How to Access Mac Shared Folder From Windows 10.
The most common way to share data with Windows and Mac is Slack, Google Drive, and good old flash drives. However, there is a better way if both computers are on the same Wi-Fi network. In this article, we will set up shared folders on a Mac and access them from a Windows computer. Let’s start.
If you want to share folders on Windows and access them from Mac, you can follow the steps in this article on How to Access Windows Shared Folders on Mac.
Step 1. Enable file sharing and folder sharing on the Mac
Setting up and accessing shared folders is relatively easy, and you don’t need to install additional hardware. However, it would be even easier if you assigned these devices a static IP address so that you don’t have to re-establish the connection every time your router assigns a new one.
Open System Preferences on your Mac and click the Sharing icon.
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Click on 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 that, you can add users and their level of control over the shared folders. If you are unsure, leave the default and turn on the server. Click Options to open a dialog box.
Mac supports SMB and AFP servers, with the latter for Apple devices only. I plan to share the folder between Mac and Windows, so I checked both servers, but you can only enable SMB and it will work just as well.
Select the “Share files and folders using SMB” checkbox. Check the box next to your account and click Finish.
Now click on the File Sharing box in the left pane and then lock the settings by clicking the lock icon at the bottom left of the window.
Before exiting this window, make a note of the smb server address and the name of the shared folder, we will need this to access the shared folder on Mac.
Read: How to Configure Shared Folders, Users and Permissions on WD NAS
Step 2. Access the shared folder on Windows
To access a shared folder on a Windows computer, connect the drive to the computer. Open Windows Explorer and right-click the This PC icon.
Select Map Network Drive. Although you can access the shared folder by running this “\ IP-ADDRESS-OF-MAC” command in the Run dialog box, we will map it so that it appears in Windows Explorer and you don’t need to was to run the command every time you want to access the network drive.
Now you need the IP address we wrote down earlier when enabling the shared folder on the Mac. Enter “\ YOUR-MAC-IP SHARED FOLDER”. Click Finish.
You will be prompted for credentials and map drive after successful authentication. Now you can access the shared folder and the files in it.
Last words
It was a quick way to set up sharing and access Mac shared folders from a Windows computer. This is a convenient and reliable way to access large files over the network when you are not very mobile. We use it to share rendered video files, which reduces our reliance on Google Drive and flash drives. Make a disk map and let me know if you run into problems. You can leave a comment below, or contact me on Twitter.