How to share a network folder from os x to windows

Lowell is the founder and CEO of How-To Geek. He’s been running the show since creating the site back in 2006. Over the last decade, Lowell has personally written more than 1000 articles which have been viewed by over 250 million people. Prior to starting How-To Geek, Lowell spent 15 years working in IT doing consulting, cybersecurity, database management, and programming work. Read more.

There are countless ways to copy files between computers, including great sync options like Dropbox, but if you just want to share one of your folders from your Mac to your Windows computer, you can do that easily.

Of course, if you want to go the opposite way and mount a Windows share on your Mac, we’ve also got you covered.

Share a Folder from OS X to Windows

To start you need to open the Sharing preference pane in System Preferences.

Once you are in there select on the File Sharing option.

Then you will want to click on the “+” underneath the Shared Folders column.

Then choose the folder you want to share. In this example we will use Share Me folder.

Next click the Options… button. In order be able to see the files from the Windows, machine you will need to click to the Share files and folder using SMB option, Also you will want to choose the users accounts who can access the files.

Now you will be able to access your files from the Windows machine. If you need assistance with mapping a network drive in Windows check out our article on Map a Network Drive from XP to Windows 7.

This little tutorial will save you hours of frustration

I recently upgraded one of my computers to Windows 10 and setup a shared folder so that I could easily transfer files from my MacBook Pro and Windows 7 machines to Windows 10 over the home network. I did a clean install of Windows 10, created a shared folder and attempted to connect to my shared folder from OS X.

Unfortunately, I was not able to connect and it took me a little time to figure it out. In this article, I’ll walk you through the steps to connect to a shared folder on Windows 10 from OS X.

Step 1 – Configure Windows 10 for Sharing

Obviously, the first thing you’ll need to do is create a shared folder on Windows 10. Right-click on the folder, go to Properties and click on the Sharing tab. Go ahead and share the folder and set the permissions to whatever you desire in terms of access.

I suggest clicking on Advanced Sharing as you have more fine-grain control over everything. Check the Share this folder box and then give the share a name. Click on Permissions and then add groups or users that you want to give access.

If you want to make it easy and the folder doesn’t have sensitive data, just add the Everyone group and give them Full Control. This way, you’ll be able to access the folder from any computer or device without having to worry about entering credentials.

The next thing you need to do is make sure that File and Printer Sharing is turned on and allowed through the Windows Firewall in Windows 10. Go to Control Panel and click on Windows Defender Firewall. Then click on Allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall.

Scroll down until you see File and Printer Sharing and make sure that it is checked for the Private network. You may have to first click on the Change settings button at the top before you can select a box.

Lastly, you can decide how you want users to access the folder on Windows 10. By default, when connecting from another machine, you have to enter the username and password of an account that has access to that shared folder on Windows 10. If you setup a Windows 10 user account without adding a password, you won’t be able to connect to the shared folder.

You’ll first have to add a password and then you could connect. However, if you feel your home network is super secure, you can always turn off password protected sharing, which means anyone can connect to the shared folder without having to type in a username or password.

You can do that by going to Control Panel, Network and Sharing Center, Advanced sharing settings and then expanding All Networks. Here you will see an option called Password protected sharing, which you can turn off. I personally keep it turned on, but if you really hate having to type in a username and password to connect, this is an option.

Also, if you use Windows 10 without a password, this would save you from having to setup a password on your account. Note that even if you have a Windows account with a password, if you turn off password protected sharing, then people can still connect without typing any credentials.

Step 2 – Connect to Windows Shared Folder from OS X

Finally, on the Mac, open Finder and look under the Shared section for the Windows 10 PC. If Shared is not in the sidebar, you have to add it. With Finder open, click on Finder and then Preferences at the top. Click on Sidebar and check all the items under Shared.

Now go back to Finder and wait till your computer shows up. Note that it can take a little while until the Windows 10 PC shows up. If it doesn’t show up after 5 minutes, try restarting the PC once.

If your Windows PC refuses to show up in the Shared devices list in Finder, you can try connecting manually using SMB. To do that, open Finder and click on Go and then Connect to Server.

Now type in the following as shown, replacing the IP address below with the IP address of your Windows 10 PC.

Click the Connect button and you’ll be asked to type in credentials again. If that is entered correctly, you’ll be asked which volume you want to mount.

If you’re still not able to connect using SMB, then there is some issue on your Windows PC. You have to make sure the firewall is configured properly.

Once it shows up in the sidebar, go ahead and click on it. When you click on it, it will try to connect and you may get a message saying Connection Failed or Not Connected.

That’s OK! That’s where that password protected folder setting in Windows 10 comes into play. If it’s turned on, you need to connect using the Windows 10 account credentials. You can do that by clicking the Connect As button at the top right.

Go ahead and type in your credentials and then click OK. Note that if it’s a Microsoft account you have setup on Windows 10, you’ll need to type in the full email address and the same password that you use to login to your Microsoft account.

That’s about it! Now you should see the Windows 10 shared folders in Finder on your Mac. If you have any questions about connecting to Windows 10 PC from a Mac, post a comment here and I’ll try to help out. Enjoy!

Founder of Online Tech Tips and managing editor. He began blogging in 2007 and quit his job in 2010 to blog full-time. He has over 15 years of industry experience in IT and holds several technical certifications. Read Aseem’s Full Bio

In my household, Macs and PCs live in harmony. And thanks to built-in SMB sharing in OS X, sharing files and folders between Windows and OS X isn’t nearly as challenging as it has been in the past. You can get your Windows 7 PC and your Mac OS X computer reading and writing to each others’ files and folders via your home network in no time with minimal fiddling in their respective system preferences.

Let’s take a look at how I do it!

Article Map

1. Sharing Mac OS X Files with a Windows 7 PC
2. Sharing Windows 7 Files and Folders with Mac OS X
3. Changing Workgroups in Windows 7 and OS X

Sharing Mac OS X Files with a Windows 7 PC

Connecting to an OS X Mac from a Windows 7 PC is easier than doing things the other way ‘round, for some reason. Once you set up sharing on your Mac, Windows 7 basically treats it like any other computer on the network.

Step 1

In macOS, go into System Preferences and click Sharing.

Step 2

Check File Sharing and Click Options….

Step 3

Check Share files and folders using SMB (Windows) and Click Done.

Step 4

From here, you can add folders and set permissions for each user as you see fit using the +/- buttons under Folders and Users.

Step 5

In Windows, the Mac computer will show up in Network on the left. Click it to connect and start browsing. You may have to enter a user name and password–use the login credentials for a user that’s set up in OS X. If you log in as a user that has administrator privileges, you’ll have read/write access to all files and folders. Alternately, you can log in with a user that was set up in step 4 for limited access to only the folders you set permissions for.

Sharing Windows 7 Files and Folders with Mac OS X

Getting OS X to connect to a networked Windows 7 computer ranges in difficulty from simple to slightly awkward. Either way, getting your Windows 7 shared folders onto OS X is a breeze.

Step 1

In Windows 7, Click the Start > Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center and Click Change Advanced Sharing Settings on the left.

Step 2

Scroll down to File and printer sharing and select Turn on file and printer sharing. In the next section, select Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can read and write files in the Public folders (optional–you can skip this if you won’t be using public folders).

Step 3

Click Save Changes.

Step 4

In Mac OS X, launch Finder. If you’re lucky, your Windows 7 computer will show up in the sidebar under “Shared.” Click it to access its shared files and folders.

If you don’t see it, then there are two possible problems. The first is that you simply haven’t enabled shared servers in Finder. This is an easy fix. Just go to the Finder menu and Click Preferences and go to the Sidebar tab. Make sure Connected servers is checked.

If this doesn’t fix the problem, you can connect to your Windows computer manually. In Finder, Click the Go menu and choose Connect to Server… You can also press Command – K.

