File sharing over a network in Windows 10 allows you to share files and folders on your computer with other users over a private or public network in your workgroup or domain.
I’m sharing files between my desktop and laptop, both on the latest version of Windows 10. Everything was working fine yesterday, but now I’m being prompted for credentials. This should happen, as I have Password-protected Sharing turned off on both PCs.
To control who can see your file, you have a couple of options: You can move the file to a new or different folder. When you move the file to a folder that you own, you can then control its sharing settings. You can use a folder with limited access. Learn how to limit access to folders.
Note: If visitor sharing is on for your organization, you can invite someone who doesn't have a Google Account to collaborate on your Google Drive files and folders.
13 Sep 2025 How to Turn On or Off File and Printer Sharing in Windows 10 File and printer sharing is the ability of a computer running Windows to share a folder or attached printer with other computers on a network. File sharing allows you to make files and folders in a shared folder accessible to others on the network to view, copy, or modify.
Important: If you share a file with people, the owner and anyone with edit access can change sharing permissions and share the file. If you don’t want anyone to publicly access your file, stop publishing the file. If you remove or reduce access for a person who has access to the item’s folder, the permission is either removed or changed for the entire folder.