To connect a WebDAV server as a Windows drive, add it to Air Live Drive with its address, user name and password, pick a drive letter and click Connect. The server then appears in File Explorer like any other disk, and you can open, edit and save its files with your usual applications, without downloading them first. It is free for up to three drives.
What is WebDAV?
WebDAV (Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning) is an extension of HTTP, the protocol of the web, that lets you manage files on a remote server: list folders, upload, download, rename, move and delete. Because it travels over HTTP or HTTPS, it works through most firewalls and proxies without opening extra ports.
Many storage services and servers offer WebDAV access: self-hosted clouds like Nextcloud and ownCloud, NAS devices, hosting providers and cloud services such as Koofr, Nutstore or InfiniCLOUD. If your provider gives you a WebDAV address, you can mount it as a drive.
Why not use Windows’ own “Map network drive”?
Windows can connect to a WebDAV address through Map network drive, using a built-in service called WebClient. Microsoft listed the WebClient (WebDAV) service as deprecated in Windows 11 version 23H2: it still works, but it no longer gets updates and is planned for removal in a future version of Windows.
A dedicated app avoids depending on that service. Air Live Drive mounts the WebDAV server with its own driver, lets you control the local cache, and keeps every server as a separate drive next to your other clouds.
How to connect a WebDAV server as a drive, step by step
- Download Air Live Drive, install it and open it.
- Click Add Cloud Disk and choose WebDav.
- Enter the server address, your user name and your password. Your provider’s help pages give you the exact address; it usually starts with
https://.
- Pick a free drive letter and click Connect.
- Open This PC: the WebDAV server is there as a new drive. Copy, paste, rename and open files as you would on a local disk.
On a Mac the steps are the same, and the server appears in Finder (macOS 13 or later).
Services you can connect through WebDAV
Some of them have their own guide:
Air Live Drive also mounts FTP, FTPS and SFTP servers and more than 40 cloud services, so a WebDAV server can sit next to Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox, each one with its own drive letter.
FAQ
Is WebDAV secure?
It is as secure as the connection it uses. Always use an address that starts with https://, so your password and files travel encrypted. Plain http:// is only acceptable inside a trusted local network.
What is the difference between WebDAV, FTP and SFTP?
WebDAV runs over HTTP or HTTPS, like a website, so it passes through most firewalls and proxies. FTP is an older protocol with its own ports and, without TLS (FTPS), sends passwords unencrypted. SFTP runs over SSH and is common on Linux servers. Air Live Drive can mount all of them as drives. More in the best software to map SFTP and WebDAV servers.
Do I need to keep a local copy of the files?
No. Files stay on the server and are downloaded to a local cache only when you open them. You choose the maximum size of that cache.
Is it free?
Yes. The free version mounts up to three drives, one account per service. Air Live Drive Pro removes those limits.
You can check more information here:
-How to Mount Cloud Storage as a Local Drive in Windows
-What is the Best Software to Map SFTP and WebDAV Servers as Hard Drives?
-Mount Amazon S3 as a local hard drive