[mel2000]

I'd like to use ES File Explorer on my rooted GS2 Android phone to view a folder on my Windows 10 PC. My PC shares a Public Folder with other members on our local Private network.

When I share the laptop folder (Share with -> specific people) and select my PC account, the folder and contents can still be seen on another member's PC via its Network folder in Windows Explorer. I'd like the sharing to exclude other members of the network and only allow local access between my phone and PC.

Advanced Sharing Settings -> All Networks -> Password Protected Sharing -> Turn on... (enabled)
Advanced Sharing Settings -> Guest/Public -> Turn Off (network discovery and all sharing)

Is there a way to exclude the folder from other members? Any help appreciated. Thanks.

Edit: The parent of that subfolder was not shared and Windows Explorer only displays the subfolder. The Android displays the parent and subfolder, though neither can be opened.

[anon(632115)]

Just put the data you do not want to share in a folder other than the Public one. THis is nothing to do with ES file explorer, it's about Win 10 folder permissions

[mel2000]

Thanks for your reply. AFAIK, the folder I want to share is not public. How do I confirm whether the folder is public or not?

[Rukbat]

You should be able to set it for sharing with a password. Don't give out the password.

[hardivora]

It's all about the windows 10 permission that would you like to share it or open it in your PC or not. You can ignore that note and can set the options accordingly for ES file explorer by keeping extra data in public and other in a folder.

[mel2000]

Thank you for your reply Rukbat. Password-protected sharing was already set. Please see my clarification reply for better details regarding my problem.

[mel2000]

Thanks for your reply hardivora. Placing my folder in a Public folder would not provide the privacy that I'm looking for. Please see my clarification reply.

[mel2000]

Thanks for all replies.
I don't think I explained my setup as carefully and thoroughly as I should have. I also omitted info that might be important, so I'll try again for better clarity. Thanks for your patience.

Objective:
To allow a hidden subfolder to be shared only between my Windows 10 Home PC and my Android 4.1.2 phone, without allowing others on the network to browse my shared folder.

- Parent folder is unhidden and unshared
- I want to share one of its child folders
- Child folder is hidden but shared (by me as Owner)
- Password-protected sharing is already turned on

Problems:
- Child folder displays on someone else's Win 10 PC without password prompting (undesirable)
- Parent folder icon displays in ES File Explorer but cannot be opened
- Child folder icon not displayed in ES File Explorer either

--------------------------

What happens when child folder is unhidden and shared:
- Child folder displays on someone else's Win 10 PC without password prompting (undesirable)
- Parent folder icon displays in ES File Explorer but still cannot be opened
- Child folder icon displays in ES File Explorer but cannot be opened either

--------------------------

Undesirable work-around for PC->phone sharing:
- Use Android/PC Tonido app for sharing.
- Tonido uses my Windows login credentials to share
- No Windows sharing involved
- Tonido does not work with hidden folders (undesired)

At this point I'd just like to know why password-protected sharing is not working as expected on my Windows 10 Home PC.

[mel2000]

Update: I just tried opening my hidden/shared folder on another Win10 account on the network and was presented with a login prompt.
- I did NOT check the "remember my credentials" checkbox this time
- I was still able to access the networked folder after closing Windows Explorer
- I was NOT able to access the shared folder after signing out of the account and signing back in (good)

It appears that Windows networking is behaving the way it should. Apparently I enabled "remember my credentials" on the other networked account some time in the past and that's why the account owner can browse my share at will.

I'm currently researching how to "forget" the login credentials of a share that has previously been enabled to remember its credentials. So far all I'm coming across is how to forget a WiFi password, which is not what I'm after.

[mel2000]

Update: I removed my network share credential from the other Win10 PC:
Control Manager -> Credentials Manager ->removed credentials of share name

Now the remote PCs can't see my hidden/shared folder without entering the credentials of my Win10 PC (good)

My next objective is to access the PC's hidden/shared folder on my rooted Android.
- ES File Explorer displays the icons for the hidden/shared PC folder and its unhidden/unshared parent, but does not allow me to open either
- ES File Explorer does not prompt for my Win10 PC credentials
- "Show Hidden Files" is enabled in ES File Explorer
- "Root Explorer" is enabled in ES File Explorer

Is there some other configuration step I'm missing?

[mel2000]

Update:
- unhid shared subfolder
- gave read/write access to subfolder
- Windows Firewall was (temporarily) disabled
- Temporarily disabled file protected sharing

The subfolder icon can be seen in ES File Explorer but still cannot be opened. There must be some fundamental change to Windows 10 sharing with ES File Explorer because I used to be able to see PC shared folders on my Android.

[mel2000]

SOLVED: I was able to open a shared/hidden Windows 10 folder from ES File Explorer by simply adding "Everyone" to the list of shared users to that folder in Windows 10. My sharing is password protected so I have complete control of user access.

Thanks again for all replies.