{"id":863,"date":"2021-09-21T16:00:48","date_gmt":"2021-09-21T16:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.practicallynetworked.com\/?page_id=863"},"modified":"2021-10-05T16:59:23","modified_gmt":"2021-10-05T16:59:23","slug":"beyond-simple-file-sharing-using-mapped-drives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.practicallynetworked.com\/beyond-simple-file-sharing-using-mapped-drives\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond Simple File Sharing: Using Mapped Drives"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Eric Geier<\/b><\/p>\n

The\u00a0previous tutorial in this series<\/a>\u00a0demonstrated how to create hidden shares so others on the network are unable to see them. This tutorial continues the discussion on advanced sharing techniques, concentrating on how to make shared resources much more accessible. Learn how to save time and some clicks of the mouse by mapping a drive to a shared folder or drive on the network \u2014 which would be called a mapped network drive.<\/p>\n

Why Use Mapped Drives?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Related Articles<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00bb\u00a0Beyond Simple File Sharing: Using Hidden Shares<\/a><\/span>
\n\u00bb\u00a0Seven Tips for Safely Sharing Your Access Point<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Learn about\u00a0Sharing<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Mapping network drives certainly saves time and energy in the long run when it comes to shared folders or drives on the network accessed regularly. It pays to make them more accessible in My Computer (or just Computer in Vista) and in dialog boxes where you select files.<\/p>\n

When you map a network drive, you are essentially creating a shortcut to a certain shared folder or drive, masked as a drive. You assign the mapped network drive a drive letter, anything from A to Z that’s not already assigned to other drives (such as A, C, D or E) on the computer.<\/p>\n

Figure 1 is an example of how a mapped network drive (assigned with the drive letter X) looks in Computer and in the Open dialog box of Microsoft Word.\"\"<\/p>\n

Figure 1
\nMapped Network Drive<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

(Click for larger image<\/a>)<\/div>\n

This shows how much more accessible shared resources can be when using mapped network drives. Instead of having to double-click Network to bring up the Network window and double-click DESKTOP>My Folder>My Sub Folder, all I have to do is double-click Computer and double-click on the mapped network drive icon. This saves me two double-clicks every time I access the My Sub Folder, giving me a bit more time to do something much more productive.<\/p>\n

Mapping Drives in Windows<\/h4>\n

You have several ways to go about creating a mapped network drive, which are the same in all versions and editions of Windows (2000, XP and Vista). The following steps sequence the method of right-clicking on the shared folder or drive you want to map as a drive:<\/p>\n