Mapping a Drive to a Network Folder
When you work with other people, it’s often useful to share files on a network. If you need to connect to the same network folder regularly, you can map a drive to it. When you do this, Windows displays a drive, marked with your chosen letter, that you can use to connect to the network folder quickly and easily.
Follow these steps to map a drive to a network folder:
- Open a File Explorer window. For example, click File Explorer on the Taskbar.
Choose Home, New, Easy Access, Map as Drive to display the Map Network Drive dialog box (see Figure 3.16).
FIGURE 3.16 In the Map Network Drive dialog box, specify the drive, choose the folder, and choose options for reconnection and credentials.
Click the Drive drop-down menu and choose the drive letter you want to assign. Windows starts with Z: (if it is as yet unassigned) and walks backward from there, but you can choose any available drive letter.
In the Folder box, enter the address of the folder to which you want to map the drive. You can type in the address if you know it verbatim, or paste it in if you have somewhere from which you can copy it, but usually it’s easiest to click Browse, locate and select the folder in the Browse for Folder dialog box, and then click OK.
Check the Reconnect at Sign-In check box if you want Windows to connect automatically to this folder each time you sign in. You’d do this for a folder you connect to every day with your desktop computer at work, but normally you will be better off connecting manually on a laptop or a tablet that you use in multiple locations.
- Check the Connect Using Different Credentials check box if you need to provide different credentials for the folder than the credentials you’re using for Windows.
Click Finish. If you checked the Connect Using Different Credentials check box, Windows displays the Windows Security dialog box (see Figure 3.17); continue with the next steps. If not, Windows connects to the folder; skip the rest of the steps in this list.
FIGURE 3.17 In the Windows Security dialog box, type your user name and password for the server, check the Remember My Credentials check box if necessary, and then click OK.
- Type your user name for the server.
- Type your password for the server.
- Check the Remember My Credentials check box if you don’t want to have to enter them next time.
- Click OK. The Windows Security dialog box closes, and Windows connects to the folder.