Type in SMB://192.168.1.7, or whatever your Windows 7 machine’s local IP address is and Click Connect. You may be prompted to enter a user name and password. If so, enter the user name and password you’d use to log in to the Windows 7 machine directly, as if you were sitting right in front of it.

Now, the Windows 7 computer should show up in the sidebar.

Changing Workgroups in Windows 7 and OS X

When sleuthing out potential bumps on the road towards Windows 7 and OS X networking, I noticed that some users recommended putting both your Mac and your Windows 7 PC on the same workgroup. Personally, I didn’t do this step and it worked fine. I think that’s because, by default, both Windows 7 and OS X use “workgroup” as the workgroup name. But I tried changing my Mac’s workgroup to something else and file sharing still worked. Either way, you may want to try changing your workgroup name if you are having trouble.

To change the workgroup in Windows 7, Click Start and Right-click Computer and choose Properties. Scroll down to the section that reads “Computer name, domain and workgroup settings” and Click Change settings.

In the Computer Name tab, Click Change.

To change the workgroup in OS X, go into System Preferences and Click Network. Select whatever protocol you’re using to get on the Internet (wireless or ethernet) and then choose Advanced.

Click the WINS tab. From here, you can type in the name of your workgroup. Click OK and be sure to Click Apply way back in Network settings.

If you have a mixed network of Mac and Windows PC’s, chances are good that you’ll be wanting to move files between the two operating systems. The easiest way to share files from Mac OS X to Windows is to enable Samba support for a given user account on the Mac. This tutorial will how to share files between Mac and Windows PC this way.

Samba (SMB) may have a funny name but it’s essentially just Mac OS X to Windows file sharing support. Because it’s not required by all Mac users or for Mac-to-Mac sharing, it’s actually a separate unique sharing option within Mac OS X File Sharing panel, and enabling it allows a Windows PC to connect to the Mac without any additional software. Let’s cover exactly how to enable this feature, and then how to connect to a shared Mac from a networked Windows PC so that you can swap files back and forth with ease.

Enable Mac to Windows File Sharing in Mac OS X

First you need to enable the Windows to Mac file sharing functionality, this is a simple preference toggle in Mac OS system settings on the Mac:

1. Launch “System Preferences” and click on “Sharing”
2. Click the checkbox next to “File Sharing” to enable it
3. Once File Sharing is turned on, select it and then click on the “Options…” button
4. Click the check box next to “Share files and folders using SMB (Windows)”
5. Now click on the checkbox next to the user accounts you want to share or access from Windows – when you click to enable SMB sharing on a user account, you will be asked for that users password
6. Click on “Done”

With SMB enabled, we now can connect from the Windows PC to the Mac. If you already know the Macs IP address you can skip this first part of this and go directly to the Windows PC to access the shared users directory.

Connect to the Mac File Share from a Windows PC

With SMB and Windows File Sharing enabled, you can now connect to the Mac from any Windows PC. First you’ll get the Macs IP address that you need to connect to, then you’ll connect to that from Windows:

Back at the ‘Sharing” system preference panel, take note of your Macs IP address as seen below, discard the afp:// portion and pay attention to the numbers in the format of x.x.x.x

Access to the shared Mac directory and user files appear as any other folder within Windows. You’re free to copy or access individual files, or perform more substantial tasks like moving an iTunes library from a Windows PC to a Mac.

This process of connecting to the Mac should be identical from Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 10, and Windows 8 or RT, and enabling file sharing on the Mac is the same in MacOS Catalina 10.15, MacOS Mojave 10.14, macOS High Sierra 10.13, macOS Sierra 10.12, Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, 10.7 Lion, 10.8 Mountain Lion, and OS X Mavericks 10.9, and El Capitan 10.11, OS X Yosemite 10.10.x. SAMBA has been a supported Mac protocol for a very long time, so technically you will find that older Macs and OS X versions will also be supported by this.

Connecting to a Windows PC from a Mac

Going the other direction, you can connect to a Windows Shared PC very easily from a Mac running Mac OS X:

1. From the Mac OS X Finder, hit Command+K to summon “Connect To Server”
2. Choose the “Browse” button to browse the available network shares, double-clicking on the share to enter a login
3. OR: In the “Server Address” field, simply enter the IP of the Windows share to connect to preceded by smb://

For example, to connect to a Windows share at 192.168.1.115, the smb address would be: smb://192.168.1.115

Note that an issue with some versions of Mac OS X Mavericks causes smb:// to use Samba2 rather than Samba1, which may cause connection errors with some servers. If you run into such a problem connecting to a NAS or SMB Windows share from OS X 10.9 Mavericks, you can forcibly use Samba1 with the cifs:// prefix like so: cifs://192.168.1.115 – this is not the case with Mac OS X Yosemite or other versions of MacOS and Mac OS X.

What about the .DS_Store files?

Depending on the Windows PC settings, you might see a bunch of .DS_Store files on the Mac file system. These are normal but if you’re peeved by them, you can disable .DS_Store files by entering the following defaults write command in Mac OS X’s Terminal:

defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteNetworkStores true

If you want them back, just switch that to ‘false’ at the end.

So you’ve made the switch to Mac, but kept your old PC, and now you’ve got both connected to your home router. How do you access your Windows files from OS X?

Sure you could set up an FTP or SSH server , but that’s overkill for a regular home network . Turns out that Mac OS X can connect to Windows shared folders very easily. Read on to find out how.

How to set up a home FTP server

If you’ve been following the the Lifehacker Home Server Series of articles, you know how to do…

Set up sharing on your PC. To get this going, make sure your PC is set up for file sharing . In Windows, choose the folder you want to access from your Mac, and right-click to get to its Properties dialog box. From the sharing tab, turn on sharing, and choose a name for the shared folder. (This is the name you’ll see on your Mac.)

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If you try to use a name more than 12 characters long, Windows will warn you about some operating systems not being able to grok it. To be safe, stick with something less than 12. Here, I’m sharing the “My Documents” folder as “PC – My Docs.” Also, check the “Allow network users to change my files” if you want to save files to this share from your Mac.

Determine your PC’s IP address. You’ll need to give your Mac an address to look for this shared folder, so get your PC’s local IP address from the command line by running ipconfig . In my setup (shown below), that address is 192.168.1.102. Write that number down.

UPDATE: Several readers have pointed out that you can use your PC’s name versus its IP address to connect to it. Using the name is a better method than IP address because the IP can change if it’s assigned dynamically, but the name won’t unless you change it.

Connect to the server on your Mac. Now, on your Mac, from Finder’s Go menu, choose “Connect to Server.” Enter the IP address you just obtained from your PC, preceded by smb:// , as shown:

UPDATE: To use your PC’s name instead of IP address, replace the number with the name. So if your PC’s name is “MyWindowsBox”, you’d use smb://mywindowsbox (not case-sensitive).

If it finds your server, you’ll get prompted to enter your network credentials – by default, your Windows username and password:

Once you’re in, you’ll get to choose which shared folder you want to mount on your Mac. In this case, we’re going to choose the “PC – My Docs” share:

And you’re done! Now the “PC – My Docs” folder will be mounted on your Mac, and accessible from your desktop and in Finder. If you’ve allowed reading and writing to the shared folder in Windows, you can drag and drop and save files to it as if it were any disk.

This technique comes in very handy for backing up your Mac’s data to a PC, too – just set your Mac’s backup software destination to the Windows drive. Also, using Hamachi , you can also do this over the internet when you’re away from home.

Geek to Live: Create your own virtual private network with Hamachi

by Gina Trapani

UPDATE: You can automatically mount your Windows drive every time you login to your Mac by adding it to your Login items. In System Preferences, Accounts, choose the “Login Items” tab and add the Volume to the list of apps that automatically start up. Thanks, Snorbalp !

How to mount a Windows shared folder on your Mac

So you’ve made the switch to Mac, but kept your old PC, and now you’ve got both connected to your…

How do you get your Mac and PC to talk to one another? Let us know in the comments.

