Share files with Windows

Discover how to set up your Mac to access shared PC folders

Many people these days have more than one computer at home. If your Mac sits on the same network as a Windows PC or two, being able to share files between them is a must. Because Windows and OS X use different methods of file-sharing, it used to be quite tricky getting one to see the other, never mind serve up shared folders for transferring files quickly between them.

Things have changed in OS X, thanks largely to Apple’s support for the SMB (Server Message Block) protocol, which is used by Windows PCs to provide

There’s a little bit of tinkering to be done before your Mac and PC can swap files as easily as two Macs

shared access to files, printers and other devices over a network. As each version of OS X has evolved, the process has become simpler and simpler, to the point where it’s practically set up by default – although, as you’ll see, there’s a little bit of tinkering to be done before your Mac and PC can swap files as easily as Macs can between themselves.

You need certain information from your PC – its network name, and possibly the Windows workgroup it resides on – but once that’s in place, you can configure your Mac to play nicely with Windows, giving you access to its shared folders. Once connected, your PC should appear in the Navigation pane under ‘Shared’ in Finder. You can then click its name to browse and connect to available shared folders; to disconnect the folder, you can click the eject button next to it, or else drag the shared folder icon from your desktop onto the Trash icon in your Dock (which changes to reassure you that you’re not trashing its contents).

If you’re willing to sacrifice a little bit of security – not usually an issue in a home network environment – you can even configure your Mac to allow PCs to connect to its shared folders in turn. It’s worth noting, though, that if you share your Mac’s folders with PCs, logging onto the Mac using your administrator account gives access to every drive, folder and file on your Mac. It’s safer to connect using a dedicated sharing-only account, as explained.

You also need to configure what are called WINS settings separately for both wired (Ethernet) and wireless (Wi-Fi) connections – follow steps 2 and 3 of our guide once for Ethernet and then again for Wi-Fi. Rob Mead-Green