Share Names With a "$" Character at the End Are Hidden

Last reviewed: November 21, 1994
Article ID: Q90929

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows for Workgroups versions 3.1, 3.11

SUMMARY

When sharing directories or drives with Windows for Workgroups, if a dollar sign ($) character is added to the end of a share name, the share name does not appear in a browsed list of available shares on the server.

If you know the full name of the hidden share, you can access it normally by typing its name with a $ at the end.

MORE INFORMATION

For example, if drive C: is shared as ROOT$ on the machine SERVER, then ROOT$ does not appear when SERVER is browsed by a workstation. However, if a user enters \\SERVER\ROOT$ as the path in the Connect Network Drive dialog box, the user can connect to the hidden server.

This functionality is also supported in LAN Manager.

KBCategory: kbnetwork kbusage
KBSubcategory: wfw wfwg
Additional reference words: 3.1 3.10 wfwg win31 hide

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Last reviewed: November 21, 1994
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