How to connect to a network share from the GNOME desktop

On my home network (aka Local Area Network, or LAN), I have a number of desktops and laptops that share directories such that all other machines can access them. This makes it very easy for me to access folders and files on any machine from any other machine. With this setup, I don't have to email myself files or go to extraordinary lengths to get a file from one machine to another. 

Shared folders make life much easier.

Also: How to create folders in GNOME 44 (and why you should)

When you're using the GNOME desktop (which defaults to GNOME Files as the file manager), how do you connect to those shares on your network? Although the feature is somewhat hidden (in plain sight, of course), it's actually fairly easy to do. Let me walk you through the process.

How to connect to shares on your network when using GNOME desktop

What you'll need: You'll need two things for this to work. First, you'll need a running instance of a Linux operating system that uses the GNOME desktop environment. Next, you'll need a valid share on another computer on your LAN that is configured such that you can access it with either a user or guest account. 

How you do this will depend on the operating system hosting the share. If the computer hosting the share is Linux, check ZDNET's handy guide to help you get those shares up and running. The final thing you'll need is the IP address of the computer hosting the share. How you retrieve that information will depend on the host operating system. 

Also: How to easily share a printer from the GNOME desktop

With those things ready, let's get to the connecting.

Accessing the share via IP address

If you don't see the share listed (or can't recall the name of the host computer) in the Other Locations window, you'll have to access the share by way of the IP address. To do that, you'll still need to open the Other Locations section in GNOME Files.

Also: How to change your IP address with a VPN (and why you should) 

At the bottom of the GNOME Files window, you'll see a Connect to Server field. In that field, you'll type the address in the form smb://IP (where IP is the IP address of the computer hosting the sare). Once you've typed the address in the proper form, either click Connect or hit Enter on your keyboard to open the same authentication window you saw earlier.

And that's all there is to connecting to a shared folder on your LAN by way of the GNOME desktop environment.