Unable to mount Windows network

[feltz916]

Problem

elementary OS has a Network Browser integrated with the file system, that when navigating to it, you get an option for "Windows Network". Double clicking on this network leads you to a dialog that it is unable to mount the folder.

Proposal

Why can it not have the required libraries and/or configurations either setup and installed by default, or at least some prompts during installation that allows you to connect to Windows shares?

During Installation:

• Give a prompt during install that will automatically setup any extra required libraries that allow for easy connectivity between Elementary OS and Windows. (ie: Windows network browsing should be able to see network shares from Elementary OS, and Network Browser should be able to see Windows shares and connect to them with proper credentials)
• Add some scripts / UI / system that allows a user to run this configuration post installation, in case they did not choose it during initial setup.

[jeremypw]

@feltz916 Thanks for the feedback. You are right that the Windows interoperability of Files has not received any recent attention so possibly newer versions of Windows are incompatible. You may have better luck using the "Connect to Server" dialog and choosing "Windows share" . You will need the correct credentials for the share.

Is the dialog you mentioned the "Authentication required" dialog? This is shown by the system, not Files.

I'll try to make some tests with a "real" Windows share on Windows 10 (the latest version I have access to). All the required libraries should already be installed as part of the system; Files depends on parts of the underlying system to do the low-level stuff.

Maybe something could be put in the wiki page about connecting to Windows shares.