how to share files between windows and mac

With all that in mind, our guide splits the external drive in half: One primary section capable of storing files larger than 4GB, and a secondary section capable of sharing files between MacOS and Windows 10. If you want to save larger files, you’ll need to create a second, dedicated space using a format optimized for MacOS (Extended) or Windows 10 (NTFS). That puts you in a peculiar pickle, limiting any shared file between the two platforms at 4GB or smaller. Meanwhile, the NTFS system used by Windows 10 supports large files, but this format can’t be read natively by MacOS. However, this format doesn’t support larger files, which can be problematic for transferring 4K videos and so on between Macs and Windows 10 PCs. It’s a simpler, universal method if every file you store is less than 4GB in size. Leo Watson/Digital Trends It’s a split, niche scenarioĪ quick Google search may lead you to believe you’re on the right path by formatting the entire drive with Extensible File Allocation Table, or exFAT.

Otherwise, the passwords are still stored less securely. Before you turn off Windows sharing, turn off all the accounts you enabled. If you want to use an account that existed before you installed the latest version of macOS, you may need to reset the password for the account in Users & Groups settings.īecause the passwords of user accounts used for Windows sharing may be stored in a less secure manner, turn off the account when it’s not being used. To create accounts, choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Users & Groups in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.) The address appears below the “File Sharing: On” indicator, and looks similar to this example: smb://17.212.167.33/.Ĭreate an account on your Mac for each Windows user.

To find your Mac computer’s network address, choose Apple menu > System Settings, click General in the sidebar, click Sharing on the right, then click the Info button next to File Sharing. To connect to your Mac, Windows users need the network address for your Mac, and a username and password to use to log into your Mac.

Get started with accessibility features.

Use Sign in with Apple for apps and websites.

Watch and listen together with SharePlay.

Share and collaborate on files and folders.

Sync music, books and more between devices.

Make and receive phone calls on your Mac.

Use one keyboard and mouse to control Mac and iPad.

Use Live Text to interact with text in a photo.

Make it easier to see what’s on the screen.

Install and reinstall apps from the App Store.

How to share files between windows and mac