A drive map is a pointer to a location in your local or network file system. The map assigns a local drive letter to a directory path on a volume where you have access rights. The directory path includes the volume, directory, and any subdirectories leading to the file. The local drive letter can be used instead of the complete path name.
Drive maps can be permanent or temporary:
Permanent Map: To map a drive so you can use it every time you log in, place a map command in your Novell Client login script, or use the mapping functionality of your client operating system and enable it to reconnect at login. The network drive is remapped every time you log in.
Temporary Map: To map a drive so you can use it only during your current session, use the option in the Novell Client, use the NetWare map command from a system prompt, or use the mapping functionality of your client operating system. The network drive map is valid only until you log out.
NetWare recognizes three types of drive mappings:
For information about how to use the NetWare map command, see the following:
You create local drive maps to establish directory paths to local storage media such as your workstation disk drives, CD drives, Zip* drives, USB drives, and floppy disk drives.
Typically, the lastdrive command in your DOS configuration settings on a Windows computer is set to end with drive E: (lastdrive=e), or with the last drive specification in use on your system. Typically, drives C: through E: are used for local drives, but you can assign more drive letters, if needed, by modifying the lastdrive command.
To change this default, use a text editor to add or modify the DOS lastdrive command in your workstation config.sys file. For example:
lastdrive=Z
Network drive maps point to volumes and directories on the network where you have access rights. Typically, drives F: through Z: are used for network drive maps on your Windows computer. Each user can map drive letters to different directories.
Network-search drive maps point to directories that contain frequently used files such as applications files. This map enables the system to locate an application file even if it is not located in the directory where you are working.
Network-search drive maps are numbered, although they also have drive letters. For example, a network-search drive 1 (or s1) can also be known as network drive Z:.
You can map up to 16 network-search drives, beginning with drive letter Z: (s1) and moving backwards through the alphabet to K: (s16). You cannot map a network-search drive and a regular network drive to the same drive letter.
If you request a file that the system cannot find in your current directory, the system looks in every directory where a network-search drive is mapped. The system searches, following the numerical order of the search drives, until the program file is found or cannot be located.
Network-search drive maps are not supported on IBM OS/2 workstations. The search functionality is provided with the OS/2 path, libpath, and dpath commands in the config.sys file.