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Ubuntu’s Personal File Sharing setting lets other computers on a network access the Public folder in your Home directory. To enable it, open Activities, search for Sharing, choose File Sharing, and switch it on. The setting requires the gnome-user-share package; Ubuntu recommends enabling password protection before sharing.
What Personal File Sharing shares
This feature makes the Public folder in your Home directory available to other computers on selected networks. It does not share every folder in your Home directory or let you choose an arbitrary folder. When sharing is enabled, Ubuntu displays a URI that other computers can use to reach the Public folder. Ubuntu’s Personal File Sharing guide describes the setting and its controls.
Enable File Sharing in Ubuntu
- Open Activities and search for Sharing.
- Open Sharing, then select File Sharing.
- Switch on File Sharing. Note the URI shown in the panel; other computers use it to access the Public folder.
- If the Device Name field is editable, change it to a recognizable name for your computer.
- Under Networks, enable sharing only for connected networks where you intend to allow access.
- Switch on Require Password and set a secure password. Ubuntu documents password protection as off by default and recommends enabling it.
If File Sharing is missing
Ubuntu’s documentation says the gnome-user-share package must be installed for Personal File Sharing to appear in the Sharing panel. If the option is absent, check whether that package is installed. The documented guide describes a general GNOME workflow and does not promise identical labels or availability on every Ubuntu flavor or release.
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Personal File Sharing is specifically for network access to the Public folder. Ubuntu documents several separate functions for other tasks:
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- Server or network-share browsing is for accessing a share hosted elsewhere, not for exposing your Public folder.
These are distinct features rather than additional modes of the File Sharing switch. See Ubuntu’s overview of sharing options to identify the function that matches your task.
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