Sharing a Directory on Your Local Network

Permissions

Before sharing a directory, it’s important to ensure that the correct permissions are set. To share a directory, the user account that you use must have read and write permissions for that directory. To set permissions, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click the directory that you want to share.
  2. Click Properties.
  3. Click the Sharing tab.
  4. Click Advanced Sharing.
  5. Click Permissions.
  6. Add the user accounts that you want to share with, and set their permissions as desired.

Using Microsoft Accounts

If you are using Microsoft accounts, you can share a directory with other Microsoft account users over your local network. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click the directory that you want to share.
  2. Click Properties.
  3. Click the Sharing tab.
  4. Click Advanced Sharing.
  5. Check the box for “Share this folder”.
  6. Enter a name for the share.
  7. Click Permissions.
  8. Add the Microsoft account users that you want to share with, and set their permissions as desired.

The Network Center

The network center can sometimes be unreliable, especially when sharing a directory over a local network. If possible avoid it altogether.

Mapping via IP to a Network Drive

To map a directory to a network drive, follow these steps:

  1. Open File Explorer.
  2. Click This PC.
  3. Click Map network drive.
  4. Choose a drive letter.
  5. Enter the IP address of the computer that is sharing the directory, followed by the name of the shared directory.
  6. Check the box for “Reconnect at sign-in”.
  7. Click Finish.

Quick Access Shortcut

To create a quick access shortcut to a shared directory, follow these steps:

  1. Open File Explorer.
  2. Navigate to the shared directory.
  3. Right-click the shared directory.
  4. Click “Pin to Quick access”.

With these steps, you should be able to successfully share a directory over your local network.