The about of import part for most NAS users is the use of shared folders. As the proper noun suggests shared folder will allow you to organize your data in meaningful categories that you will exist able to tweak with encryption, give or deny users permissions, quotas, and more.

Most functions on your NAS volition not work before you create a new shared folder, and yet there will be situations that specific folders will be created when installing a new app from the Parcel Eye. Similar most things regarding configuration, Shared Folders are located in Control Panel. You lot can't miss it, it's the 1st option.

Folder creation

Command Panel > Shared Folder. Identify to start your root folder structure creation

To begin with, a new folder creation, open up Control Panel > Shared Binder. Apply the Create button from the Create bill of fare to commencement the magician.

There are several options that are mandatory as well equally a few options that are non. As you tin can see from the initial footstep in the shared folder creation sorcerer, there are Proper noun, Description, and Location parameters that you can fill in or select.

Enter your folder name and select a book where the folder will live

Proper noun and Location are mandatory, but Clarification is not. Guessing the name value is cocky-explanatory but in instance you accept multiple volumes, you can select where your shared binder volition "live". This is something that can exist inverse later on in case you change your listen for whatever reason.

There are several checkboxes, and none of them are mandatory only I'll talk near the Enable Recycle Bin one for a bit.

In instance you wanna save your piece of work and avoid accidental deletion y'all tin can use Recycle Bin office for each folder. This will go yous out of those nasty situations where you deleted something that you shouldn't accept before it'due south gone for good. Keep in listen that Bin volition take a certain storage penalty so keeping it nether control is always a adept thing.

By this, I mean that yous employ Task Scheduler to clean all your Bins in an interval that fit your needs.

An option is to encrypt the shared folder if you desire

The 2nd step is important but besides optional. Encryption. Will you encrypt a certain shared folder information technology will depend on several things. First, does your NAS support this option, and how well and fast it can work with it (CPU ability and back up) as well as do your folder demand to be encrypted, to begin with? When you decide on that, activate the checkbox and enter the key.

Notation: there is a characteristic called Key Manager that will permit you to manage your keys and automatically mount shared folder on startup. This will not be a part of this article, but I will reflect on it a bit more on the following article about security.

Regardless if you have decided to use encryption or non, the next step will offer some more optional settings. Keep in mind that some of them you volition not exist able to disable after yous have decided to use them. Those functions are marked with a blueish letter i .

Options for quota and information integrity check

One setting that are worth mentioning here is the quota. If yous are creating a shared binder that you volition, afterward on, utilise with some other users, or yous plan on giving access to users and want to be sure that they will non go wild, set a quota. It can exist set in MB, GB and TB so chose what fits your needs.

Finally, apply your setting and that'south information technology, you have created a new shared folder. What needs to be done now is setting up user/group permissions to that specific folder, just we accept covered that in the previous article, and then have a expect.

In case you have decided to brand any changes you tin can do them by using the Edit button in the Command Panel > Shared Folder listing afterward selecting the folder you want/demand to change.

Mapping remote folders

In that location is also ane more option that yous can employ when it comes to working with folders. Apart from local shared folders, you tin have access to remote folders via your NAS using SMB/CIFS or NFS protocol.

This is needed in some cases, and in some, it's just nice to accept access to remote folders via a single machine/UI.

To begin with this process you will need to configure network traffic against your destination device that'south hosting folders you lot want access to if those remote folders are for instance in a different network subnet than your Synology NAS.

To make things a chip easier to empathize let'southward assume that your NAS and your target device are on the same local network.

To map a remote binder use the following method:

This is how yous map a remote folder from another NAS or calculator

Open up up File Station on your NAS and in the Tools menu open up Mount remote folder > CIFS shared binder. This will open up up a dialog box that you lot can employ to set upwards a remote connectedness to your desired folder.

The starting time field that needs to exist entered is Folder one. Here you lot demand to enter a destination to your desired remote binder in the grade of a UNC path. For case: \\192.168.v.4\SharedFolderName

Considering that accessing that folder in nigh cases will require an business relationship name and password, be sure to enter those in the next two fields, Account name and Password. Finally, you lot need to select your local shared binder (or a subfolder on your NAS) that volition be served as a mountain betoken for that remote binder.

