This post shows students and new users the steps to share a user’s public folder on Ubuntu with Windows 11 systems using Samba. Every Ubuntu user home directory has a public folder. The folder is called Public and it is not shared by default, however you can easily share this folder with other people on your local network.
When you share the Public folder, users who are directly connected to your local network will be able to browse and access it. While sharing it, you can also choose to share so that guests (people without a user account) can also access it.
To share with Windows systems, Samba must be installed. Samba is an open source implementation of the SMB / CIFS network file sharing protocol that enables users to access files, printers, and other shared resources.
This post can also be applied to other Linux folders that you want to share with Windows systems.
To start sharing the public folder in the Ubuntu user directory with Windows, please follow the steps below.
How to share folders on Ubuntu Linux
When you log into your Ubuntu desktop and explore File Explorer, you will find the Public folder in your home directory. All accounts on the Ubuntu system have one. The folder is there to share with other users, including Windows users.
If you are using Ubuntu Linux system and want to share the public folder in your home directory, just open File Explorer, then right-click on the public folder and select Local Network Sharing as highlighted below.
Click the Install Service button to continue.
After that, click on the Create Share button to share the folder.
sudo gpasswd sambashare -a richard
Next, create a Samba password for your account. Replace Richard again with your own account name.
sudo smbpasswd -a richard
Finally, restart Samba.
sudo systemctl restart smbd.service nmbd.service
How to enable Windows 11 file sharing
Now that the folder is shared in Ubuntu, the first thing you’ll want to do to access Ubuntu shares from Windows is to allow file sharing and network discovery.
To quickly enable file sharing in Windows 11, click the Start menu, then search “Symbol of the system”As highlighted below. Then right-click on command prompt applications and select Execute as an administrator.
netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="File and Printer Sharing" new enable=Yes netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="Network Discovery" new enable=Yes
In some cases, you will also want to change the network profile to Private mode in Windows 11. To do this, click Home ==> Settings ==> Network and Internet ==> Ethernet and select Private.
Turn on public folder sharing in Windows 11
Follow the steps below to set up file sharing.
Windows 11 has a centralized location for most of its settings. From system settings to creating new users and updating Windows, everything can be done from your System settings crystal.
However, the account username change is still done in the old Control Panel. To access the Control Panel, you can click Start and start writing Control Panel as shown in the following picture:
On the same page of advanced sharing options, scroll down All networks.
There you should see the settings for public folder sharing, media streaming, file sharing connections, and password protected sharing. Windows should automatically enable file and printer sharing on private networks. However, in some cases, this will not be enabled.
If you cannot automatically find printers and shares on your private network, file sharing may be disabled.
If you enable password-protected sharing, only people who have accounts on the local computer or in the domain environment will be able to access the shared files and printers.
After enabling sharing, find the Ubuntu public folder using the server’s hostname or IP address. When prompted, enter the Samba account name and password that you created earlier.
Conclusion:
In this tutorial we have seen how to share the Ubuntu public folder with Windows systems. If you find any errors above or have something to add, use the comment form below.