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Heather_Poulsen
Updated Dec 27, 2024
Jason_Sandys
Microsoft
Oct 25, 2022This is ultimately a bit of a soapbox for me, but I'd like to stress here that accessing on-prem file shares is different from mapping drives. Mapping drives is in no way required for users to access a UNC path. There are many alternate and (arguably) better ways for users to access UNCs including common methods that users are already fully versed with and use much more frequently as they browse the web including shortcuts and favorites. Forced and micro-managed drive mappings are not the best way ultimately -- yes, this is somewhat subjective, but most folks have never tried anything else so they simply fall back on "this is the way we've always done it" instead of actually evaluating the possibilities. As noted, a bit of a soapbox, but the reality is that the work environment is changing and so much the paradigms that users use.
ZebulonSmith
Oct 25, 2022Iron Contributor
You are absolutely not wrong on any point, but we have to remember that telling a user to click the "Shortcut to Shared Folder Blah" icon on their desktop instead of opening the "S:" drive like they've done every day for 20 years is a big shift. It's generally not the IT folks who care about whether it's a drive letter or a UNC path (unless some awful legacy app requires it) but making huge changes in the user experience generates complaints and makes our lives harder.
I see both sides here and completely understand what it's like to be told "Just make the drive letter work" by upper management.