How to Access Ubuntu Shared Folders from Windows 7

In my last tutorial, I showed you how to connect to a Windows 7 shared folding using Ubuntu. But what if your shared folder is on your Ubuntu PC and you need to access it from Windows 7? This tutorial will explain how to access Ubuntu shared folders from a Windows 7 PC, and how to map the remote shared server to a local drive that you can access easily.

Step 1: Configure the Computers on the Same Workgroup

In order for Ubuntu and Windows 7 to share files, they have to be configured on the same workgroup.

To change your Windows 7 workgroup, see: How to Change the Workgroup in Windows 7.
To change your Ubuntu workgroup, see: How to Change the Workgroup in Ubuntu Linux to Work with Windows.

Once the workgroup is set up to be the same on both computers, proceed to step 2 to set up your shared folder.

Step 2: Configure Shared Folders

The process of sharing a folder in Ubuntu is quite simple. Right-click your folder and select 'Sharing Options', which will bring up the 'Folder Sharing' configuration options. From here, check the box next to 'Share this Folder'. When the dialog box comes up, enter the following settings:

• Share name - the name under which the folder will appear on the network;
• Comment - optional field to describe the shared folder;
• 'Allow others to create and delete files in this folder' - if you want people accessing this share to be able to add and remove files, check this box;
• Guest access - enable users without a Samba account to access the folder (NOTE: creating individual Samba users is outside the scope of this tutorial. For information on how to do this, please see this simple three-step tutorial).

Finally, click 'Create Share' to save your changes. When you do this, you may see another window pop up asking if you want to modify permissions in order to share the folder. Click 'Add the permissions automatically'.

Step 3: Access the Shared Folder from Windows 7

To access the shared folder from your Windows PC, go to 'Start > Computer', and click Network on the left-hand window.

Alternatively, you can also search for the word network in the Start Menu search box and click on the appropriate search result.

On the right side of the window, you'll see a list of all the computers on the network, including your Ubuntu PC.

Double-click on the computer name, and you'll see your shared folder listed.

Step 4: Mapping the Shared Folder (Optional)

You can map the shared folder as a network drive in order to easily access it from your Computer menu as you do for your 'C:' drive, CD-ROMs, etc. You can find more information about this in our tutorial on Mapping Network Drives in Windows 7.

Conclusion

On a Windows 7 and Ubuntu network, you can configure Ubuntu to share files and folders to be easily accessible by a Windows PC. If you want to know more about setting up other PCs on a local network, or how to further utilize the networking features between Linux and Windows 7, check out the articles listed below.

Related articles:

How to Access Windows 7 Shared Folders from Ubuntu
How to Change the Workgroup in Ubuntu Linux to Work with Windows
Accessing Shared Partitions from Ubuntu & Windows 7
How to Access A Windows Shared Printer from Ubuntu
How to Change the Workgroup in Windows 7
How to Customize Network Sharing Settings in Windows 7