How to share a folder in Windows 11

How to share a folder in Windows 11

To access the shared folder, which will be set up in the following instructions (with the exception of Method 3 ), you will need to set up sharing in Windows 11 on all the computers you use on the local network. This is quite simple, but we still recommend reading a separate guide on the topic on our website by clicking on the following link.

Method 1: Default folder sharing settings

Let’s start with the most basic sharing settings that apply to any folder in Windows 11. They will suit most users who do not have special preferences and requirements for the directories that they want to share with other members of the local network. You can see a detailed description of the actions required to perform it below.

    1. Find a directory that’s suitable for sharing, or create one from scratch. Right-click on it and select “Properties” from the context menu .
    2. In the new window, go to the “Access” tab and click the “Sharing” button to go to the list of available settings.
    1. If you don’t have a preference for setting sharing restrictions for specific users, all you have to do is select Everyone to configure or select default options.
    2. However, you can expand the list and select any user among all that your operating system will detect.
    3. For each added user or group, you can set the permission to read-only or write files to the shared folder. The “Delete” item is designed to remove a user from public access.
    4. When finished, be sure to click “Share” to activate the sharing of the selected directory. You can perform the same actions with all other required folders.
  1. You will be notified where the shared directory is available. Memorize it or pass it on to other users on your local network so that they can quickly navigate to this directory.
  2. At the same time, you can open your computer on the network yourself and make sure that the folder is displayed in the list of available ones. The same should be seen by other users when connecting.

Method 2: Advanced folder sharing settings

Now let’s touch on the topic of additional settings for sharing a folder, which may be useful for advanced users. It is about setting up the simultaneous number of users and permissions for each individual group or account. All this will be extremely relevant for system administrators who configure both access levels and distribute the load on the network while simultaneously accessing files.

    1. In the same way, right-click on the desired folder and select “Properties” from the context menu .
  1. On the tab “Access” click on the button “Advanced settings” . You must have administrator rights to access the settings.
  2. Check the box “Share this folder” to share the directory with other users.
  3. Next, choose a name for this resource, or add more than one if the situation requires it.
  4. The number of concurrents can also be limited to one if you are interested in setting limits on editing or reading files. It is not necessary to add a note, it is only for convenience if you need to put any comments.
  5. Next, it’s time to go to the access settings for each group and profiles, for which you need to click on “Permissions” .
  6. By default, you will see the standard group “Everyone” and “Administrators” . You can grant both full access, and limit yourself to reading only.
  7. To add accounts to the list, click on the button with the appropriate name.
  8. You can enter the name of the object yourself, and then click Check Names to make sure you entered it correctly.
  9. If you are not sure if you know the exact names of groups and users, click on “Advanced” .
  10. In the new window, click “Search” to start the process of scanning all available objects.
  11. From the list, select the groups or accounts you need, then confirm adding them to share this folder.
  12. Highlight a profile in the list and set permissions. Do the same for all other objects.

Method 3: Sharing folder access via OneDrive

OneDrive is Microsoft’s pre-installed cloud storage in Windows 11 that can both back up your files and help you share them between your contacts or computers on the network. We suggest using this tool as an alternative to standard sharing, but first you need to enable the storage and perform basic settings, which you can read about in the next article.

Read more: What to do if there is a conflict of ip addresses Windows 11

After you have connected your account to OneDrive, the main functions of this cloud storage are opened for you, and automatic backup of some files is also started. The following instructions will deal exclusively with transferring a folder for use by other accounts via email or from your contact list.

  1. Open “Start” , search for OneDrive through the search and launch this application.
  2. Use the appeared window “Explorer” to find the desired folder to send.
  3. Click on it with the right mouse button and through the context menu select the action “Submit” by clicking on the button highlighted in the following image.
  4. You can get a link and send it to everyone or add contacts and addresses to the list.
  5. If you go to the advanced settings, you can set restrictions so that only specified users have access, as well as choose whether they can modify files or only view them. Along with this, you can specify the time the folder is available and the password to enter it.
  6. When distributing a link to a folder, you will need to copy it if you are not going to send it to contacts through the sharing settings form.
  7. If you select contacts to send, you’ll get a list of contacts, or you can click Find More People to quickly search the built-in OneDrive history.