XPost: alt.comp.os.windows-10, comp.mobile.android   
   From: mariasophia@comprehension.com   
      
   Arno Welzel wrote:   
   > Maria Sophia, 2026-01-27 18:11:   
   >   
   > [...]   
   >> 1. Windows includes a native FTP client, but it does not include an FTP   
   >>    filesystem redirector.   
   >>   
   >> 2. Because there is no redirector, Windows cannot mount an FTP server as a   
   >>    drive letter.   
   >>   
   >> 3. Windows Explorer can open an FTP server as a virtual folder.   
   >>    This is called a Network Location, not a Network Drive.   
   >   
   > This is called a "Shell namespace".   
   >   
   > Also see:    
      
   Hi Arno,   
      
   This is a great discussion because if these varying names have confused me   
   over the decades, it's perhaps likely others like me are also confused.   
      
   So I happily thank you for the clear explanation about Windows namespaces.   
      
   Your point that Windows File Explorer exposes FTP only as a Shell   
   namespace, is exactly right. That distinction is important, and it actually   
   ties directly into why WebDAV behaves so differently from FTP.   
      
   As you noted, FTP in Windows is handled as a Shell namespace. That is why   
   Explorer can browse FTP, but Windows cannot mount FTP as a drive letter,   
   cannot assign it a UNC share, and cannot expose it to Save dialogs.   
      
   That's because there is no redirector behind it.   
      
   WebDAV is different because Windows includes a WebDAV filesystem   
   redirector. Since WebDAV has a redirector, Windows can treat it like a   
   real filesystem. That is the perhaps the main reason net use works with   
   WebDAV but not with FTP.   
      
   What's extremely interesting to this distinction is that this is also   
   apparently where the (case-insensitive) DavWWWRoot comes in.   
      
    C:\> net use Z: \\192.168.1.2@8000\DavWWWRoot /USER:joe * /PERSISTENT:YES   
    C:\> net use Z: /delete   
      
   Apparently davwwwroot is a Microsoft-invented "synthetic share name".   
      
   Contrary to what seems intuitive, DavWWWRoot is not an Android folder.   
   Android (or iOS) has no idea what DavWWWRoot is, in and of itself.   
      
   DavWWWRoot is a Windows namespace shim that exists apparently only because   
   WebDAV has a redirector and Windows needs a fake share name to satisfy the   
   UNC parser.   
      
   SMB has real shares, but WebDAV does not, so Microsoft invented DavWWWRoot   
   to stand in as the share name. Apparently it simply tells Windows to treat   
   the root of the WebDAV server as the root of the mapped drive.   
      
   Who knew?   
   Not me.   
   Now I do.   
      
   Since this naming topic is drifting into the internal workings of the   
   Windows WebDAV redirector, I will open a separate thread focused only on   
   DavWWWRoot, what it is, and why Windows uses it & how it applies to mobile   
   device file system sharing in a way that almost nobody knows how to do.   
      
    Newsgroups: alt.comp.os.windows-10,alt.comp.os.windows-11,comp.mobile.android   
    Subject: What is DavWWWRoot & why does Microsoft use it for WebDAV mappings?   
    Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2026 12:05:50 -0500   
    Message-ID: <10lg41e$a9d$1@nnrp.usenet.blueworldhosting.com>   
      
   It's sheer genius how Microsoft allowed mounting of mobile devices!   
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