Share

Windows 11 provides a few different ways to share files and other information to or from your PC and with other PCs, apps, and people.

More info: Some related sharing methods are covered elsewhere in the book, too. For example, the Clipboard offers a simple way for you share information between apps and even devices with yourself. OneDrive provides its own methods of sharing files with others across the Internet. And with the right phone, Phone Link can share files and information between that phone and your PC.

Windows Share

Windows Share is a modern solution for sharing files and other information from your PC that’s modeled after the similar interfaces found in mobile platforms like Android and the iPhone. With Windows Share, you can share files from File Explorer and share other types of information–like a webpage link in Microsoft Edge–from other apps.

Internally, Windows Share works through a series of contracts in which there is a sender and a receiver, typically apps, with each broadcasting its compatibility capabilities with the other. To the people using Windows 11, Windows Share is primarily accessed through a user interface called the Share sheet, a dialog-like window that displays all the ways in which you can share whatever it is you’re trying to share.

Defaults

Windows Share is a system service that is enabled automatically by Windows 11 and always available in in-box apps like File Explorer.

Depending on the content you’re trying to share, the Share sheet displays at least some of the following options:

• Copy. You can use this button next to the name of the item(s) you’re sharing to copy it to the Clipboard.
• Resolution and edit. If you share a compatible image file, you will see two additional controls on the Share sheet, a drop-down for selecting the image resolution (Original, Low, Medium, and High) and an “Edit” button to access a surprisingly feature-packed Photo Edit experience.
• Phone(s). Any phones you’ve configured with Phone Link will appear as Share targets.
• Recent contacts. You can share with one or more recent contacts through email using the in-box Outlook app.
• Nearby sharing. You can use this unique Windows 11 feature to share items with another PC on the same local network or if paired with Bluetooth.
• Apps. You can share with any compatible apps. The apps you see listed under “Sharing using” will vary depending on the apps you have installed on this PC and those that are compatible with the item(s) you are sharing. Also, Microsoft promotes a few compatible apps here that you can click to install from the Microsoft Store.

The Share sheet is difficult to close because it was originally too easy to dismiss it in error. You can’t tap Esc to dismiss it, for example. Instead, you have to click its “Close” window button.

Tip: You can move the Share sheet around on-screen however you wish using drag-and-drop.

Customize

There’s no way to directly configure Windows Share. But if you try to share using Nearby sharing, that feature is disabled by default and can be enabled during the sharing process.

Share one or more documents and other files with Windows Share

You can share one or more documents or other files–but not a folder–using File Explorer. To do so, locate and select the file(s). Then do one of the following:

• Command bar. Click the “Share” command bar button.

• Context menu. Right-click the file(s) and select “Share” from the context menu that appears. Note that this item can appear at the top or bottom of the context menu depending on where the menu appears on-screen.

Whichever you choose, the Share sheet appears.

Tip: There’s a also a “Share with” item in the context menu that lets you share the selected file with a specific app. Share with is described later in the chapter.

Share a photo or other image file

You can share one or more photos or image files using File Explorer similarly to sharing any other files. But if you share a single image file and it is compatible, Then you will see the additional options noted above, a drop-down for selecting the image resolution (Original, Low, Medium, and High) and an “Edit” button using a surprisingly feature-packed Photo Edit experience.

Tip: Windows Share is compatible with most popular image formats, the most notable exception being the HEIC photo format used by the iPhone. If the image format isn’t compatible, you can still share it, as above, but you won’t see the additional options for resizing and editing the image.

To resize the image, click the “Original” drop-down below the image filename and then select a size from the menu that appears.

To edit the image before you share it, click the “Edit” button. When you do, the “Share – Photo Edit” window appears.

In addition to basic zoom, Undo, Redo, Reset and Fill/Fit controls, you can use the following tools here:

• Crop. This tool is selected by default. You can use the selection handles to adjust the cropping area and then crop the image accordingly. There are also rotation, aspect ratio, and flip horizontally/vertically controls at the bottom.
• Adjustment. This tool provides several light and color adjustment sliders. For example, to adjust the exposure, drag the Exposure slider to the right or left.
• Filter. This tool provides an “Auto Enhance” button and several filters–Punch, Golden, Radiate, Warm Contrast, and many more–each of which can be fine-tuned with an Intensity slider.
• Markup. This tool provides a selection of pens, highlighter, and erasers you can use to markup an image.

If these tools look familiar, there’s a reason: They were lifted straight from the Photos app, which offers additional editing functionality if needed.

Share a file with a specific app

The Share sheet displays each app that’s compatible with the item(s) you are sharing. But if you wish to share a file with a specific app, you can also use a “Share with” context menu item to do so directly, bypassing the Share sheet.

To do so, open File Explorer and locate the file(s) you want to share, right-click them, and select “Share with” and then the app you would like to use from the context menu that appears.

What happens next depends on the type(s) of file(s) you’re sharing and the available app choices. If you share files with Outlook, for example, they will be attached to an empty new message in that app. And if you share an image file with Paint, it will open that image in Paint so you can edit it.

Share a website link with Microsoft Edge

You can share any webpage you view with Microsoft Edge. To do so, click the “Settings and more” (“…”) button in the toolbar and then choose “More tools” and then “Share” from the menu that appears.

The Share sheet that appears has two unique buttons next to the webpage title.

They are:

• Generate QR code. When you select this option, the Share sheet displays a QR code in a window that you can scan using the camera on your phone. When you do, that page opens in your default web browser on your phone.

