How to use a Windows share mapped using
net use \\host\share
?
I've accidentally forgotten to include the device name, e.g. Z:
, in the above command, resulting in the share being mapped without a corresponding network drive showing up in Windows Explorer. The mapped share is listed using net use
.
Now, what can a mapped share, without a corresponding network drive, be used to? Is it possible to link the share to a network drive afterwards (how)?
Best Answer
Technically, if a drive letter wasn't specified, then the share isn't mapped; it's only connected to.
Everything, because most programs accept UNC paths directly – mapping to a drive letter is optional. For example, you can open the path
\\host\share
in Explorer or Notepad or Word or any other program; you can evendir
it from the Command Prompt. This has been possible ever since Windows 95 – for more than 20 years now.Windows will automatically connect to shares whenever an UNC path is used, so technically you don't even need
net use
at all. However the command remains useful even without specifying drive letters, because it lets you specify a custom username and password.That said, there are still valid reasons to use drive letter mappings: they let you quickly see used/free space in "This PC" ("My Computer"), they're shorter to type, and you can actually
cd
into them via Command Prompt.If you still want to map the share to a drive, simply repeat the command with a drive letter: