Share Folders
You can create multiple network shares on the NAS and specify the access rights of the users and user groups to the shares.
The number of network shares you can create on the NAS varies according to the NAS models. If your NAS models are not listed, please visit http://www.qnap.com for details.
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Maximum number of network shares |
NAS models |
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256 |
TS-110, TS-210, TS-112, TS-119, TS-119P+, TS-212, TS-219P+, TS-410, TS-239 Pro II+, TS-259 Pro+ |
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512 |
TS-412, TS-419P+, TS-410U, TS-419U, TS-412U, TS-419U+, SS-439 Pro, SS-839 Pro, TS-439 Pro II+, TS-459U-RP/SP, TS-459U-RP+/SP+, TS-459 Pro+, TS-459 Pro II, TS-559 Pro+, TS-559 Pro II, TS-659 Pro+, TS-659 Pro II, TS-859 Pro+, TS-859U-RP, TS-859U-RP+, TS-809 Pro, TS-809U-RP, TS-879 Pro, TS-1079 Pro, TS-879U-RP, TS-EC879U-RP, TS-1279U-RP, TS-EC1279U-RP |
On the folder list, you can view the current data size, number of sub-folders and files created in the network share, and the folder status (hidden or not).
| 1. | To create a network share, click “New Share Folder”. |
| 2. | Click “Next”. |
| 3. | Enter the folder settings. |
| • | Folder name: Enter the share name. The share name does not support ” / \ [ ] : ; | = , + * ? < > ` ‘ |
| • | Hide Folder: Select to hide the network share or not in Microsoft Networking. When a network share is hidden, you have to enter the complete directory \\NAS_IP\share_name to access the share. |
| • | Lock file (oplocks): Opportunistic locking is a Windows mechanism for the client to place an opportunistic lock (oplock) on a file residing on a server in order to cache the data locally for improved performance. Oplocks is enabled by default for everyday usage. For networks that require multiple users concurrently accessing the same file such as a database, oplocks should be disabled. |
| • | Path: Specify the path of the network share or select to let the NAS specify the path automatically. |
| • | Description: Enter an optional description of the network share. |
| 4. | Select the way you want to specify the access right to the folder and specify the guest access right. |
| 5. | If you select to specify the access right by user or user group, you can select to grant read only, read/write, or deny access to the users or user groups. |
| 6. | Confirm the settings and click “Next”. |
| 7. | Click “Finish” to complete the setup. |
To delete a network share, select the folder checkbox and click “Delete”. You can select the option “Also delete the data in these folder(s)” to delete the folder and the files in it. If you select not to delete the folder data, the data will be retained in the NAS. You can create a network share of the same name again to access the data.
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Icon |
Description |
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Edit the folder property. Select to hide or show the network share, enable or disable oplocks, folder path, comment, and enable or disable write-only access on FTP connection. |
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Edit folder permissions and subfolder permissions. |
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Specify NFS access right to the network share. An asterisk (*) means all connections. |
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Specify WebDAV access right to the network share. |
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Enter the host names or IP addresses which are allowed to connect to the network share via Microsoft Networking. Note that a user still needs a correct login name and password to access the share via Microsoft Networking. |
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Refresh the network share details. |
Folder Permissions
Configure folder and subfolder permissions on the NAS. To edit basic folder permissions, locate a folder name in “Access Right Management” > “Share Folders” and click 
.
The folder name will be shown on the left and the users with configured access rights are shown in the panel. You can also specify the guest access right at the bottom of the panel.
Click “+ Add” to select more users and user groups and specify their access rights to the folder. Click “ADD” to confirm.
Click “– Remove” to remove any configured permissions. You can select multiple items by holding the Ctrl key and left clicking the mouse. Click “Apply” to save the settings.
Subfolder Permissions
The NAS supports subfolder permissions for secure management of the folders and subfolders. You can specify read, read/write, and deny access of individual user to each folder and subfolder.
To configure subfolder permissions, go to “Access Right Management” > “Share Folders” > “Advanced Options” tab. Select “Enable Advanced Folder Permissions” and click “Apply”.
