Is it possible for a couple users to share the same exact drive space

I want to be able to install the desktop client and access the nextcloud folder but I want the user to be a different user.

The reason is because we want same storage space but obviously separate TALK and sometimes separate other apps etc.

Can this be done somehow ?
Thanks

Could you give more details? I didn’t understand whether you are talking about the same client machine (client-side hard-drive) or server.

Lets explore the possibilities I can think of:

1-you can use the nextcloud app groupfolders to share a folder among users. From what I know, there’s no space limit.

2-If you’re talking the same folder on the client side, I imagine that you have two (windows?) users and want to sync the same folder (let’s say C:/Nextcloud-data/). The lazy way of course is to have each user with a folder and a group folder, but this would duplicate the contents, which I assume is the exact reason you do not want that.

Maybe you can try to sync the exact same folder across both windows users, each with a separate nextcloud user, of course. But that could be a little risky.

I suggest a better approach: to configure one of the users to have online-only folders (and a separate nextcloud folder), and whenever they need some file, it would download automatically. Although not perfect, it would save some space.

My recommendations:

  • Make a new user and set it up with the desktop client
  • Make a basic user group and call it Collaboration
    • Add everyone to Collaboration
    • Share things with Collaboration
    • set your desktop client to accept shares of any size from Collaboration

Read the Nextcloud documentation to learn more about how things work. You’ll just not understand it until you consult the documentation, then you’ll be good to go.

Enable apps for specific groups

Read the documentation and:

Everyone - all the basic user apps
Admin
Extras

and add your various apps to these app groups.

Re-organize the top bar

Install AppOrder
Re-organize the apps in the top bar to show / hide them in a sensible manner.
Apply these settings to all of your users.

If confused, just search for the github of any particular app or search for that app’s documentation.

Ok, so maybe I didn’t explain it very good.

The client has things I want the user to be able to see like notifications from Talk app.

However, household clients with different users would likely share “SAME” storage folders like photo’s etc.

What is working ATM is that I have a machine on the local network with shares on it. Then this machine has a client on it that syncs to the nextcloud more for backup.

Each user can now have their own client and access shares via local network shares. AND still have their own login to TALK with the TALK app to anyone or eachother.

If a single client was installed on these local computers with separate login then they each have totally different sync and folder sync and could not share the same file storage on the cloud like the local network is doing.

So essentially it would be nice if they could actually have separate user / login for their client, but all have the same exact storage folder.

Someone posted about Callaboration or something or groups. I don’t know how this could sync and use as if it was local. “virtual files” is slow and has to download each and every item if needed.

The current setup with local network shares and local client on that same machine is working but seems like nextcloud could do this as an all in one solution somehow without having to require “virtual files”. I would like the “virtual files” could use the files same as local network shares and not download etc. Especially since the nextcloud locally is actually local storage just like network shares at that point.

I hope this makes sense. What can be done to mimick what I have now ?

There are multiple ways to get x people sharing driveZ. Here is a simple one:

  • Create a fake user and call it something clear: Community-Shares
  • Add all of your shared driveZ folders under this user.
  • Share folders with everyone (might be easiest by creating a user group called “everyone”, adding everyone as part of this user group, and then sharing with the group).
  • You should now see all of the shared folders under your own personal user account.

Everyone on your system will now automatically see these same folders in their directory structure.
If you need to add group restrictions for particular apps, follow my directions in this post.

Thanks, group shares makes sense but how does this work with the desktop client.
Will you still have to download every item to be able to use it like a local network share ? Or do you somehow use the local IP to login and it works more like network shares ?

I guess I’m confused about it because all the client connections are either “sync” or “virtual”.
Virtual is good but also slow and downloads each selection.
Sync works as if it were a local file more like a local network share but then you need to actually have the hard drive space to sync locally and each computer also does.

So with group share that seems to solve the problem of central storage and also separate user client notifications for Talk etc.

Can local ip login for the client speed things up for “virtual files” as it would with local network shares ?
Thanks
Or no different ?

I see, but how does the client act with this group shares ? Does each PC have to have a sync on the local machine in order to use the share like a local network share ? Or would they have to download each item as needed similar to all the other client sync items ?

OR do you just install the client using the local IP or something so that it’s not going over the internet etc.

I’m talking about network sharing, which has nothing to do with Nextcloud virtual file feature.

Try out my suggestions if you want, and consult documentation to learn how the desktop client can be configured for syncing shared folders, etc. I have no interest in continuing this discussion, but good luck and I hope you try some of these options out and find one that works well for you.

That is all for me on this topic. Bye and good luck.

I’m sorry to hear that you have to go and many thanks for the replies.
I appreciate your time in answering but I didn’t think your response really cover the topic or perhaps I didn’t fully understand your response which is likely.

As I understand it, the client use of the shares without having to sync to each local machine or the disadvantage of attempting to make use of the local shares via “virtual files” feature of the client, is what I was after.

I know you were not talking about “virtual files”.
Virtual files seems to be the nextcloud answer to “NOT” having to sync to each local machine but with performance disadvantages.

I was trying to accomplish this by select a network share as my client source and create the connection. However, each users account then gets this storage in their nextcloud as well.

I assume the group share you mentioned might solve this.

However, I could not get this working exactly right either. Seems the client created too many explorer items but I’ll play with it some more.

Thanks again and sorry you have to go but I do understand. I hope things get better.