Recently in the README File, we learned how to share Windows 10 files with Mac OS Yosemite as a local network alternative to sharing files in the cloud. In this piece, we will examine how to share files in the opposite direction: Yosemite sharing files with a Windows 10 machine.

So, if you wish to share your Mac OS X files with Windows 10 on your local network follow these steps.

Change Mac OS X file share settings

In System Preferences, open Sharing.

Note the section of text below the Computer Name field. In this example screenshot, Yosemite is telling me that my machine can referenced on my local network as MacbookPro.local. Next, select the folder you wish to share with Windows in the Shared Folders section, and ensure a user has Read & Write permissions enabled in the Users section.

When you are finished noting the machine name, selecting shared folders and changing user permissions, click the Options button.

A dialog windows opens, please ensure both Share files and folders checkboxes have been checked and a user account with read/write permissions is selected.

Drive mapping in Windows.

Open Windows Explorer, right-click Network and select Map network drive.

The Map Network Drive window opens, select Drive letter and type the network name of your Mac in the Folder field. This is network name we found earlier in the Yosemite Sharing window. In this example I typed \\macbookpro.local\ in the Folder field and clicked the Browse… button.

If you wish to reconnect to your Mac every time you sign-in, check the Reconnect at sign-in box.

Your Windows 10 machine is now able to “see” your Mac’s folders. I selected my Glasskeys home folder inside the Browse for Folder dialog window. The folder selected is mapped to the drive letter chosen earlier — in my case Z.

Windows also needs to know how to connect to the shared folder as a Mac OS Yosemite user. So please keep in mind to enter the username and password of the Mac user with read/write permissions before clicking the OK button.

I see a mapped drive

Windows Explore now has a drive mapped to a folder found on our Mac OS X Yosemite machine!

This story, “How to share Mac OS X Yosemite files with Windows 10” was originally published by ITworld .

Stephen Glasskeys is a blogger and blog watcher, writer and developer. Full-time fan of funny people, dogs & coffee.

Сводка: Refer to the information about file sharing between MAC OS X and Windows 7. Свернуть Refer to the information about file sharing between MAC OS X and Windows 7.

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Table of Contents:

1. Details
2. Configuring the Systems
3. Mapping the Folders

1. Details

Changes to the way the operating systems function has changed the way that the MAC OS and Windows share files. This article provides general information on how to share files between MAC OS X and Windows 7. You can use mapped shares to exchange data between the systems.

2. Configuring the Systems

To set up the sharing, ensure the following is configured for each system.

· Have a user account with a password

· Ensure File Sharing is enabled under System Preferences > Sharing

· Under sharing, click the Options button and select “Share files and folders using SMB”. Choose the folders for sharing under the Options window.

· Under System Preferences > Security, check the Firewall Settings. Click the lock to make changes, then click the Advanced button. Make sure SMB Sharing is allowed. This should have been enabled when SMB Sharing was set in Sharing.

Windows 7 System

· Have a user account with the exact same username and password as the MAC account

· In the Network and Sharing Center under Control Panel, click “Change advanced sharing settings”. Enable the following :

o Network Discovery

o File and Printer Sharing

o Sharing in the Public folder sharing section

o Password Protected Sharing

· Create shares normally within Windows 7

3. Mapping the Folders

With these settings enabled, the shares will need to be mapped between the systems. Use the information below to map the folders between the two systems:

Open Computer. In the Windows Explorer, click Tools, then Map Network Drive.

In the map network drive dialogue, type the IP address of the MAC system and the shared folder on the MAC as follows :

Under Go, choose Connect to Server

Type in the Windows computer name or IP address of the system and the shared folder name as the following command

While there are numerous ways to share files between Windows and Mac, probably the easiest one is to use SMB sharing which is built-in on both Windows and Mac. All you need is both computers under the same WiFi network. In this article, we’ll set up shared folders on Windows and access it from a Mac. Let’s begin.

After following this article, you will be able to share the folders from your Windows computer and access it from a Mac. You would also be able to copy and delete the files directly from your Mac without needing to get up from your table. Alternatively, if you want to share the files from your Mac and access on Windows, follow this guide on how to Access Mac Shared folders from Windows.

Access Windows Shared folders from a Mac

Step 1. Enable File Sharing On Windows 10

The first thing you need to do is enable File sharing on your Windows which will allow everyone on your Network access to those. You can either plug in a LAN cable or connect your devices to the same Wi-Fi network to ensure high-speed data transmission. Sure, the speeds won’t be as high as the ethered connection but it would still be better than using Google Drive or flash drives.

The first step is to turn on File Sharing on your Windows computer, you can skip to the next step if it is already enabled. Go Settings and open ‘Network and Sharing Center’.

Pro Tip: Keep all the devices on the same network for easy access in the future.

It would open a new window, look on the left pane and click ‘Advanced Sharing Settings‘ to open Sharing Settings.

On this page, you’ll see three different Network Profiles; Private, Public, and All Networks. Turn Network Discovery and File Sharing on all the three profiles. If you’re worried about your privacy then you can do this on your current profile and it should still work. Click ‘Save Changes‘.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work if your Windows PC has no password on it. In such case, you will have to set a new password by going to a user account in the Settings of your Windows.

Step 2. Share a Folder on Windows

Now that the File Sharing is turned on, we’ll share a folder. Open your Windows computer and navigate to the directory which you want to be shared. To demonstrate, I’ll share a folder from C drive but you can share any folder of your choice.

Right-click on the folder, and click Properties.

Go to the Sharing tab and click the Share button under Network File and Folder Sharing.

Here you can add people who can access the shared folder. If the folder you want to share doesn’t have sensitive data, type “Everyone“, click ‘Add‘ and then click ‘Share‘. Your folder is now shared with every user on the network.

Make sure you’ve allowed reading and writing to the shared folder in Windows. That way, you can save and delete files to it from your Mac later on.

You can see the folder is shared in the image below. The phrase underlined in red is the hostname for your Windows computer. Note it down somewhere because we’ll need it later on to establish a connection.

Step 3. Access Shared folder On Mac

To access the shared folder on a Mac computer, open Finder and on the menu bar on the top, click on Go > Connect to Server. Press CMD+K on the keyboard.

Enter the hostname we note down earlier while sharing the folder on the Windows. Type “smb://WINDOWS-HOSTNAME” and press enter.

It would prompt you to enter the credentials, enter the username and password of your Windows computer and click ‘Connect‘.

It would show you all the folders that are shared, choose one that you want to mount of your Mac.

There you go, you can now access all the files of the shared folder. Simply open up your finder and look for your Windows PC name in Finder’s sidebar. Clicking on it will bring up your Windows folder. However, you will get an error message if the Windows Computer is locked or powered off.

You will see your Windows folder where you can drag and drop files or even delete it, depending on the permission you have set while setting up Windows sharing for that folder.

If you want to mount other folders, simply repeat the Second portion of this article. To make it even more seamless, just add the mounted folder to login items so that the Network Drive is automatically mounted every time you restart your computer.

Go to System Preferences> Users and Groups> Login Items> Add the Mounted Drive.

Wrapping Up: Sharing Folders

That was a quick way to set up sharing and accessing Windows shared folders from a Mac. 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. Alternatively, there are plenty of apps that let you share files over the local network. Go ahead map the drives and let me know if you face any problems. You can comment down below or reach me on Twitter.

Adam Dachis and Emily Long

Need to share a file or folder to another device connected to your network? Transferring files between machines requires just a few changes to your computer’s settings. In this beginner’s guide, we’ll show you how to share a folder over your network whether you use Windows or Mac OS.

Windows

Here’s how to share a folder on your Windows machine:

Right-click on the folder you want to share.

Select Give Access to > Specific people.

From there, you can choose specific users and their permission level (whether they can read-only or read/write). After making your selection, click Share.

