Linux Networking Cookbook

11.12. Connecting Linux Clients to a Samba Domain with Graphical Programs

Problem

You or your users prefer a nice graphical interface to find and connect to Samba shares. You want to know what is available for Gnome and KDE, and also if there are any standalone programs to use in any X Windows environment.

Solution

Here are the four best graphical utilities for network browsing and connecting to Samba shares:

• The Konqueror file manager, in KDE

• The Nautilus file manager, in Gnome

• Smb4k, a nice add-on for Konqueror

• LinNeighborhood, a standalone program than works in any X Windows environment

Discussion

Each program has its quirks. Let's look at how to use each one:

Konqueror

To browse the network, type smb:/ in the Location bar.

To browse specific hosts, type smb://netbios name or hostname.

You can open and edit documents directly, and save them back to the share.

Nautilus

To browse the network, type smb: in the Location bar.

To go directly to a share, type smb://servername/sharename, like smb://samba11/carla.

Nautilus browses only. It does not mount shares, and it does not permit you to edit files directly. What you have to do is open a file, save it to a local drive, edit it, and then drag-and-drop a copy of the file back to the Samba share.

Smb4k

Smb4k is the easiest one to use, and has the best feature set. When you start it up, it automatically scans the network and lists all shares, and shows a nice graphic of available space on the shares. When you click on a share, it is automatically mounted ...