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Note: You can create maximum 230 permission entries for each folder when Advanced Folder Permission is enabled. |
Go to “Access Right Management” > “Share Folders” > “Share Folders” tab. Select a root folder, for example Dept, and click .
The network share name and its first-level subfolders are shown on the left. The users with configured access rights are shown in the panel, with special permission below. Double click the first-level subfolders to view the second-level subfolders.
Select the root folder (Dept). Click “+ Add” to specify read only, read/write, or deny access for the users and user groups.
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Note:
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Click “ADD” when you have finished the settings.
Specify other permissions settings below the folder permissions panel.
| • | Guest Access Right: Specify to grant full or read only access or deny guest access. |
| • | Owner: Specify the owner of the folder. By default, the folder owner is the creator. To change the folder owner, click  . |
Select a user from the list or search a user name. Then click “Set”.
| • | Only the owner can delete the contents |
When you apply this option to a folder, e.g. Dept, only the folder owner can delete the first-level subfolders and files. Users who are not the owner but possess read/write permission to the folder cannot delete the folders Admin, HR, Production, Sales, and test in this example. This option does not apply to the subfolders of the selected folder even if the options “Apply changes to files and subfolders” and “Apply and replace all existing permissions of this folder, files, and subfolders” are selected.
| • | Only admin can create files and folders: This option is only available for root folders. Select this option to allow admin to create first-level subfolders and files in the selected folder only. For example, in the folder “Dept”, only admin can create files and subfolders Admin, HR, Production, and so on. Other users with read/write access to Dept can only create files and folders in the second and lower-level subfolders such as Admin01, Admin02, HR1, and HR2. |
| • | Apply changes to files and subfolders: Apply permissions settings except owner protection and root folder write protection settings to all the files and subfolders within the selected folder. These settings include new users, deleted users, modified permissions, and folder owner. The options “Only the owner can delete the contents” and “Only admin can create files and folders” will not be applied to subfolders. |
| • | Apply and replace all existing permissions of this folder, files, and subfolders: Select this option to override all previously configured permissions of the selected folder and its files and subfolders except owner protection and root folder write protection settings. The options “Only the owner can delete the contents” and “Only admin can create files and folders” will not be applied to subfolders. |
| • | Special Permission: This option is only available for root folders. Select this option and choose between “Read only” or “Read/Write” to allow a user to access to all the contents of a folder irrespectively of the pre-configured permissions. A user with special permission will be identified as “admin” when he/she connects to the folder via Microsoft Networking. If you have granted special permission with “Read/Write” access to the user, the user will have full access and is able to configure the folder permissions on Windows. Note that all the files created by this user belong to “admin”. Since “admin” does not have quota limit on the NAS, the number and size of the files created by users with special permission will not be limited by their pre-configured quota settings. This option should be used for administrative and backup tasks only. |
After changing the permissions, click “Apply” and then “YES” to confirm.
Microsoft Networking Host Access Control
The NAS folders can be accessed via Samba connection (Windows) by default. You can specify the IP addresses and hosts which are allowed to access the NAS via Microsoft Networking. Click 
to edit the host access control of a folder.
A wizard will be shown. Enter the allowed IP addresses and host names. For example:
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IP address |
192.168.12.12 192.168.*.* |
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Host name |
dnsname.domain.local *.domain.local |
Wildcard characters
You can enter wildcard characters in an IP address or host name entry to represent unknown characters.
Asterisk (*)
Use an asterisk (*) as a substitute for zero or more characters. For example, if you enter *.domain.local, the following items are included:
a.domain.local
cde.domain.local
test.domain.local
Question mark (?)
Use a question mark (?) as a substitute for only one character. For example, test?.domain.local includes the following:
test1.domain.local
test2.domain.local
testa.domain.local
When you use wildcard characters in a valid host name, dot (.) is included in wildcard characters. For example, when you enter *.example.com, “one.example.com” and “one.two.example.com” are included.
