Enabling Anonymous Access in SharePoint 2007

Even though Microsoft has done a great job on improving the user interface in SharePoint 2007, some things are still buried and require a little “black magic” to get done. In this entry I’ll show you how to enable anonymous access on your site.

First, you need to enable anonymous on the IIS web site (called a Web Application in SharePoint land). This can be done by:

Launching Internet Information Services Manager from the Start -> Administration Tools menu
Select the web site, right click and select Properties
Click on the Directory Security tab
Click on Edit in the Authentication and access control section
Instead we’ll do it SharePoint style using the Central Administration section:

First get to your portal. Then under “My Links” look for “Central Administration” and select it.
In the Central Administration site select “Application Management” either in the Quick Launch or across the top tabs
Select “Authentication Providers” in the “Application Security” section
Click on the “Default” zone (or whatever zone you want to enable anonymous access for)
Under “Anonymous Access” click the check box to enable