One of the main reasons you set up a NAS server is to store and share files. We have looked at setting up your Synology NAS and adding users. Now, let us look at how you can create shared folders. We are using Synology’s DS920+ NAS, but the process works similarly in most Synology NAS devices. Before you begin, be aware that you’ll need to have admin access to your Synology DSM.
Follow these steps to create shared folders on a Synology NAS:
- Log in to your Synology device, and you will be presented with the DiskStation Manager interface, as shown in Figure 1, below. Click the Control Panel icon, shown highlighted in red within Figure 1.
Figure 1: DiskStation Manager- Doing so brings up the Control Panel interface, as shown in Figure 2, below. Click the Shared Folder icon, shown highlighted in red within Figure 2.
Figure 2: Shared Folders icon in Control Panel- Doing so brings up Shared Folder options, as shown in Figure 3, below. As you can see, we already have a shared folder called GSyn created. To add another shared folder, you can click the Create button, highlighted in red within Figure 3.
Figure 3: Create a Shared Folder- This action brings up a small menu, as shown in Figure 4, below. Click the Create option, highlighted in red within Figure 4.
Figure 4: Click the Create option- You’ll now see the Shared Folder Creation Wizard dialog box, as shown in Figure 5, below. Type in some content in the Name and the Description boxes. To set the location of your shared folder, click the Location drop-down box, as shown highlighted in red in Figure 5.
Figure 5: Shared Folder Creation Wizard- Doing so will bring up a list of your Volumes, as shown in Figure 6, below. Choose the volume that has sufficient storage space.
Figure 6: Choose a Volume- Choose any more settings, or retain them as per their default values. Now, click the Next button successively to see the Encryption, and Configure advanced settings dialog boxes. Change settings as needed, and you will see the final Confirm settings dialog box, shown in Figure 7, below. If you are happy with the choices you made, click the Apply button.
Figure 7: Confirm Shared Folder settings- You will next see the Edit Shared Folder dialog box, shown in Figure 8, below. For now, we will just click the OK button.
Figure 8: Edit Shared Folder dialog box- Your new shared folder is now created, as shown in Figure 9, below. Compare with Figure 3, shown previously on this page.
Figure 9: New shared folder is added
In the next post in this series, we will look at how you can create a shortcut to this shared folder on your Windows computer so that it works like a folder on your computer.