ISO Share Folders
You can mount the ISO image files on the NAS as ISO shares and access the contents without disc burning. The NAS supports mounting up to 256 ISO shares.
*TS-110, TS-119, TS-210, TS-219, TS-219P, TS-410, TS-119P+, TS-219P+, TS-112, TS-212 support maximum 256 network shares only (including 6 default network shares). The maximum number of ISO image files supported by these models is less than 256 (256 minus 6 default shares minus number of network recycle bin folders).
Follow the steps below to mount an ISO file on the NAS by the web interface.
| 1. | Login the NAS as an administrator. Go to “Share Folders” > “ISO SHARE FOLDERS”. Click “Mount An ISO File”. |
| 2. | Select an ISO image file on the NAS. Click “Next”. |
| 3. | The image file will be mounted as a network share of the NAS. Enter the folder name. |
| 4. | Specify the access rights of the NAS users or user groups to the network share. You can also select “Deny Access” or “Read only” for the guest access right. Click “Next”. |
| 5. | Confirm the settings and click “Next”. |
| 6. | Click “Finish”. |
| 7. | After mounting the image file, you can specify the access rights of the users over different network protocols such as SMB, AFP, NFS, and WebDAV by clicking the icons in the “Action” column. |
The NAS supports mounting ISO image files by Web File Manager, see here for more information.
Folder Aggregation
You can aggregate the shared folders on Microsoft network as a portal folder on the NAS and let the NAS users access the folders through your NAS. Up to 10 folders can be linked to a portal folder.
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Note: This function is supported only in Microsoft networking service. |
To use this function, follow the steps below.
| 1. | Enable folder aggregation. |
| 2. | Click “Create A Portal Folder”. |
| 3. | Enter the portal folder name. Select to hide the folder or not, and enter an optional comment for the portal folder. |
| 4. | Click  (Link Configuration) and enter the remote folder settings. Make sure the folders are open for public access. |
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Note: If there is permission control on the folders, you need to join the NAS and the remote servers to the same AD domain. |
| 5. | Upon successful connection, you can connect to the remote folders through the NAS. |
Advanced Options
“Advanced Folder Permissions” and “Windows ACL” provide subfolder and file level permissions control. They can be enabled independently or together.
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Protocols |
Permission |
Options |
How to Configure |
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Advanced Folder Permissions |
FTP, AFP, Web File Manager, Samba |
3 (Read, Read & Write, Deny) |
NAS web UI |
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Windows ACL |
Samba |
13 (NTFS permissions) |
Windows File Explorer |
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Both |
FTP, AFP, Web File Manager, Samba |
Please see the application note (http://www.qnap.com/index.php?lang=en&sn=4686) for more details. |
Windows File Explorer |
Advanced Folder Permissions
Use “Advanced Folder Permissions” to configure subfolder permissions directly from the NAS UI. There is no depth limitation for the subfolder permissions. However, it is highly recommended to change the permissions only on the first or second level of the subfolders. When “Advanced Folder Permissions” is enabled, click the “Folder Permissions” icon under the “Share Folders” tab to configure the subfolder permission settings. See “Share Folders” > “Folder Permission” of this section for details.
Windows ACL
Use “Windows ACL” to configure the subfolder and file level permissions from Windows File Explorer. All Windows Permissions are supported. For detailed Windows ACL behavior, please refer to standard NTFS permissions: http://www.ntfs.com/#ntfs_permiss
| • | To assign subfolder and file permissions to a user or a user group, full control share-level permissions must be granted to the user or user group. |
| • | When Windows ACL is enabled while “Advanced Folder Permissions” are disabled, subfolder and file permissions will have effect only when accessing the NAS from Windows File Explorer. Users connecting to the NAS via FTP, AFP, or Web File Manager will only have share-level permissions. |
| • | When Windows ACL and Advanced Folder Permissions are both enabled, users cannot configure Advanced Folder Permissions from the NAS UI. The permissions (Read only, Read/Write, and Deny) of Advanced Folder Permissions for AFP, Web File Manager, and FTP will automatically follow Windows ACL configuration. |
