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2.2. Networking and Sharing Center

What is the Networking and Sharing Center?

This panel is the entrance point to any networking task. Therefore, in this article we will show you what is the Network and Sharing Center, how to launch it and which are the main tasks you can do starting from here. Simply put, the Network and Sharing Center is the control panel from where all networking settings and tasks can be launched in Windows 7.

The Network and Sharing Center can be launched using several methods. The 'shortest' way is to launch the Run window by pressing the Windows key + R, type control.exe /name Microsoft.NetworkAndSharingCenter and click OK.

A second alternative is to click on the network icon from the right side of the taskbar and then on'Open Network and Sharing Center'.

The third way is to go to Control Panel -> Network and Internet -> Network and Sharing Center.

Tasks which are Launched from Networking and Sharing Center

The Network and Sharing Center window is split in two. On the left side there is a column with shortcuts to tasks such as: managing your wireless networks, changing settings for all network adapters and changing network sharing settings. On the bottom left side there are shortcuts to the HomeGroup settings panel, to the Internet Options panel and to the Windows Firewall control panel.

On the right there is a big white area split in two parts. The upper-side shows you basic information about your current network connection: the name of the active network, access type and the HomeGroup to which your computer belongs. The lower-side contains links towards wizards which help you do the following: setup a new connection or network, connect to another network, change HomeGroup and sharing settings and troubleshoot problems.