steps necessary to "map" the drive, you can browse through and access all of the files on that "drive" as if the contents resided on your own computer. Mapping a drive is also sometimes called attaching a drive.

There are two ways to map a drive. The first way is best if you are comfortable with typing in computer names and already know the name of the desired share or directory. The second way is less direct but allows for a more graphical search of the directory you are looking for.

Method 1

1. On the desktop, click My Computer.
2. In the window that appears, you will see several icons (image buttons) on the Toolbar. The second icon from the left on this toolbar should read Map Network Drive when you hover over it with your mouse. On some machines, the icon may be in a different location. Hover the mouse over each icon for a few seconds until you find the right one. Click on the Map Network Drive icon.

3. A dialogue box should pop up with three fields and a large list of shared directories at the bottom. Make sure the "Reconnect at Logon" box is checked.

1. A "drive" is simply how the mapped directory will appear on your computer. It is usually all right to leave whatever Windows defaults this to in the box.
2. The "path" is the actual location of the share or information. Most of the time, paths will appear like this:

\\ES1\deptsharename (with the server name, in this case ES1, always preceded by 2 backslashes).

The "sharename" is usually a folder containing the departmental files you wish to access on the server.

Shares can also be hidden from general view. Hidden shares will always have a dollar sign ($) attached to the end of share name. For example, individually-owned directories are usually hidden by server admins from the general browse list. An example of an individually-owned directory share would be: \\ES1\mst3k$ . Hidden shares can only be mapped to via the above method; they can not be browsed to as described in the second method (below).

3. The "Connect As:" field: This information is usually necessary if you are mapping to a completely different server altogether (especially ones that are not in the same domain as your workstation) and have different account/password information on the machine you are attempting to connect to. Windows NT will pass account login information if your domain login and password are identical to the login and password you use on the machine you are attempting to connect to. However, if they are not the same, you will need to enter your account ID for the machine you are mapping to in the Connect As: dialogue box. For example:

The fictitious staff member, 'mst3k', is logged in to the ESERVICES domain. He also has an account on a fictional server in the biology department called BIO1. However, he has a different login ID and password on the BIO1 server; on BIO1, his ID is 'biomst3k'. If this person wishes to access a share on the BIO1 (e.g. \\BIO1\testlab$) server, he must enter 'biomst3k' in the Connect As: field. Next, he will have to enter his password for his 'biomst3k' account to complete the mapping.

Method 2

1. On the desktop, double click on Network Neighborhood.
2. If you are a domain account holder, you will see many of the servers in the domain on the browse list. Browse around the servers in the domain until you locate the directory you are looking for.

3. Highlight the directory you wish to map to and right click it (using the right-hand button on your mouse). In the right click menu, select Map Network Drive. A dialogue box will pop up. Click OK.

Why can't I just map directly to the directory I need?

You can only map drives to valid share points on the server. This means that sometimes you will not be able to map directly to the folder as above, but you may be able to map to the root share that contains the folder you need to access. There will also be share points that you do not have sufficient rights to access. If you try to map to them, you will usually get an "Access is Denied" or similar message.

How to access network printers on a domain server

Accessing printers on a domain server is fairly simple. Once again, there are two ways to go about connecting a networked printer to your PC.

Method 1

1. The easiest way to set up a printer so that your machine can print to it is through the browse list. Open up Network Neighborhood and browse to the ES1 server on the ESERVICES domain to locate the printer to which you want to connect.
2. You will see a list of all of the printers available on that server. If you do not know what the printer names are or where they are located, expand your view by clicking View and then Details on the Menu Bar of your window. Some of the printer names may still be fairly cryptic. The network printer names usually contain some reference to where they are or who owns them.

3. Double click the name of the printer you want to configure for use on your workstation. A message will appear asking if you wish to set up the printer. Click on the Yes button. A second window will appear representing the printer you have just set up.
4. Close the printer window by clicking on the X in the upper right-hand corner of the window.
5. Return to the desktop. Double click on My Computer and then Printers to verify that the printer has been added to your personal printers group. Right click on the selected printer and select Set as default if you want it to be the default printer.

Method 2

1. Double click on My Computer and then Printers. Double-click the Add Printer icon.
2. Select Network printer server and then click Next.
3. You will see a pull-down list of all available printers in the domain. Scroll down the list and select the one that you want to set up for use on your workstation. Note that you can see the actual type of printer (HP Laserjet 4, Hp2500C Series, etc.) using this method.
4. When you have selected a printer, double click on it and then answer the "Do you want this printer to be the default printer?" question. Click Next and then click Finish.

Using network printers

Telling local printers apart from network printers is fairly easy; in the Printers portion of the Control Panel, all network printers will have a small Ethernet pipe icon below the printer icon.

If at any time you are unsure as to the status of a printer, you can right click it in your Printers control panel and select Properties. From here you can check the device settings, print a test page, and check the permissions on the printer. Although it is not likely that you will ever have to change any settings contained therein, looking at the properties of a Printer can help snuff out a problem (Is the printer on line? Is it out of paper?)

Printing to a selected printer can be done through whichever application you happen to be using at the time. Almost all Windows based applications will allow you to choose your printer before actually printing a document.