If a user doesn’t appear on the list, type their name into the taskbar and hit Add. You can also share with Everyone.

If you’re in File Explorer, you can also click the Share tab and select users through the same process listed above.

To access your shared folder on other computers on your network, simply look for your computer’s name in the Network section on your other machine. When you choose it, you’ll have a new option to connect to this folder.

Note: previous versions of Windows allowed you to share files with members of your HomeGroup. This function is no longer supported in Windows 10 (Version 1803).

Mac OS X

Sharing a folder on Mac OS X isn’t quite as straightforward as it is with Windows, but it’s still pretty easy to do. Here’s how:

Open System Preferences (click the icon in your Dock or the Apple menu at the top left corner of your screen).

From the System Preferences panel, choose Sharing.

Find the File Sharing option in the far left box of your menu window. Toggle the checkbox on.

Two boxes will appear to the right. The left box will list shared folders, and the right box will list the users that can access them. To add a folder, click the + sign underneath the Shared Folders box. Select the folder you want and press Add.

This folder is now shared, but you’ll also want to check which users can access this folder over the network and what they can do. For example, if you want them to be able to only read the files in the folder but not make any changes, you would choose the “Read Only” option (click the arrows to the right to switch permissions). Whatever you choose, this folder will now be shared across the local network.

To access this new shared folder from another computer, simply open a new Finder window (by press Command + N on your keyboard while in Finder or choosing “New Finder Window” from the File menu). In the bar on the left side of the window will be a section called Shared.

Beneath it will be a list of shared computers. Click on the name of the computer that has the folder you just shared and want to access. After a moment, a list of shared folders will load. Click on the shared folder you want to access. You may be prompted to enter a username and password if you didn’t allow access to “Everyone.”

If you’d like a visual for all of this, we’ve got a video walking you through the steps. Fair warning: the video first went up in 2011, and while the steps and processes are unchanged, the visuals will be a bit different, depending on what system you’re currently running.

This story was originally published in June 2011 and updated in November 2019 with the most current information.

By default, Parallels Desktop shares files from your Mac Desktop, Downloads, Documents, Pictures, Music, and Movies folders with Windows, which brings amazing convenience and data safety when you work with Windows on your Mac. The feature is called Shared Profile.

In addition to that, you can share other Mac folders with Windows, such as Home folder, a custom set of folders or even the whole of macOS drive, as described in KB 124928.

Note: To use this functionality, you should have Parallels Tools installed in the virtual machine, and the Isolate Windows from the Mac option must be disabled.

About Shared Profile

Thanks to this feature, Windows user folders such as Desktop, Documents etc. are for all intents and purposes being replaced by those of your Mac. Original Windows Desktop, Downloads, and other folders are still there, but they are hidden.

This means that when interacting with one of the mentioned folders, you are actually interacting with the respective macOS folder.

Thus, if you save a file to any of these folders (such as Desktop) in Windows, it gets saved to the corresponding Mac folder.

And if you delete a file from one of these folders in Windows, you will actually be deleting it from the respective folder on your Mac.

Note: No files are being duplicated. The Shared Profile feature does not take any additional space on either your Mac or the virtual machine.

Manage Shared Profile

Note: starting with Parallels Desktop 17, the entire home folder is no longer shared with Windows by default, only selected folders, like Desktop, Documents, Downloads, etc.

To enable this feature, open the virtual machine’s configuration, and click Options > Sharing > Share Mac > check the Share Mac user folders with Windows.

To configure, which user folders will be shared with Windows, open the virtual machine’s configuration, and click Options > Sharing > Share Mac > Configure.

There, you can select which Mac user folders will be shared.

Note: you would need to log out from the Windows user session and log in back to apply the changes.

Disable Shared Profile

To disable Shared Profile, simply open the virtual machine’s configuration, go to Options > Sharing > Share Mac, and uncheck Share Mac user folders with Windows.

Note: in Parallels Desktop 16 and earlier, Shared Profile and Shared Folders features are interconnected. Therefore, disabling Shared Profile automatically disables Shared Folders.

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In Mac OS X 10.1.x and higher, before you can connect and share files with a Windows computer within your network, you must first create a share folder on the Windows computer. You must also have a local account on that computer. Then follow the appropriate directions below.

Creating a Windows share folder

1. In Windows, create a new folder or select an existing one. Right-click the folder, and from the contextual menu , select Properties .
2. Select the Sharing tab, and check the box next to Share this folder or Share this folder on the network .
3. In the “Share name:” field, provide a name for the share and click OK . A one-word name is simpler and reduces the risk of confusion.

Connecting to a Windows computer on the network

Beginning in Mac OS X 10.2 and continuing with later releases of OS X, you can browse to a Windows computer on your network:

1. With the Finder active, from the Go menu, select Connect to Server. .
2. In OS X 10.3.x and later, in the Connect to Server window, click the Browse button. In the window that opens, you will see a listing of all the available computers (both Macintosh and Windows) on your local network.

In OS X 10.2.x, in the Connect to Server window, if you do not already see a listing of all the available computers on the local network, click the blue triangle next to the “At:” pull-down menu.

In OS X 10.1.x and later, you can simply enter the IP address and share name to connect to a Windows computer:

1. With the Finder active, from the Go menu, select Connect to Server. .
2. In the “Address:” or “Server Address:” field, type smb:// , then the IP address of the Windows computer to which you wish to connect, followed by a forward slash and then the share name, for example:
3. Click Connect . When prompted, supply the workgroup name as well as your Windows local account username and password. If you do not know the workgroup name, the default will usually work.

Note: You must have a local account on the Windows computer you’re attempting to access.

Adding your OS X computer to the Windows workgroup

Optionally, you can add your OS X computer to the Windows workgroup to make it easier to browse directly to the computer:

1. Open Directory Access, which is located in /Applications/Utilities .
2. If the padlock in the lower-left corner is locked, click it to unlock it, and supply your OS X account password.
3. Make sure SMB or SMB/CIFS is checked, highlight that option, and then click the Configure. button.
4. In the “Workgroup:” field, enter the name of your Windows workgroup and then click OK .

Sharing files with a Windows computer

To access your OS X 10.2.x and later computer from Windows, you must turn on Windows sharing and then connect from the Windows computer.

Turning on Windows sharing in OS X

1. From the Apple menu, select System Preferences. .
2. In System Preferences, from the View menu, select Sharing .
3. On the Services tab, check the box next to Windows File Sharing or Windows Sharing to permit access to your OS X computer from a Windows computer.

Note: Any Windows user attempting to access your OS X computer must have an account on your computer and must provide the username and password for that account in order to receive access.

In OS X 10.2.x, you must also complete these steps:

1. In System Preferences, from the View menu, select Accounts .
2. Select the user account to which you wish to grant Windows access, and click Edit User. .
3. Check the box next to Allow user to log in from Windows , and click OK .

Accessing your OS X computer from Windows

Note: You must have an OS X user account in order to access the OS X computer this way.

1. From the Start menu, select Run. .
2. In the “Open:” field, enter the following, replacing the IP address with that of the OS X computer to which you wish to connect and shortname with the short name for the OS X user account:
3. In the authentication window, enter your OS X user account short name and password.
4. If you wish, you can now map this share as you would any other Windows share so that it is accessible from a drive letter. For more information, see Map a drive (access a shared resource) at IU

This is document aqvz in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2018-01-18 14:18:59 .

Table of Contents

Do you have a Windows PC at home or work and a brand new Mac as well? That’s great! That is until you need to access a Windows folder and have no idea how to make your Mac behave in a friendly manner.

The good news is that it’s not difficult to do as long as both devices are connected to the same local network. You don’t need to set up an SSH server any more or even an FTP because transferring files between a Mac and Windows computer is easy.

Let’s find out how you can share a Windows folder with a computer running Mac OS X or macOS.

