Mapping a Network Drive - Windows

Overview

This article shows how to map folders to network drives.

Procedure

1. Open File Explorer. You can access File Explorer by typing this into the Window’s search bar, or by clicking the folder icon located on your task bar at the bottom of your screen.

[The word File Explorer is selected from the windows search bar along with the folder icon on the task bar]

2. While in File Explorer, right click “This PC” from the left navigation pane and select “Map network drive…”

[Map network drive... is selected from the "This PC" option in File Explorer]

The Map Network Drive screen appears.

(In Windows 11, after right clicking "This PC", click Show more options at the bottom to get the menu above)

3. Click the drop-down arrow and select an unused drive (a letter that is not linked to a path/blank) 

[Drive W: is selected from the Map Network Drive popup menu]

4. Type the full network drive path in the text box to the right of Folder: 

NOTE: If you don’t know the path to the folder but you do know which file server the folder is located on, just type in the server starting with \\ and ending with \

• Example: \\iacshome.win.rpi.edu\users$\(your RCS id)

If you don’t know the file server’s name, contact your system administrator.

5. Click the Browse… button.

[Browse button is selected from the Map Network Drive dialog box and iacsdept selected from the browse for folders feature]

6. Select the folder in the server that you want to map, and then click “OK”.

NOTE: If the folder you are looking for does not appear in the server’s file list, this does not mean that the folder is not there, but that it is hidden (hidden folders have a "$" at the end of their names). If this is the case, contact your system administrator to learn what the folder’s name is.

NOTE: If after you click the Browse button and you checked and you correctly typed the name of the but you do not see the server listed, you may not have permission to access this file server. To resolve this, contact your system administrator.

7. Click Finish. 

[Finish button selected from the Map Network Drive screen]

You should now see the folder mapped to the network drive that you selected. You can check this by clicking on “This PC” in File Explorer.

[Newly created drive mapped in File Explorer under "This PC"]

Creating a Shortcut for a Network Drive

1. Open File Explorer.

2. Right-click on the network drive you wish to create a shortcut to.

3. From the drop-down menu, select “Create shortcut”. 

(In Windows 11, you will need to select "Show more options" to get to this dropdown menu)

Your shortcut to this network drive will appear on your machine’s main/home screen.

You can also select “Pin to Start” to create a link on your start menu to this drive. This menu can be accessed when you click on the Windows icon located at the bottom left corner of your screen.

[Pin to Start and Create shortcut options selected from the right click shortcut menu]

4. Choose Yes to place on the desktop if this message appears.

Training Video

Mapping a Network Drive

Last Reviewed: 02-Nov-2022