How To Share Files On WinMX 3.31 or 3.53



Sharing files on WinMX is easy to do and doesn't take that much time, that said, on these versions it's more of a chore & takes more maintaining than on 3.54, also the default setup does need some tweaks.  Some of us prefer it, it does allow you to know the shared/unshared status of a file simply by it's location.

Note: Before we start NEVER use the Scan For Media button, it will share all kinds of shite from all over your pc & make a total mess. If you do accidentally or have innocently used it, the quickest fix is to open the WinMX program folder & DELETE library.dat then restart WinMX & begin the sharing process over.

By default WinMX shares the incoming files folder, so you're probably sharing it already, by default this is
C:\Documents and Settings\%USERNAME%\My Documents\My Music\ and only a few file types.

This has some serious drawbacks:
1) Security: If anyone browses your shares & click "Show Full Paths" your computer account name is exposed, they see something like:
C:\Documents and Settings\Bill Gates\My Documents\My Music\Weird Al - Windows 95 Sucks.mp3
So if your account has your full name, & your ISP allocates IP addresses by location (as most do) these two bits of information MAY be enough to trace you, NOT GOOD.

2) Long Path: WinMX Can only handle filenames up to a certain length and the path counts, often if you try to download something with a longish name you get an error:
C:\Documents and Settings\Esmerelda Hermione Bentwhistle\My Documents\My Music\My Live performances at the club\Drunken\Esmerelda Hermione Bentwhistle - Kareoke at the Club - 'There's A Guy Works Down The Chipshop Swears He's Elvis (But He's A Liar and I'm Not Sure About You)' - {originally by Kirsty McColl}.mp3
Try to download that from Esmerelda & you'll get an error, even though she thinks she's sharing it, so we need to alter things.

3) Incomplete Files Shared: By default WinMX shares all the file types you've set even before you finish downloading them, this could be useful to get a start on a huge file someone only has half of, but it's far from ideal after all you don't want to be sharing
INCOMPLETE - Some Software That's Infected By A Virus But I Couldn't Scan Yet Because It Hasn't Finished.zip
or
INCOMPLETE - Fake Song Flooded By Macrovision So My Share Adds To The Flood.mp3



First we have to decide where we want to download to & share from, I recommend making some special folders for it:
Open My Computer and double click your hard disk.
Tip: If you have more than one hard disk, it's better to choose the one that doesn't have Windows on it, that way when Windows inevitably screws up, formatting & reinstalling leaves all your shared files safe :-)

Right click in some empty space & choose New > Folder.



Now type a name for your new Incoming Folder, and repeat the process for your shared one



You now have your location prepared, time to move your files to their new home..
Double click your new shared folder, then minimize that and open your music folder, so both are open on the desktop..



Then simply cut and paste files (or whole folders) from where they are to their new home.  
Tip: dragging will work if the folders are on the same drive, if not dragging copies rather than moving them.



Then open the new incompletes folder & do the same with any incomplete files you may have.


OK, so now we have our share organised, Time to set WinMX up to use it.. on the main transfers screen hit the shared button.



Then the Share Folder Button:



In the box that pops up, click the + beside the hard disk where you made the new shared folder, and click on that folder.



Anytime you wish to share another folder, this is the process, however, be careful what's in any folder you share, temporarily sharing "My Pictures" will lead to them all being shared, including embarrassing ones, you don't have the degree of control 3.54b4 offers, if it's a shared type in an indicated folder WinMX will share it.

Now we have to unshare our old incoming folder, & this shows the process for any other folder we wish to unshare.  There is an Unshare Folder button, but if you have many folders shared using it can become cumbersome, as the list to pick from will run off the screen & have to be scrolled.  I recommend clicking the folder involved in the lower shared files window (to highlight it), then right clicking & picking "Un-share folder" from the context menu.



Repeat for any sub-folders still shared.... & that's the basic shares organised.


Changing the incoming folder:  (we moved it remember.. seems ages ago)

First hit the Settings button.



In the settings screen select File Transfers in the left pane and then click the "Change" button top right.
Note: There are a few settings you may like to adjust while your on this screen.  As you can see this is also the place to turn OFF that annoying warning whenever you want to download an exe or zip file if you choose to, but take particular care to have & use anti virus software if you do.  Also the last four time options you see here should be set to '300' seconds instead of the default '45'.



Now Find the Incoming Folder the exact same way we did with the new shared folder.





Well that's the basic setup covered, When you return to the Main transfers window, don't forget click the Load Incomplete button to get any incomplete files back on the screen



Don't forget to right click them and reset the values for Auto Find Sources and Auto Enter Queue.. as they will load with both values blank, which means WinMX won't look for them or reload them next time you start.

So now let's deal with the next most common sharing question:

How do I share my .mp4 .wma  or <insert weird filetype> files?
(You can share .wma files, but We don't advise it, they contain trackable information about you)
On the same Shared files screen we've been using, hit the Shared File Types button.




In the screen that comes up you can tick or untick any of the default types or add others, including those .iwf (insert weird filetype) files i know you long to share, by typing the extensions in the bottom bar separated by spaces.



Lastly

Don't forget you have to move all those new downloads from Incoming to Shared folders, after they complete and you've checked them out! I know it's a bit of a chore, but at least it encourages you to keep it all neatly organised in folders.  They will then share either next time you start WinMX, or as soon as the scan finishes if you hit the Refresh button on the shared files page.


Really Lastly:
WinMX can't handle files over 2GB in size, if you MUST transfer or share bigger files, you'll have to zip or rar them using the split archive options into chunks under 2GB (DVD images just aren't going to go whole).

If you connect as a Secondary WinMX will only actually share a MAXIMUM of 3000 files.

If you connect as a Primary WinMX will only actually share a MAXIMUM of 5000 files.

Many people share text files containing lists of their offline files, so others can download them & see what else can be requested by PM, or lists of their entire share.  If it's organised as outlined above a fast way to generate such a list, including unshared sub-folders, would be to open an MS-DOS / Command window, type: cd\ hit <enter> type: CD MX Shared (or whatever you named your share folder) hit <enter> then type: Dir /s > Sharelist.txt (or whatever you wish to call the list) hit <enter> when the C:\>_ reappears, you will have a complete list, including path and size information, in the MX Shared (or whatever) directory.

This tutorial is thanks to Bearded Blunder, Many thanks for all your hard work!!

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