Step 1: Configure a Shared Folder on Windows to Transfer Files

You need to enable the file-sharing options to set up a shared folder on Windows by performing the following steps.

1. Go to the Control Pane l and select Network and Sharing . The Network and Sharing panel enables you to set up new network sharing connections. You can access all settings as well as troubleshoot problems that might arise during configuration.
2. Navigate to Change Advanced Sharing settings in the left column. Here you will find all the network sharing settings in Windows.
3. Select network discovery and turn it on to allow other computers on the network to access the Windows PC.
4. Once you enable network discovery, turn on File and Printer Sharing, and save changes.

Accessing the shared folder from Windows

Once you have set up the shared folder, access it from Windows. To do that, select the Network pane in Windows Explorer to see all the computers attached to your network.

In this window you will find the Mac computer you want to connect to and a list of other computers accessible on the network.

To share files between Mac and PC , you can easily connect to the Mac computer if you know the name or its IP address. All you need to do is type the computer’s name in the location bar of Windows Explorer and press Enter.

You can also enter the computer’s IP address if you do not know its name.

Step 2: Access the Windows Shared Folder From macOS

Now you need to access the shared folder from the Mac computer. Use the following steps to connect to the shared folder with macOS.

1. Open Finder and navigate to the Shared section. Locate the Windows computer to which you want to connect.
2. Click on the Windows PC. If you get a Connection failed message it may indicate that the shared folder is password protected. In that case, click the Connect As button, type the credentials, and click OK.
3. If the Windows PC does not appear in the sidebar you can connect to it manually by selecting Connect to Server from within Finder. Provide the Windows computer’s IP address and click Connect.

At this point you can access the shared folder on the Windows machine from your Mac.

Reasons Why You Need to Access a Windows Shared Folder Using Mac

There are multiple reasons why you might need to access a shared Windows folder from your Mac:

• Transfer files from an old PC to a new Mac;
• Access files from a work machine on your home Mac computer.
• Directly share files with family members of colleagues on the same network.

How to determine your PC’s or Mac’s IP address?

To determine your PC’s IP address, enter “ipconfig” on the command line. On a Mac, go to System Preferences and look in Network for the machine’s IP address.

Can I connect Windows shared folders directly via the IP address?

Yes, you can connect to Windows shared folders using the IP address. Click the WiFi connection button and then go to Properties of the connected network to access the shared folders.

Can I share and access an external hard drive or USB flash drive?

Yes, you can share to an external hard drive or USB flash drive, but you need to ensure that both machines support the storage media.

Can I share/use Microsoft Onedrive on Windows and Mac at the same time?

Yes, you can use Microsoft Onedrive on Windows and Mac simultaneously to share and transfer files.

This tutorial will show you how to connect to a file share or NAS drive on a Mac.

Before you get started, you’ll need the following:

1. Your ADS/CHEM-ADS information
2. The hostname/IP of the NAS drive and the folder(s) you’ll need access to (network address)
3. If you’re remote, make sure you’re connected to Pulse Secure.
4. If you’re on campus, make sure you’re connected to the building network and not eduroam

Step 1

Open the Finder app either by either (a) finding it on your task bar or (b) through Spotlight by pressing the “Space Bar” and “Command” buttons at the same time and typing “Finder”. Then press Enter.

2. Then press buttons “Command” and “K” at the same time to bring up the Connect to Server window

3. In the Server Address bar, type in “smb://nasdrivehostname/shared/folder”. For quick access, press the + button to add it to your Favorite Servers.

4. Then select Registered User and type in user your name as ads\username or chem-ads\username and your password. Click Connect.

Generally, if you are in the Life Sciences Buildings and Noble offices, you will be adding ads\ before your username and if you’re in PSBN/Chemistry building then you’ll add chem-ads\ before your username.

5. Three different things can happen depending on the network address you’ve entered.

a. You were successfully able to mount the shared folder to your Mac. Skip to step 8 if you’d like to automatically connect to the NAS drive, otherwise congrats you’re done!

b. You’ve been asked to select the volumes (folders) to want to mount. Continue with step 6.

c. You’ve encountered the following error. Contact LSCG and CC your lab manager to confirm that you need access to the desired shared folder. Repeat step 4 after you’ve received confirmation that you have access to the folder.

6. Select the folder(s) you would like access to. To select multiple folders at a time, hold Command and click on each folder. Then click OK.

7. If you have permission to access the selected folders, then you should have been taken to the network folder like in the image in Step 5a.

If you encountered an error like in step 5c, then contact LSCG and CC your lab manager to confirm that you need access to the desired shared folder. Repeat step 4.

8. Now let’s configure a setting so that you’ll automatically connect to your network folders when you log into your computer.

How to share a folder.

Follow this easy step by step guide on how to share a folder on your mac:

1. Start the ‘System Preferences’ App
2. Select ‘Sharing’
3. From the ‘Service’ list on the left, ensure that ‘File Sharing’ is ticked (see 1 on screenshot)
4. Under the ‘Shared Folders’ list, click +
5. Choose a folder to share and click ‘Add’
6. By default all users (‘Everyone’) get read-only access to the share. To give your user the ability to change files, click + under the ‘Users’ list and choose your account. Then change ‘Read Only’ to ‘Read & Write’.
7. Click the “Options” button (see 2 on screenshot).

1. Ensure that “Share files and folders using SMB” is enabled, because FileBrowser only uses SMB.
2. Click Done.

Find Computer Name

Click the “Edit. ” button. We won’t be actually changing anything here.

This is the Network Name of this computer. This should go into FileBrowser’s “Computer Name” setting.

Click Cancel to close the window.

Find Username

To check the user account, use the following steps:

1. Click “Options”.
2. Ensure that at least one of the user accounts in the list is ticked.
3. Enter one of these names into FileBrowser’s Username setting.
4. The password for the account is case-sensitive so be careful when entering it into FileBrowser.

How to configure MacOSX Firewall.

You should now be able to connect FileBrowser to your Mac. If you can’t then the MacOSX firewall may be blocking the network.

Use the following steps to navigate to the firewall control screen.

1. Open System Preferences and click “Security”.
2. Click “Firewall”.
3. Click the lock to make changes.
4. Click “Advanced. “.
5. Ensure that “Block all incoming connections” is unchecked.

Scan your Network

In FileBrowser follow these steps:

1. From the home screen.
2. Tap “Add Location” to the right of the “Remote” Section.
3. Tap “Computer / Network Drive” this will start a scan of your local network.
4. Select your computer from the list.
5. Enter your credentials and tap ‘Save’.

If the scan hasn’t worked try adding it manually

In FileBrowser follow these steps:

1. From the home screen.
2. Tap “Add Location” to the right of the “Remote” Section.
3. Tap “Computer / Network Drive” this will start a scan of your local network.
4. Tap the ‘Manual Setup’ icon.
5. Take the machine name labelled above with an ‘A’ and enter it into the ‘Computer Name’ field.
6. Take the username labelled ‘B’ above and enter it into the ‘Username’ field.
7. Enter the password for your user account into the ‘Password’ field. If your account doesn’t have a password, tap the ‘Blank’ button.
8. Tap the Save button.
9. Tap your new location which has been added to your home screen to connect.

If not connected or getting errors please try our Trouble Shooter.

The following procedures explain how to create a shared folder on a computer running Mac OS X, and how to confirm the computer’s information. Max OS X 10.5 is used in these examples.

Step 1: Creating a shared folder on a computer running Mac OS X

You must log in as an administrator to create a shared folder.

Create the folder that you want to send scan files to.

On the Apple menu, click [System Preferences].

Select the [File Sharing] check box.

Select the [Share files and folders using SMB.] check box.

Select the account that will be used to access the shared folder.

If the [Authenticate] screen appears, enter the password for the account, click [OK], and then click [Done].

Under the [Shared Folders:] list, click [+] (new).