• Copy link. This is the option most would expect, it just copies the URL of the webpage you’re viewing to the Clipboard so you can paste it elsewhere (perhaps in an email message in a web-based email service.)

Nearby sharing

Windows 11 introduces a new way to share files and other items–like website links and photos–called Nearby sharing. It’s likely that you’ve never even heard of this feature, let alone used it before, but it’s the simplest way to share compatible items between two PCs that are near each other.

Defaults

Nearby sharing is off by default.

This feature uses a combination of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to discover other PCs with which it can share and then, when directed, initiate and accept share requests on your behalf. When you’re done sharing, the two PCs are no longer connected.

Tip: Nearby sharing will use Wi-Fi for file transfers when both PCs are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. But it can actually work using just Bluetooth if the two PCs are very close together. Bluetooth-based file transfers are much slower than those using Wi-Fi.

With Nearby sharing, the PC that initiates the share request is called the sending PC, and the PC that is sent the request is called the receiving PC.

Customize

Nearby sharing is configured in the Settings app at System > Nearby sharing.

The following options are available here.

• Nearby sharing. Here, you configure the visibility of your PC to other PCs that try to share over Nearby sharing. It’s set to “Off” by default, but you can configure this option to:
  • My devices only. Here, your PC will only be visible to other PCs on which you’ve signed in using the same Microsoft account. This is the right option if you’re just sharing files with yourself between two or more PCs.
  • Everyone nearby. Here, your PC will be visible to anyone connected to the same Wi-Fi network or paired with your PC via Bluetooth.
• Save files I receive to. By default, Nearby sharing will save any incoming files to your Downloads folder (C:\Users\username\Downloads) by default. You can click the “Change” button next to this option to change this to a different location.
• Your device is discoverable as name. Windows 11 selects a name to identify your PC when other PCs share files using Nearby sharing that’s based on the PC name or your username. You can click the “Rename” button next to this option to change the PC name that other PCs see when using Nearby sharing.

Tip: Unlike with the PC rename feature in Settings, this name can uses spaces. How sophisticated.

There are two other ways to enable Nearby sharing, though its visibility will silently be configured to “Everyone nearby” in both cases. They are:

• Share sheet. This is the most obvious way. If you attempt to share one or more items using Windows Share, select “Nearby sharing” in the Share sheet, and if Nearby sharing isn’t enabled, you will be prompted to enable this feature. Nearby sharing will be configured to be visible to “Everyone nearby” if you do this.

• Quick settings. Open Quick settings, scroll down to find the “Nearby sharing” quick settings button, and click it to enable Nearby sharing. When you do so, Nearby sharing will be configured to be visible to “Everyone nearby.”

Share one or more files with Nearby sharing

To share one or more files with Nearby sharing, locate the item(s) you wish to share in File Explorer, select them, and then click the “Share” button in the File Explorer command bar.

Tip: Alternatively, right-click the selected file(s) and then click the “Share” items in the context menu that appears.

In the Share sheet that appears, click “Nearby sharing.” The Share sheet displays a “Nearby sharing” page with visible PCs and, if configured for use with Phone Link, phones.

Tip: Though each PC displays with a name, you will sometimes see multiple PCs with the same name. You can mouse-over a PC icon here to see its PC name (as opposed to its Nearby sharing name.)

When you click a PC to initiate the share, a banner notification will appear, indicating that it is waiting for the other PC to accept this request.

On the receiving PC, a banner notification will appear and explain that the sending PC wants to share with you.

Here, you can click:

• Save & open. This option is only available when the sending PC is sharing a single file. When clicked, your PC accepts the share request, downloads the file, and then opens it using the default app for that file type.
• Save. This accepts the share request and downloads the file(s). When the download is complete, a new banner notification appears with “Open” and “Open folder” options; the latter opens the default save location for Nearby sharing in File Explorer.
• Decline. This cancels the share request, which displays a notification to that effect on the sending PC.

Tip: If you wait too long to acknowledge the request, it will automatically time out and cancel.

When the share is complete, a banner notification appears on the sending PC indicating whether the action was successful, a failure, or declined.

Share a webpage link using Nearby sharing

Microsoft Edge supports Nearby share similarly to how it supports Windows Share more broadly: Just navigate to a webpage you want to share, click the “Settings and more” (“…”) button in the toolbar, choose “More tools” and then “Share” from the menu that appears, and then select “Nearby sharing” in the Share sheet that appears. As with the file sharing example above, you then select the PC, and a banner notification appears indicating that this (sending) PC is waiting for the receiving PC to accept the share request.

On the receiving PC, a banner notification appears and explains that another PC is trying to share a link with you.

Here, you can click:

• Open. This will open the shared link in a new tab in your default web browser.
• Decline. This cancels the share request, which displays a notification to that effect on the sending PC.

Tip: If you wait too long to acknowledge the request, it will automatically time out and cancel.

A banner notification will then appear on the sending PC indicating whether the action was successful, a failure, or declined.

Share a photo using Nearby sharing

You can use Nearby sharing to share one or more photos using the Photos in-box app in Windows 11. This works similarly to using Nearby sharing to share sharing one or more files with File Explorer, with a twist: It works with any photo you can see in the Photos app, including those that are stored in OneDrive (or, if enabled, iCloud) but not synced locally to your PC.

The steps are the same as above:

• Select one or more photos in the Photos app.
• Click the “Share” button and then choose “Nearby sharing” in the Share sheet that appears.

• Click the PC with which you would like to share the photo(s).
• On the receiving PC, click “Save & open” (which is only available if you share a single photo), “Save,” or “Decline.”