I think some distros (Ubuntu?) make shared folder setup as easy as right clicking it and finding the relevant option. Otherwise, yes, this is a pointlessly sore spot for Linux.
At least for Xubuntu, Debian, and Arch, you have to manually install samba first. After that, it depends on the file manager. For Nautilus, Ubuntu's default file manager, the steps are largely similar to how you would set it up in Windows. For everything else, the GUI way of doing it seems to be unreliable, which is why most Linux guides on how to set up shared folders just default to editing smb.conf.
I tried to set up a shared folder on Pop_OS and found a tutorial telling me that I could just right click the folder in question - but for some reason the relevant option is just greyed out. I ended up emailing myself the file after an hour of trying to get it to work.
I think some distros (Ubuntu?) make shared folder setup as easy as right clicking it and finding the relevant option. Otherwise, yes, this is a pointlessly sore spot for Linux.
At least for Xubuntu, Debian, and Arch, you have to manually install samba first. After that, it depends on the file manager. For Nautilus, Ubuntu's default file manager, the steps are largely similar to how you would set it up in Windows. For everything else, the GUI way of doing it seems to be unreliable, which is why most Linux guides on how to set up shared folders just default to editing smb.conf.
I tried to set up a shared folder on Pop_OS and found a tutorial telling me that I could just right click the folder in question - but for some reason the relevant option is just greyed out. I ended up emailing myself the file after an hour of trying to get it to work.