When you have several computers connected to the internet or connected to the same modem-router in an office or home, they can talk to each other and share files. However, file sharing between PCs and Windows, Linux and Mac computers may not be so automatic because each operating system has security settings which, on the one hand, protect the computer on the network, on the other, prevent easy sharing configuration.
Fortunately, thanks to the SMB (Samba) protocol, all computers, whatever operating system they use, can communicate with each other and share files without having to use any special software.
Windows uses SMB for file sharing while Mac and the most popular Linux distributions have incorporated support for SMB.
In this guide we see how to enable file sharing and how to access shared folders on any computer, be it Windows, Linux or Mac.
1) Share a folder in Windows
To share a folder of files on a Windows PC so that it is visible and navigable from other computers , file and printer sharing must be activated.
The function is found in Control Panel -> Network and Sharing Center -> Change advanced sharing settings .
From here you need to activate " network discovery " and " file and printer sharing ".
From this screen you can change other options to share public folders on the network without requiring a password (you must click where " All networks " is written)
Once network sharing is activated, find the file folder you want to share, right click on it, go to the Properties and in the sharing tab press the Share button and configure the permissions.
If you were all using Windows 7 and 8 computers, you could use the file sharing function with homegroup.
To view shared folders from a Windows PC, you need to open the network resources folder in Windows Explorer.
The quickest way is to press the Windows-R keys together to bring up the Run box and run the command \\ 127.0.0.1 .
It is also possible to connect directly to a computer whose name or IP address is known to view its shared folders and access files.
Just type in the address of a folder \\ Computer-Name or the IP address and press Enter.
READ ALSO: Help sharing files and printers on a network between Windows computers
2) Share a folder on Mac OS X
To enable network file sharing on Mac, open system preferences from the Apple logo, and click the sharing icon to activate file sharing.
From Options, verify that " File and folder sharing via SMB " is enabled.
Then use the shared folders column to choose the folders to be shared and the users column to choose which users and groups can access these files.
READ ALSO: Remote connection from Mac to Windows, FTP server and WebDav
Access a shared folder from Mac
Open the Mac Finder, click Go in the top menu and select Connect to server .
Then write the address replacing NAME-COMPUTER with the name of the Windows computer:
smb: // COMPUTER-NAME .
It is also possible to write the local IP address of the other computer instead of its name.
You will be asked to authenticate with your credentials or log in as a guest.
After the first connection, that computer will be displayed in the Shared column in the sidebar of the Finder.
To automatically connect to the shared folder each time, open the System Preferences window, navigate to users and groups -> Login Items and drag the network share into the Login Items list.
READ ALSO: Share folders between Mac and Windows
3) Share a folder on Linux
You can easily use the desktop file manager to share a folder on Linux.
For example, on Ubuntu 14.04 you can use the Nautilus file manager.
By opening the file manager, just click on the folder you want to share on the network and select Properties.
On the sharing tab, activate it.
The first time you will be asked to download and install the Samba software.
After installing the Samba software, you need to configure the sharing settings and click on Create sharing .
On this blog specializing in Linux there are detailed instructions for installing Samba and sharing folders from the terminal
Access a folder shared by Linux
Open the Linux desktop file manager and locate the local area network icon to locate and access folders shared by other computers.
Click on the Browse Network option in the side bar of the file manager.
To connect directly to a computer, go to Connect to server in Nautilus and enter the path of the remote computer like this with this formula smb: // COMPUTER-NAME .
The connection will require authentication with the username and password of that computer.
READ ALSO: How to access shared folders on the network from Android
