Problem with Sharing My Pictures by Two Users

LeighTwo · 04 Sep 2010

I am just trying this forum for the first time. I have a problem with sharing on our home computer. My wife and I each have administrator user accounts on our new Dell computer, each of us with our individual password, and I want her to be able to see and use the pictures and folders that I have placed in the Picture Library on my user's site My Pictures. I have read up on sharing and have gone to Advanced Sharing options and marked the 100 picture folders I have in My Pictures for her to be able to share and see those folders. Yet when she has gotten on the computer and entered her user site and password those pictures do not appear on her MY Pictures. I have found that she can see picture folders and use them when I have placed them, on my site, in Public Pictures. So I have an alternative way to get pictures to her. But I would like to share the My Pictures folder instead and I have tried every way to get it to work. But it doesn't work. I suspect there is a glich with picture sharing in Windows 7 but I don't know for sure. Can anyone tell me if there is a way to fix the problem. I am certain that I have marked the folders for sharing correctly but it does not work. Could it be that since we are both Admistrator Users that it won't work. Please advise. LeighTwo

Combine · 05 Sep 2010

Hi LeighTwo, and welcome to Sevenforums.
It seems to be a permissions problem. What are permissions? The way to control folders in the NTFS system of Windows. Where I could see them? Let's say that every folder has permissions, so to see them just follow this: Rigth clic on the folder -> Properties -> Security.
Here is an example of how it looks (My Windows is in Spanish, so where it says "Seguridad" it is "Security" for you):

Problem with Sharing My Pictures by Two Users-pestana.jpg

As you notice, just under where it says "System" (highlighted in blue) you can see my User acount (Agustin). So what does it mean? That no other user has access to my folders (exept the System that is not a "human user"), in this case My Pictures folder. It is the case in which, altougth I tried to share files, other users won't see them. So what you should do: add your wife's user acount with the properly permissions in the security tab. Here is the way:

1) Rigth clic on the folder -> Properties -> Security

2) Clic on Edit ("Editar" in my Windows).

Problem with Sharing My Pictures by Two Users-post.jpg

3) Clic on Add ("Agregar" in my Windows).

Problem with Sharing My Pictures by Two Users-post1.jpg

4) Write your wife's account in the blank place (just the name of the account; for example my account is "Agustin" so I just need to write "Agustin" in the blank place).

Problem with Sharing My Pictures by Two Users-post2.jpg

5) Clic "Ok" in each window to submit changes. Here is the new user show in the properties window (in my case the new user is Dana).

Problem with Sharing My Pictures by Two Users-post-4.jpg

At this point you are able to share your folder with the user you give permissions.

I read you know how to share files so try it or post back for more help.

By default, Windows give some permissions but not all of them, so if you want the other user be able to modify the contents in the shared folder or another thing that has to do with permissions, you need to mark the especific permission for it.

For example, I want that user "Dana" be able to have all the permission. So if I mark "Total Control" permission, it will mark all the permissions. Of course this must be done in the rigth colum of permissions, which is the one under where it is readable the "Allow" word ("Permitir" in my Windows).

Problem with Sharing My Pictures by Two Users-post3.jpg

I hope it helps you. In case of any doubt, just post back, we are here to help.

LeighTwo · 07 Sep 2010

I tried your solution of going and modifying the permissions, and found that did not solve my problelm. As a matter of fact, I had already fixed the permissions table to include my wife and had applied them. And when applied the computer took some time to apply the new permission to share with my wife. But when we changed from my user site to hers, the pictures to be shared never showed on her version of My Pictures. So I think there is something wrong with Windows 7, in that it has some glitch. The way to share pictures for us is that I put picture folders into Public Pictures on my site and they do show up on her site's Public Pictures folder. But that is not the solution I prefer. I am open to any suggestions, as I have tried everything I can find out about though Windows Help. Please let me know any other advice anyone may have. LeighTwo

chev65 · 07 Sep 2010

Why would your pictures appear under your wife's My Pictures folder? The My pictures,My documents etc. folders are User folders not Homegroup folders, although it is possible to share the entire User folder, it doesn't work like the Homegroup folders.

The Homegroup "Pictures" folder needs to be accessed by going to the folder icon lower left on the taskbar, then choose Homegroups>User name> Pictures folder, this is where you both can share the Homegroups pictures folder, this assumes you have the permissions set correctly. Notice that it's not showing as "My Pictures" under Homegroups but instead is just the "Pictures" folder.

The Network tab>User name> "My Pictures" folder isn't the same as the Homegroup "Pictures" folder.

The network tab "My Pictures" folder is accessed by going to the little folder icon "taskbar lower left">"Network" tab> User name "Wife-PC"> Users>My Pictures folder. You can share this entire set of User folders or just one of them "My Pictures,My Documents etc. by right clicking the User folder and setting up the usual permissions. Both sets of folders need to be shared seperately, Homegroups and User folders.

Also rememeber that the Homegroup folders only represent folders that reside in your User folders, they aren't the actual folder themselfs. Otherwise you would need to have them stored in both places which would take up twice as much disk space.

LeighTwo · 07 Sep 2010

Thanks for your reply and help. But I wonder if I am using an up to date version of Windows 7, which I installed when it first came out. I can get to Homegroup by going to the Windows Explorer icon on the task bar, which has an icon with a group of folders on it, but from there I cannot get to any Homegroup Pictures. In fact I doubt If I have any pictures there. But my goal is to have My Pictures in my Pictures Library shared with my wife on her user site on our one computer. I have gone to users and then to My Pictures on my user site and set up permissions and sharing access correctly and so I expected my wife on her user site, after entering her password, to see the pictures I marked for sharing, all within My Pictures, yet she sees none of those picture folders with their enclosed pictures. I have by trial and error placed two or three picture folders on my site in Public Pictures and we do share those. That is the only way to share pictures until I solve the access problem.

Barman58 · 07 Sep 2010

Just to check the facts here the folders you wish to share are on two different accounts on the same win7 computer?

Both are administrator level accounts?

Assuming this is true homegroup should not be involved, as this is a network sharing system between two or more computers

in your wife's account - open the libraries from the taskbar icon.

right click on the pictures library in the navigation pane (left hand list) and select properties

in the screen that appears click on the add a folder button.

In the selector navigate to the C:\users folders then you should see your user listed, select this then the pictures folder and select add.

You may have to confirm access to these folders if permissions have not been fully set correctly but the admin account rights should allow this

This adds your pictures to her pictures library, which I believe what you are looking for