The EnServe can provide access to shared folders stored on it's hard disk.
Depending on how your EnServe Administrator has set up your user account and any group accounts you may be able to access both a personal folder and shared folders belonging to groups you are a member of.

To provide the shared folders the EnServe utilises a technology called the Simple Message Block protocol (SMB) which is also (wrongly) often called the Windows File and Printer Sharing or LanManager protocol.

What are Shared Folders?

Shared folders are folders (directories) that are accessable across the network rather then just from your computer. Shared folders allow you to store your files centrally and access them from more than one computer on your network. In this case the shared folders are stored on the EnServe and you use your EnServe username and password to access them from another computer.

Why use Shared Folders?

You can access the files in your shared folder from any computer on your network.

Groups can share files with other group members by placing them in a shared folder.

If your EnServe Administrator has set up the anti-virus scanning and back-up features on the EnServe all the files in personal and group shared folders will be scanned for viruses and backed up regularly.

How do I access the Shared Folders?

Assuming that your EnServe Administrator has granted you access to shared folders you can access them from Windows Explorer or Internet Explorer by using the paths..

\\enserve\USERNAME

..in the address bar, where USERNAME is your EnServe username.
Assuming the shared folder exists and you are allowed access to it you will be prompted for your EnServe username and password (which is not neccessarily the same username and password you use to log into your computer).

You can also find the available shared folders using the Network Neighbourhood or My Network Places features of Windows and browsing the EnServe computer.

Which shared folders your can use from your computer depends on which workgroup your computer belongs to. In order to use the shared folders provided by the EnServe your computer usually has to be in the same workgroup as the EnServe. Your EnServe Administrator should be able to tell you what workgroup the EnServe belongs to.

Special Sub-Folders

Inside person or group's shared folder is a folder called public_html and inside that is a folder called private_html. These folders are used to make files available on the EnServe Intranet. You should not delete these folders.

Windows and Shared Files

Some later versions of Windows have a feature called Offline Files. When Offline Files is activated Windows regularly copies files in any shared folder that is mapped to a drive or location on your computer to your hard-drive. This is primarily for laptop users who want a copy of their shared folder when they disconnect from the network. If your computer is permanently connected to your network this is unnecessary. You can turn off the Offline Files service by opening Windows Explorer, then selecting Tools->Folder Options->Offline Files and unticking Enable Offline Files. Offline Files can be turned on and off for individual shared folders by opening Windows Explorer, browsing to the shared folder and selecting Tools->Synchronise.

Advanced Tricks with Shared Folders

Using a shared folder for My Documents.
You can set your Windows My Documents folder to use your shared folder on the EnServe. This means that, for example, if you have to re-install Windows or your hard-drive or computer dies you don't have to worry about losing the files in your My Documents folder as they are stored on the EnServe. It also means the EnServe will automatically backup your files and scan them for viruses if it has been set up to.
To do this right-click the My Documents icon on your desktop and choose properties and set the Target Folder Location to the path to your shared folder then click ok.
If prompted to copy existing files to the new location it is usually safest to say no so that existing files in your shared folder are not overwritten.
You can reset your My Documents folder to it's original setting by right-clicking the My Documents icon on your desktop, choosing properties and clicking the restore default option in the properties window.

Mapping a shared folder to a spare drive letter.
In Windows you can have a shared folder appear as a hard drive when browsing your computer. So you could assign, say, a shared group folder to a drive letter like e:\ to make accessing it easier and quicker.
To do this open Windows Explorer and click Tools then Map Network Drive, choose an unused drive letter and enter the path to the shared folder you want to have opened when you access that drive. If you do not log on to your computer using the same username and password you use for EnServe services you will need to use the Connect using a different user name option.
To remove this new drive letter open Windows Explorer and click Tools then Disconnect Network Drive.