1) Drag a file you want to share into the Shared folder. 2) Now, log out of your account on your Mac, and let the other user of your computer log into their own account. 3) That user will now navigate to the Shared folder by using the Go Computer option in the Menu Bar while Finder is in the foreground. Find your Apple ID or your Mac in the share sheet–look for the AirDrop icon in the lower corner. Next up on your iOS device, tap on your Apple ID or Mac to start sending the file. On your Mac, you should also see a notification slide in from the right of the screen, as below. To access the Shared folder, simply open the Finder and select the Go menu, then select Go to folder. (or type command-shift-G). Then type /Users and hit return. You should be staring at the list of user folders on your Mac, with a Shared folder there as well. Home file sharing used to be a nightmare, even between different versions of Windows — never mind Mac and Linux! These operating systems can now talk to each other and share files without any special software.
- Sharing Files Between Macs
- Connect Macbook To Imac
- Share Files Between Mac And Windows
- How To Share Files Between Imac And Macbook
The most common way to share data with Windows and Mac includes Slack, Google Drive and good old' flash drives. However, there is a better way if both computers are connected to the same WiFi network. In this article, we'll set up shared folders on Mac and access it from a Windows computer. Let's begin.
If you want to share the folders on Windows and access it from a Mac instead then you can follow the steps in this article on how to access Windows Shared folders on a Mac.
Sharing Files Between Macs
Step 1. Enable File Sharing and Share a Folder on Mac
Setting up and Accessing Shared folders is relatively easy and you don't need to install any additional hardware. However, it would be even more seamless if you assign these devices a static IP so that you don't have to re-establish a connection whenever your router assigns a new one.
Open ‘System Preferences‘ on your Mac computer and click the Sharing icon.
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Click File Sharing and add all the folders you want to share by clicking the + button under Shared Folders as shown below.
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After this, you can add users and the level of control they'd have on the shared folders. If you're unsure then leave it on the default and enable the Server. Best paint software for windows 7. Click Options to open the dialog box.
Mac supports both SMB and AFP servers where the latter is built for Apple devices only. I plan on sharing the folder between both Mac and Windows so I checked both servers but you can enable just SMB and it would work just as fine.
Check the box next to 'Share files and folders using SMB'. Check the box next to your account and click Done.
Now, click the ‘File Sharing' box on the left pane and then lock the settings by clicking on the padlock icon in the bottom left side of the window.
Before you exit this window, note down the smb server address and the name of the shared folder, we'll need this to access the shared folder on Mac.
Read: How to Setup Shared Folders, Users, Permissions on WD NAS
Step 2. Access Shared folder On Windows
To access the shared folder on a Windows computer, we'll map the drive to the computer. Open Windows Explorer and right-click on This PC icon.
Select ‘Map Network Drive'. Even though you can access the shared folder by running this command 'IP-ADDRESS-OF-MAC' in the Run dialog box, we'll map it so that it shows up in Windows Explorer and you don't have to run the command every time you want to access the network drive.
Now, you'd need the IP address we note down earlier while enabling the shared folder on Mac. Type ' YOUR-MAC-IPSHARED-FOLDER'. Click finish.
Connect Macbook To Imac
It would prompt you to enter the credentials and map the drive after successful authentication. Now, you can access the shared folder and files in it.
Mac supports both SMB and AFP servers where the latter is built for Apple devices only. I plan on sharing the folder between both Mac and Windows so I checked both servers but you can enable just SMB and it would work just as fine.
Check the box next to 'Share files and folders using SMB'. Check the box next to your account and click Done.
Now, click the ‘File Sharing' box on the left pane and then lock the settings by clicking on the padlock icon in the bottom left side of the window.
Before you exit this window, note down the smb server address and the name of the shared folder, we'll need this to access the shared folder on Mac.
Read: How to Setup Shared Folders, Users, Permissions on WD NAS
Step 2. Access Shared folder On Windows
To access the shared folder on a Windows computer, we'll map the drive to the computer. Open Windows Explorer and right-click on This PC icon.
Select ‘Map Network Drive'. Even though you can access the shared folder by running this command 'IP-ADDRESS-OF-MAC' in the Run dialog box, we'll map it so that it shows up in Windows Explorer and you don't have to run the command every time you want to access the network drive.
Now, you'd need the IP address we note down earlier while enabling the shared folder on Mac. Type ' YOUR-MAC-IPSHARED-FOLDER'. Click finish.
Connect Macbook To Imac
It would prompt you to enter the credentials and map the drive after successful authentication. Now, you can access the shared folder and files in it.
Final Words
That was a quick way to set up sharing and accessing Mac shared folders from a Windows computer. It is a convenient and reliable way of accessing large files over the network when you don't move around a lot. We use it for sharing Rendered video files that reduce the dependency on Google Drive and flash drives. Go ahead map the drives and let me know if you face any problems. You can comment down below or reach me on Twitter.
I've used Apple's file sharing for years but two programs have made my life tons easier. One is the freeware DropCopy - install it on both computers and you'll see a black dot on your desktop. Drag a file onto the dot and it is copied to the other computer. If you have more than 2 computers you can easily select which computer gets the file.
Share Files Between Mac And Windows
The second is the freeware program DropBox. Like DropCopy you need to install the program on both computer. Unlike DropCopy, DropBox watches a folder on your computer called DropBox and any file put into it gets synced to the cloud and from there copied to the other computer. One of the great things about DropCopy is that you can also access your files via the Internet.
How To Share Files Between Imac And Macbook
Apr 17, 2011 12:46 PM