Connect to a remote binder and mountain information technology to your local NAS folder

After that just click the Mount button and you should see the content of a remote binder pop up in your local binder within File Station. Dandy!

Remote connectedness (how to connect to your DB, GDrive and other cloud providers)

Another option here is to connect to one of your providers and present its data within File Station. Now I will talk more than about connecting to 3rd party provider in the next module, but let'southward meet what it ways to get that data inside File Station, and how to do it.

Remote connection setup starts hither. Pull data from your cloud provider

To start, you volition employ the same Tools menu inside File Station and then point to Remote Connectedness wizard.

You will accept a limited options hither merely DB, Google and OneDrive are here as well as any custom 3rd party host that yous desire to connect to

Once you are authenticated with your provider, the end result will expect similar this:

Dropbox connected to your NAS and its content presented within File Station

So this is a prissy manner to accept your data accessible inside your NAS without the need to install any 3rd party tools to get this going. Does this mean you lot tin sync information as well? Well yep and no. There are specific tools in Synology DSM that are used for that kind of scenario. This one is to access whatsoever information accessible too as upload data to information technology. It is not a real-time sync pick, you still have to interact with the folder/remote connection, but more than on syncing later.

And then at present that we know how to mount a remote folder and create local ones also, yous can begin to put content onto your NAS.

File Station - Synology file managment app

Every bit mentioned earlier, File Station is one of those apps that you will use most of the time when it comes to content operations on your NAS. Sure, yous tin use your NAS via SMB/AFP/NFS protocols to get access to your content from any device that supports those protocols (macOS, Linux, Windows, mobile Os, etc) as well as employ that same process to upload the content dorsum to your NAS.

But, the File Station app will be in that location to allow you remote management of files and folders, downloads, remote mount mappings, sharing, and a few more things that will come up in handy especially when you are in a remote location.

Permit's say you are outside your location and don't accept access to the NAS merely you can access it via the Internet. File Station will allow you lot content direction via any compatible web browser.

On top of all that, most common operations like drag and drop, cut/copy/paste, delete is also supported.

Annotation: Common keyboard shortcuts from select, cutting, copy, paste, and similar, are also supported but they might depend on the operating system yous are using on your device at that time.

/habitation vs /homes

While nosotros are on the topic of folders 1 of the nigh common questions/confusion when it comes to file and folder structure on Synology NAS is the home and homes folders. What are they and how to use them?

Information technology all starts with the personal folder "service" that I volition talk almost a bit more than in the next module, at the moment the master matter to recollect is the post-obit.

There are several services and apps on the NAS that apply these folders, and you lot need to be aware of this.

So, in brusk, here it is.

Homes folder - this shared folder is only visible to administrator form users. Inside this folder is the real location of each user's 'dwelling house' folder. As such the shared folder's permissions are configured to allow administrator class users to have full access to all of its contents, merely any standard form user but has admission to their own /homes/<username> binder, and this is via the special, virtual folder called 'dwelling'.

Home folder - this special shared folder is managed by NAS OS (DSM) and is different for each user, administrator, and standard form. This binder is only accessible to that particular user, and no other standard user account. An administrator class user tin access this binder past navigating to /homes/<username>.

And then are nosotros can see each user will become its ain abode folder that will then be used past specific apps likewise. For example, installing Audio station will create a /music binder in your users home folder (/homes/<username>/music), the Photos app will create a /photos folder, and so on.

If you lot are using an admin course business relationship, effort and not mess with permissions when information technology comes to user'due south homes folders because you could make a mess of it.

If you want multiple DSM users to share some information, then just make a new root shared folder (outside of homes folder structure) and let your users access to it. Exit the abode folder equally personal user infinite.

For at present, it will be plenty equally the adjacent module will be the primary one when it comes to the whole serial, apps, and services. Permit'south see what are the most common Synology apps and services that y'all tin can use with your NAS, what limitations a specific class of  NAS devices has, and what should you also consider when ownership a new NAS.