n. On a local area network, a directory on a disk that is located on a computer other than the one the user is operating. A network directory differs from a network drive in that the user has access to only that directory. Whether the rest of the disk is accessible to the user depends on whether he or she has been granted access rights by the network administrator. On the Apple Macintosh, a network directory is referred to as a shared folder. Also called networked directory, shared directory. See also network drive, shared folder.