With the introduction of the new Windows 11, sharing files or folders is becoming easier than ever before. But, when it comes to tracking down which folder is shared over all the different computers, things become a little bit tricky. In this article, we have discussed three easy but effective ways to view all the shared folders in a network in Windows 11, 10.
How to view all the shared folders in a network in Windows 11
There are three ways you can do it. These are –
Way 1 – Using the File Explorer
Way 2 – Using the Computer Management
Way 3 – Using the Command Prompt
Way 1 – Using the File Explorer
The best and easiest way to view the folder shared over with which computers in a network is to use File Explorer.
1. At first, press the Windows key+E keys together.
2. Then, tap on the “Network” on the left-hand side. Now, wait for all the devices on the network to load up.
3. In the ‘Computer’ section, you will notice the connected devices on the network.
4. Just double-click on the device you want to see what folders you are sharing.
5. On the right-hand side, you will find all the shared files, users with the computer you are checking.
Way 2 – Using the Computer Management
The most efficient way to see the shared folders is to use Computer Management.
1. At first, press the Windows key+X keys together.
2. Then, tap on “Computer Management” to open it up.
3. Once the Computer Management opens up, follow this path on the left-hand side ~
System Tools > Shared Folders > Shares
4. Now, on the right-hand pane, you will notice all the shared folders.
5. It will also mention ‘Folder Path‘, ‘Description‘, ‘Client Connection‘.
6. If you want to tweak some settings of the particular folder, you can just do it by double-clicking on the folder from the list.
7. Except these folders share information, you can also take a look at which computers are connected on the network at present.
8. To do so, just select “Sessions” from the left-hand pane.
This will open up the list of connected computers on the center pane.
9. Finally, if you want to take a look at which files are being used by the users on the network, select the “Open Files“.
This way you can easily take a look at which files, folders are being shared on your network.
Way 3 – Using the Command Prompt
There is another way to view the shared file users on the network.
1. Press the Windows key from the keyboard and type “cmd“.
2. Then, right-click on the “Command Prompt” and tap on “Run as administrator” to open the Command Prompt terminal.
3. To view the shared folders information, just type this code in the terminal and hit Enter.
net share
Here you can notice all the necessary information about the files/folders shared with other users along with destination and further remarks.
How to disable the File Sharing feature
After seeing which files/folders are shared, you may want to disable the file-sharing feature on your system. You can easily do it following these steps.
1. At first, press the Windows key+R keys together.
2. Then, paste this command and click on “OK“.
control.exe /name Microsoft.NetworkAndSharingCenter
3. Now, click on “Change advanced sharing center settings”.
4. When the Network and Sharing Center window opens up, expand the “Private” network section.
5. Here you will notice the ‘File and printer sharing‘. Just check the “Turn off file and printer sharing“.
5. In the ‘All Networks’ section, you will find the “Public folder sharing” center.
6. Then, check the “Turn off Public folder sharing (people logged on to this computer can still access these folders)“.
7. Finally click on “Save changes” to save these changes on your computer.
This will block other users from accessing the files from your computer.