Setup TC as network hard drive?

Question

How would I setup my TC as a network hard drive to store and retrieve my files at will?

Answer 1

Let's go over things so that you understand the upsides and downsides to doing this.
The Time Capsule was designed for your backups...not everyday files. While you can store data separately on the Time Capsule, as a network drive,  access is going to be on the slow side compared to a drive that is directly attached to your Mac.
Time Machine will not be able to backup files that you store on the Time Capsule disk, so you will need to use an application like Chronosync or Carbon Copy Cloner that has the ability to backup files on a network drive to another destination.
We'll assume that you have the Time Capsule already set up for Time Machine backups.
On your Mac, click anywhere on the open desktop so that the Finder menus are displayed at the top of the screen. Click the Finder menu, then click Preferences, then click General.
Under the heading of "Show these items on the desktop", make sure that there is a check mark next to "Connected Servers"
Open Macintosh HD or the Finder and look for the Time Capsule icon under the SHARED heading on the left side of the window. Click on the Time Capsule and a folder will appear just to the right. Double click that folder to mount the drive on the desktop.
The first time that you do this, you will likely have to click "Connect As" in the upper right hand area of the window and enter the Time Capsule device password.
If you click the gear icon in the window at the center of the screen, you can click New Folder for document storage. You can create as many folders as you want. Users will access the Time Capsule drive the same way.