Select the folder you have created, and then click [Add].

Make sure that the permissions for the user who will access this folder are set to [Read&Write].

To register a shared folder in the machine’s address book, you need the computer’s IP address, and the user name and password of a user who has access permissions for the shared folder.

Step 2: Confirming the computer’s name and the user name

Confirm the computer name and the user name for the computer you will send scanned documents to.

On the Apple menu, click [About This Mac].

The [About This Mac] window appears.

Click [More Info. ].

The computer’s information screen appears.

In the [Contents] pane, select [Software], and then confirm the computer name and user name under “System Software Overview”.

The computer name is displayed under [Computer Name].

The user name is displayed under [User Name].

Depending on the operating system or security settings, you might be able to specify a user name that does not have a password assigned. However, we recommend that you select a user name that has a password.

To confirm the IP address: on the Apple menu, click [System Preferences], and then click [Network] on the System Preferences window. Then click [Ethernet]. The address displayed in the IP address field is the IP address of the computer.

Introduction:

Sharing files between a MAC and another computer (Mac/PC/etc) can be very helpful. For testing sharing files between the base OS and the virtual machine will help make testing faster because files don’t have to be emailed or transferred in a long, slow process.

Requirements:

MAC, Windows or another OS

Procedure:

Share from PC to Mac

If you would like to share a folder on a PC to a Mac then use the following steps to set it up.

Create a folder or find a folder you want to share in Windows. Right click on the folder and click on Properties. Click on the Sharing tab and click on the Share… button then click Share. A confirmation will be displayed along with the share link displayed below is: \\CARL\Shared from Win8

Go back to Mac and click off of any open windows and click on Go from the top menu bar. Click on Connect to Server and enter in the share link formatted as follows – smb://Carl/Shared from Win8

You might be prompted for a username / password for the computer you are connecting to on the network. Enter in the username for the computer and the password then click OK.

Once connected Finder should open allowing you to click on the new share. Click on the shared folder and you should see the folder that you shared. If you shared other folders they might also display. See the image below as an example.

If you want to share more folders with your Mac machine just repeat the steps at the beginning of this guide when you shared your first folder.

Share from Mac to PC

If you would like to share a folder on a Mac to the PC then use the following steps to set it up.

Open the MAC machine and click on the Apple icon in the top left of your screen then click on System Preferences.

Click on Sharing then click the checkbox for File Sharing.

Click on Options and check the checkbox for Share Files and folders using SMB (Windows). Make sure you click the checkbox for the Account as shown in the image below.

Make a note of the Computer Name of your Mac installation as found on the Sharing screen.

Open up the Network in your Windows machine and you should find your Mac’s computer name in the list. Double click the computer name to view the folders that have been shared with the Windows machine.

At this point the folders and files that are shared are only able to be read but not modified. To fix this go back to the Sharing screen and change the settings for Everyone to Read & Write.

Note: If a folder has subfolders the permissions will not propagate to the subfolders. To fix this right click on the folder and click on Apply Permissions to Enclosed Items then click OK on the dialog box that pops up. See below image for assistance.

If you go back to your Windows machine you should be able to access all files and subfolders in the shared Mac folder.

Follow these directions to map network drives using a Mac OS X computer.

Before You Begin

When you connect to a shared folder on a remote computer, it is known as mapping a network drive (sometimes also called mounting a volume). This article describes how to map network drives in Mac OS X.

To map network drives:

• You must know the appropriate network path
• You must know the user name and password to the shared folder, or it must be an open, unprotected shared folder.
• Some shared folders might have network restrictions (such as IP-based restrictions) as well.

Mapping Network Drives

To map network drives in Mac OS X, do the following:

1. If you are off campus and want to connect to a computer or server on campus, you must first connect through VPN. For more information, refer to the Network Requirements section of this article below.
2. On the Finder menu bar, click Go > Connect to Server .
3. Enter a network path in the Server Address box. For example: smb://computername/sharename .
   • Use the DNS name for the remote computer if possible.
4. Click Connect .
5. If you are prompted to enter a password, select Registered User .
6. Enter your username and password.
   • When mapping network drives to computers hosted on campus, the user name might be ADILSTU\yourULID. In this case, the password is your regular, ULID password.
7. Click Connect .

The shared folder will automatically open once it is successfully mapped to your computer. Depending on your Mac settings, a new mounted volume may be displayed on your Mac desktop. For more information on displaying a mounted volume on your desktop, see:

When you are done, you can disconnect from the remote computer by dragging the mounted volume to your trash.

More Information

For detailed information on network paths, user names and passwords, VPN, and other requirements, refer to the information found in the sections below.

Network Path

Before you can map network drives, you must know the network path to the remote computer you are attempting to access. A network path is comprised of two elements: a Computer Name and a Share Name .

When mapping network drives in Mac OS X, you must format the computer name and share name into a network path as follows:

• smb://computername/sharename

The computer name could be either a Netbios name or a DNS name. You should use the DNS name if one is available, especially in Mac OS X. For example, Reggie Redbird wants to connect to a server maintained by his department. The server has both a Netbios name, “Redserver,” and a DNS name, “ Redserver.ilstu.edu .”

The share name is the name of the shared folder on the remote computer to which you are attempting to connect. A remote computer could have many shared folders. Some shared folders contain the dollar sign symbol . For example, there are many shared folders on Redserver, but Reggie Redbird is only interested in accessing the folder named DeptData$.

To access the DeptData$ shared folder on Redserver, Reggie should use one of these network paths:

• smb://Redserver/DeptData$
• smb:// (Recommended)

For details on the correct network path to use, contact your department’s technical support staff for assistance accessing departmental servers. For general help, contact the Technology Support Center.

Permissions

To map network drives, you must be granted the necessary permissions to the shared folder on the remote computer. The person responsible for managing the remote computer must grant you access before you can successfully connect to the shared folder.

Some shared folders are “open” and do not require special permissions. Anyone can connect to an open shared folder.

When you map network drives to a shared folder, you may be prompted to enter a user name and password. The user name and password you should use depends on several factors. Some shared folders, especially those offered through Illinois State, require you to specify the domain along with your user name.

When mapping network drives to a server or computer hosted by the University, you should usually use the domain, ADISLTU, in conjunction with your ULID. Your user name should be formatted like this:

• ADILSTU\yourULID

However, not all shared folders offered through the University will require a user name like this. For details on which user name to use and how to format it, contact your department’s technical support staff for assistance accessing departmental servers. For general help, contact the Technology Support Center.

Network Requirements

To map network drives to computers hosted by Illinois State, you must be connected to the campus network. If you are off campus, you must first establish a VPN connection to the campus network. For more information, please refer to:

Similar Articles

• Map Network Drives to Datastore in Mac OS X
• Map Network Drives to School of IT Shares in Mac OS

Technology Support Center
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Normal, Il 61790-4000

Mac OSX machines do not save persistent mappings to network drive connections and you may find shortcuts are needed to reconnect when on the network and when connecting remotely via VPN. The following will walk you through creating a ‘Network Folders’ shortcut that will contain quick access to your network drives / shares.

2. Close or minimize all windows.

3. Click an open space on your desktop.

4. Open your local home directory by pressing Command, Shift, and H at the same time.

5. Create a folder in your local home directory called Network Folders:

6. Click an open space on your desktop, then click FInder then Preferences in the menu bar at the top of the screen.

7. Make sure Connected Servers is checked in the window that appears:

8. You should now see the network folders you connected to appear on your desktop.

9. Drag the icons for them into the Network Folders folder you created in your local home directory:

10. Drag the Network Folders directory from your local home directory to the OSX Dock 11: You now have a permanent shortcut in your Dock that can be used to access FBRI network shares.

NOTE: You can reverse step 7 if you wish to NOT show Connected Servers on your desktop.

