Sharing files on Windows

Learn how to send and receive files securely and easily over Meshnet on Windows.

This guide provides the information you need to start sharing files over Meshnet on Windows.

Before you begin

Make sure that the device you want to share files with meets the following criteria:

• The device is connected to your Meshnet.

• The file sharing permissions are granted.

Note

You can add devices to your Meshnet in two ways, depending on device ownership:

• To add your own device, just enable Meshnet on that device. See Using Meshnet on Windows for details.

• To add an external device, send an invitation via the NordVPN app with the owner's email. Ensure the invitation is accepted. See Adding external Meshnet devices on Windows for details.

Send files

You can initiate a file transfer from the NordVPN app or by using the Windows shortcut menu.

Tip

You can initiate file transfers even if the desired peer device is offline. As soon as the device becomes active, it will receive the transfer notification. If the Always accept transfers option is enabled, the transfer starts automatically without needing confirmation.

Method 1: From the NordVPN app

1. To begin, do any of the following in your NordVPN app:

   • Go to the File transfers tab.

     

   • Go to the Dashboard tab and, under File sharing, click Start new transfer.

     

2. Under the Start new transfer tab, locate the peer device to which you want to send files.

3. To transfer individual files:

   1. Click the Send files button.

      

   2. Select the files in the File Explorer dialog, and click Open. You can choose a single file or multiple files at once.

      

4. To transfer a folder:

   1. Click the Send folder button.

      

   2. Select the folder you want to share, and click OK.

      

The file transfer begins when the recipient accepts your download request on their device. For details, consult the appropriate guides:

• Receive shared files on Windows

• Receive shared files on Android

• Receive shared files on iPhone/iPad

• Receive shared files on macOS

• Receive shared files on Linux

• Receive shared files on Android TV

Tip

If you have chosen your favorite devices for file sharing, you can initiate file transfers to the selected devices directly from the Dashboard tab by using the Send files buttons.

Note You can only send files to the devices that have the file sharing permission enabled for your device. Otherwise, you’ll find a button labeled Sending not allowed in place of the Send files button. For more information, see File sharing permissions.

Method 2: Using the context menu

1. On your computer, right-click the file or folder you want to share. You can also right-click a group of files after selecting them together.

2. Point to Send with NordVPN Meshnet and select the Meshnet peer device you want to share the files with.

   

Tip If you prefer not to have the Send with NordVPN Meshnet option in your context menu, you can easily disable it. To do this, go to NordVPN Settings > General and turn off the toggle for Show the Meshnet file sharing option in the Windows context menu.

Receive shared files

Note

Make sure that Meshnet is enabled on your device to receive the file transfer request from the sender.

To download files shared from another linked device, do the following steps:

1. Have your Meshnet peer send the files. The file transfer request will appear in your NordVPN app and as a Windows notification.

2. For single-file transfers, click Accept to save the file to your Downloads folder.

   

3. If the sharer attempts to send you multiple files, you will be prompted to review the files first. Click Review to open the Review files dialog.

   

   Alternatively, go to File transfers > All transfers and click Review next to the incoming transfer request.

   

4. In the Review files dialog, clear the checkboxes to the left of the files that you don’t want to download, if any.

5. Click Confirm selected.

   

Tip

The first file transfer request notification from a peer device will contain an Always accept transfers from this device checkbox. You can select it to accept future transfers from this sender automatically.

Locate downloaded files

Once the download is complete, you can find the files shared with you by doing any of the following:

• Clicking Open file location in the notification that appears when the file is downloaded.

• Going to File transfers > All transfers and clicking the folder button to the right of the downloaded file.
• Checking your system's default download folder location.

Monitor and manage incoming transfers

To monitor and manage Meshnet file transfers, navigate to the All transfers tab of the File transfers view.

Canceling a file transfer

• To terminate a file transfer currently in queue or in progress, click the Cancel (x) button.

  

Clearing your transfer history

• To remove a file transfer from your history, click the bin button.

  

See also

• Sharing files on Android

• Sharing files on iPhone/iPad

• Sharing files on macOS

• Sharing files on Linux

• Sharing files on Android TV