Basic Instructions

You can connect to the Groupfiles share at the root level, which will show you every share that exists and give you access to the _IN folder (described here) in each share or you can connect directly to the department share(s) that you use regularly.
This process is simple from either Windows or MacOS but the pathways require slightly different syntax. Windows uses the back-slash in each step along the path while MacOS begins with smb: and uses the forward-slash for each step.

Mapping an individual department share

To map a direct path to the department shares you use the most (i.e. for your primary department or a work group you belong to), follow the basic drive mapping instructions in the appropriate link above and enter this text to specify the drive you want to connect to:

  • \\groupfiles.willamette.edu\department (where department is the actual department name, wits or rhetoric, for example)
  • Or in MacOS:  smb://groupfiles.willamette.edu/department
  • Note: if using a personally owned computer (not one owned by the university), you must type:  willamette\username  in place of just your username, and be sure to use a backslash

Mapping the whole \dept share

If you connect to the root level of Groupfiles, you can see a listing of all the department shares visible to you and send files to other departments using the _In folder. To map a path to the whole listing of departmental shares, follow the basic drive mapping instructions in the appropriate link above and enter this text to specify the drive name:

  • \\groupfiles.willamette.edu\dept
  • Or, in MacOS, use smb://groupfiles.willamette.edu/dept

This can be a useful view for a few reasons:

  1. You can browse to any of the shares that you are a member of without needing to map each one to a different drive letter.
  2. You access to every department’s _IN folder which behaves like a drop-box for files destined for individuals within that department
  3. You can do this to verify the full path name of a department share (Sometimes departments have long names or names that change over time)
Willamette University

Willamette Integrated Technology Services

Address
900 State Street
Salem Oregon 97301 U.S.A.
Phone
503-370-6004 voice
503-375-5456 fax

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