Answer

If you want to do a Windows share from Mac OS X you need to know a few pieces of information first:

• The name of the server.
• The name of the share.
• The name of the Network or Domain where the server lives.
• Your user name on the server.
• Your password on the server.

1. As there is no browsing feature when connecting to Windows shares, choose Connect To from the Go menu in the Finder.
2. Enter “smb://your_server_name/your_share_name” (sans quotes)
   Note: You must replace “your_server_name” and ‘your_share_name” with your appropriate information for this to work.
3. A dialog box then prompts you to authenticate yourself: Enter the name of the workgroup in which the server resides, your user name on the server, and your password in the appropriate fields.
4. The share will appear in the Computer area in a Finder window and on your desktop (if you have selected the Finder preference to show mounted shares on your desktop)

   If you enter the fully qualified hostname of your Windows server (eg: your_server_name.mit.edu), the dialog box will appear with the appropriate workgroup name already entered.

   Further notes from Apple’s Knowledge Base.

   You can find the entire article here.

   1. “ServerName” may be an IP address or DNS name.
   2. The name of the “share” (the shared disk, volume, or directory) must be specified. You will not be prompted for it.
   3. You cannot type spaces as part of the share name when connecting. In place of any space in the share name, type: %20
   4. You cannot connect to a share with a name that contains a hyphen. Resolve the issue by giving the share a name that does not contain a hyphen.
   5. Connecting to (mounting) two or more SMB volumes simultaneously may cause a kernel panic. Drag one volume to the Trash to eject it before connecting to another.
   6. The only alert message that Mac OS X displays for SMB login difficulties is “There’s no file service available at the URL .” This is sometimes correct and sometimes incorrect. This is the message that would appear if you mistyped your password, for example.
   7. Mac OS X connects to SMB via the TCP/IP protocol, not via the NetBIOS protocol.
   8. When troubleshooting a connection failure, you can ping the IP address of the Windows computer using the Mac OS X Network Utility to verify a TCP/IP connection between the two computers.
   9. Check Microsoft support resources for information on setting up file sharing on your Microsoft Windows-based computer. These may include Help files installed on your computer or the Microsoft online Knowledge Base For an example, see article Q304040: “Description of File Sharing and Permissions in Windows XP”

   Note: These instructions assume you are using Mac OS version 10.1.2. Locations, labels, and behaviors may differ in other versions of the OS.

   There are countless ways to copy files between computers, including great sync options like Dropbox, but if you just want to share one of your folders from your Mac to your Windows computer, you can do that easily.

   Of course, if you want to go the opposite way and mount a Windows share on your Mac, we’ve also got you covered.

   RELATED ARTICLES How to Share Files Between Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs on a NetworkHow to Share Printers Between Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs on a Network

   Share a Folder from OS X to Windows

   To start you need to open the Sharing preference pane in System Preferences.

   Once you are in there select on the File Sharing option.

   Then you will want to click on the “+” underneath the Shared Folders column.

   Then choose the folder you want to share. In this example we will use Share Me folder.

   Next click the Options… button. In order be able to see the files from the Windows, machine you will need to click to the Share files and folder using SMB option, Also you will want to choose the users accounts who can access the files.

   Now you will be able to access your files from the Windows machine. If you need assistance with mapping a network drive in Windows check out our article on Map a Network Drive from XP to Windows 7.

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   I need to share a folder between windows 7 and mac os x on VMware.

   How can this be done?

   4 Answers 4

   You need to follow this procedure in order to share files between Windows 7 and Mac OS X on VMWare :

   1. Go in your virtual machine settings and select ‘Options’ tab.
   2. Click on ‘Folder Sharing’ and tick ‘Always enabled’.
   3. Click on ‘Add’ button and select a folder you want to share.
   4. Confirm virtual machine settings.
   5. From ‘System preferences’ on Mac OS X, select ‘Sharing’.
   6. Make sure that ‘File Sharing’ is enabled.
   7. From top menu bar, select ‘Go’ and ‘Computer’.
   8. You will now see a folder named ‘/’. This is your shared folder between Windows 7 and Mac OS X.

   Unlike other answers posted so far, this one explains how to connect the host and guest via VMware Shared Folders.

   • Install VMware Tools in the VM
     • If a security dialog pops up saying that a system extension was blocked, do as it says: go into security settings, allow the VMware system extension to run and when prompted for restart, choose to restart later.
   • After finishing, the installation will restart the system
   • Enable VMware Shared Folders for the VM
   • Press Add. and add a shared folder (pick any host folder that you have access to and any name)

   Press Next and OK everywhere until all dialogues close

   You should now have a “VMware Shared Folders” icon on desktop in which you will see the folder you’ve created. In the filesystem, it’s a vmhgfs mount at /Volumes/VMware Shared Folders :

   • If there’s no icon, check in Finder->Preferences. ->General if “Connected servers” is checked:
   • If you don’t see either the icon or the mount, try uninstalling and reinstalling VMware Tools (this happened for me when an old version was originally installed), then disable and re-enable Shared Folders and reboot.

   I started using a Mac recently in a workplace where most people use Windows. We share with each other links to work files that exist on some server here. So I may get a URL via email that looks like that \\servername\folder\stuff.doc or even just a link to a folder like \\servername\folder – clicking it results in an error on the Mac (Lion). Is there anything I can do so that clicking such network addresses will launch the document or folder?

   7 Answers 7

   Under the finder menu, choose ‘Go’ -> ‘Connect to Server’.

   In the box that appears you need to type the path to the SMB server share.

   SMB stands for Server Message Block, which windows understands.

   The path would look like this.

   I have done this on OSX Tiger and Lion.

   There are many tutorials available, such as this one on lifehacker

   I’ve used WinShortcutter in the past – seems to work OK. This will allow you to open Windows style UNC paths (\\servername\path\to\directory) when they appear in emails, etc.

   Also, if you connect to the local domain, you can configure UNC paths to work in Mac OS X.

   You can connect to the domain by going to System Preferences>Users & Groups>Login Options and click the Join button next to Network Account Server. Type in the name of the domain and press enter.

   You can then click the Open Directory Utility button and select the Active Directory option and click the pencil button to edit. Verify that you are bound to the domain and click the Show Advanced Options button. Make sure that the Use UNC path from Active Directory to derive network home location is checked and select SMB as the network protocol to be used.

   We are having all sorts of problems with our Macs accessing network folder shares on Windows servers. They receive error messages, get disconnected, and have trouble maintaining connections.

   I am very aware that the real answer is Macs don’t play well on Windows networks.

   Is there a certain configuration we need? Is there third party software that can sit in-between?

   Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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   20 Replies

   are there other devices on the network which are not having the issues ?

   need to verify that it is only OSX that is having the performance issues and not server or network side

   also what error message are you getting ?

   one thing I noticed is that finder tends to lag on folders with huge amounts of files in them , this command from CLI helps.

   also are you mounting using

   I have few problems with Macs connecting to Windows SMB. There is a bug that Mac has never fixed in which the initial listing can be extremely slow, but it’s just an annoyance, not a failure.

   Need more information to troubleshoot. Which OS versions of each are you using, which SMB level (1, 2, 3, 3_2, etc.) Check console on a mac that’s having the issue to see if actionable errors are logged.

   And as JKZfixme ​ confirm it’s just Macs.

   Here is a pinned topic on the subject:

   Our Macs never had luck with our fileserver using smb:// or cifs://. They used it, but it was a huge pain with frequent calls to the helpdesk to force close files which their finders were holding open.

   I found good reviews of a product called something like Extrem-EZ-IP that was supposed to eliminate all the Mac-Microsoft incompatibilities.

   By the time I actually found it it had been bought by and renamed Acronis Access Connect. It is wonderful.

   Now the Macs can connect to the file shares using AFP:// and have none of the issues that they were having. The only time I find files which are locked, they’re really truly open on someone else’s machine. (Which our Mac users still don’t seem to quite grasp, lol)

   Anyway I think to get started was roughly $2000 and maintenance is a standard 20%.

