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.
MuCommander, Path Finder, and Leap are probably your best bets out of the 18 options considered. 'Available on Linux, Mac, and Windows' is the primary reason people pick muCommander over the competition. This page is powered by a knowledgeable community that. Windows Explorer vs. The Viewer in OS X Server and DP4 similarly offers the choice of hierarchical file display, list or familiar icon display. The middle view.
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.
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.
Also Read: How to Check Battery Health on MacBook
Click File Sharing and add all the folders you want to share by clicking the + button under Shared Folders as shown below.
Must Read: 10 Best Mac Keyboard Shortcuts You Must Know
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. 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.
It would prompt you to enter the credentials and map the drive after successful authentication. How to turn your pc into a mac for free. 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.
Written by Mårten Björk •
This article will help you understand how to browse your files on a Mac. Don't panic, it's not very complicated.
Understanding it
Your hard drive contains millions of files. Both your personal files such as documents, photos or music files, but also system files that your Mac needs to operate properly.
If all these files were in the same place, it would be very hard for you to find your stuff, right? It would be one gigantic pile of files. That's why we have folders. You can think of a folder as a box in which you can put your stuff.
You can even put folders inside other folders. For instance, you could create a folder called 'vacation photos' and put it inside a 'memories' folder. Neat and tidy, just the way we like it.
Get started
Let's get started browsing through your files. First, click the 'Macintosh HD' icon on your desktop. A new window will appear.
This is called a Finder window. The Finder window allows you to explore the contents of your hard drive.
The Finder window – how it works
It's quite easy to understand how to use a finder window. We'll now explain the most basic things about it.
Resize it!
If you wish to resize a Finder window, just drag (keep mouse button pressed down) the handle in the lower right corner.
Change viewing options
If you wish to change the way things are viewed inside a Finder window, there are a few buttons you should know about.
Inside your hard drive
The hard drive of a brand new Mac contains four folders (click Macintosh HD to view them):
Applications
The Applications folder contains all your applications.
Library and system
The two folders called Library and System are not very interesting for beginners. They contain stuff that your Mac needs in order to work properly.
Users
The Users folder contains one folder for each user plus a Shared folder where the users can put stuff that they want all the users of the computer to have access to.
The folder associated with the user currently logged in (you) looks a bit different. Instead of looking like a folder, it looks like a house. This folder is called your Home folder.
Home folder
The Home folder is great. Every user on a Mac has one. It allows you to organize your stuff in a smart and easy way.
When you click your Home folder, you will see a lot of different folders. We'll now explain what they do.
Desktop
Within your Home folder there is a folder called Desktop. It is an exact reflection of your real desktop. All files in that folder are visible on your real desktop.
Movies
Put your movies in this folder. What else needs to be said?
Public
Mac File Explorer Equivalent
If you want to share a file with another user, just put it in the Public folder and he/she can access it (your other folders can't be accessed by other users).
Documents
Put your documents in this folder. Word documents, Excel documents, Pages documents – this is the right folder for them!
Music
This is the place where music will be put. However, when you start iTunes it will automatically create a sub-folder called 'iTunes' in the Music folder. If you wish to add songs to iTunes, just drag them to the iTunes icon and they will automatically be organized into the iTunes folder.
Sites
If you like to create web pages, put them here. Also, if you save web pages using your web browser, you might want to put them in the Sites folder.
Library
The Library folder is one of those geeky ones. The Library folder inside Macintosh HD contains stuff for the whole computer, while the Library folder inside your Home folder contains stuff unique for your user account. Well, never mind, you probably won't need to touch this folder for a long time.
Pictures
File Explorer Mac Os X
This is the folder where you should put your images. If you use iPhoto in order to organize your photos, iPhoto will automatically create a folder called 'iPhoto' inside your Pictures folder. If you wish to add images to iPhoto, just drag them to the iPhoto icon and they will automatically be organized into the iPhoto folder so you don't have to do it yourself.
Search
Windows File Explorer For Mac
Every Finder window has a search field. Just type something and your search will be performed.
To read more about it, read our article about Spotlight.
