Learn The Purpose Of The Public Folder In Windows

Where Is the Windows Public Folder?

The Windows Public folder is located in the Users folder at the root of the hard drive that Windows is installed on, which is usually C:\Users\Public, but it might be any other letter depending on the drive that’s storing the Windows OS files. Any local user on the computer can access the Public folder at all times, and by configuring specific network access, you can decide whether or not any networked users can open it.

Public Folder Contents

By default, the Public folder does not contain any files until they’re added by a user either manually or automatically through a software install. However, there are default subfolders within the Users Public folder that make it easier to organize files that might be put into it later on:

Public DocumentsPublic DownloadsPublic MusicPublic PicturesPublic Videos

New folders can be added to the Public folder at any time by any user with the proper permissions. It’s treated much like any other folder in Windows except that all the local users have access to it.

How to Access the Public Folder on Your Computer

The quickest way to open the Public Users folder in all versions of Windows is to open Windows Explorer and then navigate through the hard drive to the Users folder:

How to Access Another Public Folder on Your Network

The above method opens the Public folder on your own computer, not a Public folder from a different computer on your same network. To open a networked Public folder:

How to Manage Network Access to the Public Folder

Network access to the Public folder is either turned on so that every networked user can see it and access its files, or it’s turned off to prevent all network access. If it’s turned on, you still need proper permissions in order to access the folder. To share or unshare the Public folder:

Selecting Turn on password protected sharing will limit access to the Public folder to only those who have a user account on the computer.Selecting Turn off password protected sharing will allow any user on the network to open the Public folder.