Make sure Bonjour computers and Connected servers are checked.Choose the Finder menu, then Preferences.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: Shared folder or server doesn’t appear in Finder We’ve set out several scenarios below, along with possible fixes. There are a number of reasons why file-sharing might not work. 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. However, you can add anyone who is stored in the Contacts app on your Mac. 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. 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. You can then add more files and folders to make them available from other computers on the network. You can also choose whether or not to allow Windows PCs to connect to your Mac.īy default, when you turn on file sharing, the Public user folders for all accounts on your Mac are available for sharing. On older Macs, you can choose whether to enable sharing using Apple’s proprietary file sharing protocol, AFP, or the standard protocol SMB. What is file sharing on Mac?įile sharing allows you to share files and folders on your Mac with other Macs or Windows PCs on your network. Sometimes, though, file-sharing goes wrong and doesn’t work. 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.

If you don’t use it, you may not even know it exists. If you need and use file sharing, you’ll be very well aware of it and probably wonder how you would survive without it. But to help you do it all by yourself, we’ve gathered our best ideas and solutions below.įeatures described in this article refer to the MacPaw site version of CleanMyMac X.ĭeep in macOS System Preferences, there are options that allow you to share files and folders on your Mac with other computers on your network. So here's a tip for you: Download CleanMyMac to quickly solve some of the issues mentioned in this article.

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