FAQ Friday: Creating a UNC Path

A new article has been posted to the TAM Retail blog by Derek Young:

Question: What is an UNC Path and what is it used for?

Answer:  A UNC path, or Universal Naming Convention, is simply a shared folder on a computer. The purpose for this folder is so when you upgrade, the registers and back office computers know where the upgrade file is and can connect to it. An example of an UNC path is \\ComputerName\SharedFolder.

Please follow the steps below for creating a UNC path:

1. From your desktop screen, left click on the start button.  From the start button, left click on computer.  Double click on the (C:) drive (Local Disk).

2. Right click an empty space anywhere in the window.  Select new and then folder from the drop down menu.  Name the new folder “TAM UPGRADES.”

3. Right click the TAM UPGRADES folder and select properties from the drop down menu.

4. Choose the security tab.  Under the “group or user names” frame, click edit.

5. Under the group or user names frame, click Add.

6.  In the “enter the object names to select” text box, type “Everyone.”  Click OK.  Once you click OK, you will be taken back to the permissions window. In the Permissions for Everyone window frame, check the Full control check box.

7.  Click Apply, and then click OK.  Choose the Sharing tab.

8. Click the “Share…” button, and then in the lower right part of the window, click Share.

9. You will see a window stating that your folder is shared.  Below this, under Individual Items, your UNC path will be displayed.  It will start with two backslashes that look like this: \\.  Write this path down for your own records.

10. Click Done, then click Close.

That is all there is to creating your shared UNC path.

If you have any further questions about this blog post or other questions concerning your TAM software, please contact us.  We can be reached by phone at 866-435-7826 or by email at help@tamretail.com.