   Before we start

   Having spent some years coding applications for macOS we’ve created a tool that everybody can use. The all-round problem fixer for Mac.

   So here’s a tip for you: Download CleanMyMac to quickly solve some of the issues mentioned in this article. But to help you do it all by yourself, we’ve gathered our best ideas and solutions below.

   Features described in this article refer to the MacPaw site version of CleanMyMac X.

   Deep in macOS System Preferences, there are options that allow you to share files and folders on your Mac with other computers on your network. If you need and use file sharing, you’ll be very well aware of it and probably wonder how you would survive without it. If you don’t use it, you may not even know it exists. However, even these days where it seems almost everything is synced with the cloud, sharing files directly between computers on a network can be very useful. Sometimes, though, file-sharing goes wrong and doesn’t work. Here’s what to do when that happens.

   What is file sharing on Mac?

   File sharing allows you to share files and folders on your Mac with other Macs or Windows PCs on your network. On older Macs, you can choose whether to enable sharing using Apple’s proprietary file sharing protocol, AFP, or the standard protocol SMB. On newer Macs, you must use SMB. You can also choose whether or not to allow Windows PCs to connect to your Mac.

   By default, when you turn on file sharing, the Public user folders for all accounts on your Mac are available for sharing. You can then add more files and folders to make them available from other computers on the network. You can set permissions for specific users, groups, or everyone and dictate whether they are allowed to read, read and write, or are blocked from accessing files.

   When you first set it up, the list of users who can access shared files includes only those users created in the Users & Groups pane in System Preferences. However, you can add anyone who is stored in the Contacts app on your Mac.

   Once you have added a user and set their permissions, they will be able to access the files and folders you’ve enabled for them from any Mac or, if you’ve set it up, Windows PC on your network.

   If you plan to share all the files on your Mac across a network, you may want to prune the files stored on it first by getting rid of junk files you don’t need. That way, you’re not sharing those junk files over the network. The easiest way to do that is to use CleanMyMac X’s System Junk tool. It scans your Mac looking for junk and, once it’s identified it, allows you to get rid of it with the press of a button. System Junk identifies user cache, system cache files, language files, logs and other files you probably don’t need and don’t want to share. You can download it for free here.

   What to do when Mac file sharing is not working

   There are a number of reasons why file-sharing might not work. We’ve set out several scenarios below, along with possible fixes.

   1. Shared folder or server doesn’t appear in Finder

   If you expect a server or Mac you’re connected to to appear in the sidebar of a Finder window and it doesn’t, do the following:

   1. Open Finder.
   2. Choose the Finder menu, then Preferences.
   3. Select sidebar.
   4. Make sure Bonjour computers and Connected servers are checked.
   5. If you want to see a server you’re connected to appear on the desktop, click General and choose Connected servers.

   2. You can’t log in to a shared computer

   You will need to speak to the administrator and ask them to check that you can be given access to the computer and the files and folders you want to access. If you are the administrator, do the following.

   1. Launch System Preferences and select the Sharing pane.
   2. Make sure File Sharing is checked.

5. Ensure the folder you want to access is in the list of shared folders. If not, press the ‘+’ and add it.
6. Is your username in the list of Users? If not, press ‘+’ and add it, then type in a password.

3. You’re denied permission to access a folder

As we explained above, file sharing on the Mac is built on Unix, which uses a system of permissions. If you can’t access the file or folder you need, it’s likely a permissions issue. Files in a shared folder don’t automatically inherit the same permissions as the folder. To apply permissions granted to a folder to all the files in it, right-click on the folder in System Preferences > Sharing and choose ‘Apply Permissions to Enclosed Items’.

To set permissions for a shared folder, select it in the ‘Shared Folders’ panel in the Sharing pane of System Preferences, then click your username in the right-hand panel and click the arrows to choose permissions.

If you’re trying to connect from a Windows PC, click Options in the main Sharing window, check the account’s name that houses the file or folder you want to share, and press Done.

File sharing on Mac is a handy tool if you have multiple Macs or Macs and PCs on a network. Most of the time, once it’s set up, it just works. Occasionally, however, it goes wrong, and you either can’t connect to a Mac on the network or can’t access the folder you need. If that happens to you, follow the steps above, and file-sharing will be working properly again in no time.

A convenient way to transfer or exchange files

There are many situations when you might need to share files on your Mac with other users. One sure way to exchange files between computers is to set up a shared folder that another Mac user or a Windows user will be able to access.

Aside from being able to share files and folders with others, you can edit file sharing permissions to only give read access to some users and read and write access to others. Learn how to create a share folder on macOS to easily share your files with others.

How to Enable File Sharing on macOS

Before you can create and use a shared folder, you need to turn on file sharing on your Mac. To do that, follow the steps below.

1. Open the Apple menu on your Mac.
2. From the drop-down menu, select System Preferences.

1. Select Sharing.

1. In the Sharing dialog box, under Service, select the File Sharing checkbox.

You’ll see a message File Sharing: On appear in the dialog box, meaning the file sharing is now enabled on your Mac. Right next to it you’ll find the network address of your computer. That’s very useful information which you or other users will need when accessing a shared folder.

Under the message, you’ll also see a Public Folder with your username that’s automatically shared on your Mac. If you don’t want to share it with others, select it under Shared Folders and select the – icon to remove it from the list. You can then close the Sharing dialog box, as well as the System Preferences window.

How to Create a Shared Folder on macOS

Once you enable file sharing on your computer, you can create a shared folder for other users to access. Make sure you’re logged in on your Mac as an administrator for this. To create a shared folder on macOS, follow the steps below.

1. Open Finder, right-click and select New Folder to create a folder you’d like to share with other users. It’s recommended to avoid spaces and any punctuation symbols in the folder’s name.

1. In Finder, right-click the folder you just created and select Get Info.

1. Under General, select the Shared folder checkbox.

Now, if you go back to the Sharing dialog box in your computer’s System Preferences, you’ll find your folder in the Shared Folders list. Now you and other users can access your shared folder from both Windows PC and Mac. You can add or remove files from the shared folder at any time.

How to Set Up File Permissions

You can use the shared folder method to give another user access to your files, exchange files with other users, or to receive files from others. Depending on your goals, you might want to specify the amount of access that you want to give another user when sharing your files with them. To set up file permissions, follow the steps below.

1. Open the Sharing dialog box by following the path Apple menu >System Preferences >Sharing.
2. Under Users, select the user from the list that you want to edit file permissions for.
3. Next to the username, you can select one of the following options:

• Read & Write: The selected user can both open and copy files to and from the shared folder.
• Read Only: The user can only view and open the contents of the shared folder but can’t copy files to and from the folder.
• Write Only (Drop Box): The user can only copy the files to and from the folder but can’t open them.
• No access: The user can’t view or copy files to or from the shared folder.

Your choice will be automatically saved. Once you’re happy with the set permissions, you can close the Sharing dialog box.

You can also change the file permissions of your shared folder in the Info section. To do that, follow the path shared folder > Get Info > Sharing & Permissions.

Use a Shared Folder to Exchange Files with Others

Using a shared folder is a convenient way to exchange or transfer files from one computer (or user) to another. This method works for when you need to create and connect to a shared folder on macOS. If your shared folder is located on a Windows computer instead, there’s a way to connect to it from macOS as well.

Have you tried creating a shared folder before? What did you use it for? Share your experience with exchanging files via shared folders in the comments section below.

Anya is a freelance technology writer. Originally from Russia, she is currently a full-time Remote Worker and Digital Nomad. With a background in Journalism, Language Studies, and Technical Translation, Anya couldn’t imagine her life and work without using modern technology on a daily basis. Always looking out for new ways to make her life and location-independent lifestyle easier, she hopes to share her experiences as a tech- and internet-addict through her writing. Read Anya’s Full Bio