Macs All-in-One For Dummies, 4th Edition (2014)

Book III. Beyond the Basics

Chapter 4. Sharing Files and Resources on a Network

In This Chapter

Sharing files without having to e-mail them

Sharing a printer on your network

Sharing an Internet connection

Letting other people see your screen

The benefits of sharing over a network range from swapping files quickly and easily to sharing a single printer instead of having to buy a printer for every computer. Sharing files makes it easy for several people to work on the same project. Without a network, you could give someone a copy of a file, but then you may find yourself with three different versions of the same file, and deciphering which file contains the most accurate information would be difficult. (Read how to set up a network in the preceding chapter.)

Although networks allow others to share your files, other people connected to the network can’t rummage through your Mac without your permission. Ideally, a network allows you to share files and equipment without risking the loss or corruption of crucial files on your own computer.

In this chapter, we talk about how to share files, printers, and Internet connections among computers on a network. We also show you how to access your Mac’s screen from another computer with screen sharing.

Sharing Files with People Near and Far

If you want to share files with another Mac, you can set up a simple network, as we explain in the preceding chapter. Or, you can use AirDrop, which is a simple peer-to-peer (computer-to-computer) wireless network between Macs that sit near each other. An advantage of using AirDrop is sharing with many computers simultaneously without using a network hub.

Using AirDrop

AirDrop lets you set up a peer-to-peer network between two or more Macs that are near to each other — more or less in the same room — the caveat being that you must have a Mac that supports AirDrop and a Wi-Fi connection. It doesn’t work with Macs connected with an Ethernet cable, nor does it transfer files with iOS devices, even thought they also have AirDrop. If your Mac is older than those listed here, AirDrop isn’t for you:

· iMac: Early 2009

· MacBook or MacBook Pro: Late 2008

· MacBook Air: Mid-2010

· Mac mini: Mid-2010

· Mac Pro: Early 2009 with AirPort Extreme card or mid-2010

Don’t despair, however — there are other solutions for peer-to-peer sharing even if you don’t have AirDrop. Send files through Bluetooth or set up a peer-to-peer network (both explained in the preceding chapter), and then refer to the “Using a network” section in this chapter or use Messages, which we detail in Book II, Chapter 3.

You don’t have to have any kind of network already set up; your Mac’s internal Airport Extreme card sees other Macs. You do have to have OS X 10.7 Lion or later installed on any Macs you want to use AirDrop with. Here’s how it works:

1. From the Finder, choose Go⇒AirDrop.

The AirDrop window opens, as shown in Figure 4-1. If you don’t have Wi-Fi turned on, you’re prompted to do so; when you do, you see the AirDrop window.

You see the contact photos of only those other Mac users who have AirDrop turned on; likewise, they only see you if you have AirDrop turned on. If your Mac goes to sleep, AirDrop disconnects.

2. From the Finder, choose File⇒New Finder Window.

3. Scroll through the folders and files and then drag the file you want to transfer over the contact photo of the person you want to transfer the file to.

4. Click the Send button in the dialog, as shown in Figure 4-2.

Figure 4-1: When you open AirDrop, you see other Macs with which yours can exchange files.

Figure 4-2: Drag the file over the contact photo of the person you want to send the file to.

When you receive a file, a message appears asking what you want to do with the incoming file, as shown in Figure 4-3:

· Save and Open: This option opens the file and saves a copy of it to your Downloads folder.

· Decline: Choose this option if you don’t want the file; the sender receives a notice that you rejected the file.

· Save: This option saves the file to your Downloads folder where you can open it later.

Figure 4-3: Choose what you want to do with incoming files.

If you begin a download and want to cancel, open your Downloads folder and click the X next to the icon of the incoming file.

In AirDrop, you don’t have to worry about security. AirDrop automatically encrypts files and creates a firewall (an impenetrable barrier) between your Mac and the Mac you’re sharing the file with. Other Macs on AirDrop can only see that you’re on AirDrop; they can’t peek into your Mac.

Using a network

Sharing files over the network is different from AirDrop in a few ways:

· On the network, your Mac can be in a different room, a different building, even in a different country.

· You set up the type of access you want others on the network to have.

· Your connection to the network runs in the background where you don’t see it — even while your Mac is sleeping.

When your Mac is connected to a network, you have the option of sharing one or more folders with everyone else on the network. To share folders, you need to define different permission levels — privileges — that allow or restrict what users can do with a folder and the files inside it:

· Read & Write: Other users have the ability to see, retrieve, and add files to the folder.

· Read Only: Other users can see and open files, but they can’t add files to the folder.

· Write Only (Drop Box): Other users can only place files in the folder; they can’t see any files stored in that folder.

· No Access: Specified users are blocked from accessing files on your Mac.

You decide which folder(s) to share, who can access that folder, and what access level you want others to have in accessing your shared folder.

Each user on your Mac has his or her own Public folder that’s created automatically when the user is added. By default, you can add and retrieve files to the Public folder (Read & Write privileges), and everyone can place files in the Drop Box folder (Write Only [Drop Box] privileges) stored within the Public folder. You can change the privileges for yourself or everyone, but you can delete neither user from the Public folder (although you can choose No Access for Everyone).

Turning on file sharing

The first step to sharing your files over a network is to turn on file sharing. Follow these steps:

1. Choose ⇒System Preferences, and then click the Sharing icon or right-click (two-finger click on a trackpad) the System Preferences icon on the Dock and choose Sharing from the menu that appears.

2. Select the File Sharing check box in the leftmost Service column.

You see a list of Public folders on your Mac. If you have more than one user account set up on your Mac, you see the Public folders for each account (see Figure 4-4).

Figure 4-4: See which folders are shared.

3. Click the plus-sign button underneath the Shared Folders column.

4. From the dialog that appears, displaying all the drives and folders on your Mac, scroll through to find the folder you want to share.

The folder you want to share may be inside another folder.

5. Click the folder you want to share, and then Click Add.

The folder appears in the list of Shared Folders.

6. Repeat Steps 3–5 for each additional folder you want to share on the network.

In the following section, you can see how to grant user privileges to your shared folders.

You don’t have to share folders. If you don’t turn on File Sharing, other people can’t access your folders, but you can still use a network to access someone else’s shared folders. You can also use devices, such as printers, that are on the network.

Defining user access to shared folders

After you define one or more folders to share, you can also define the type of access people can have to your shared folders, such as giving certain people the capability to open and modify files and stopping other people from accessing your shared files.

The three types of network users are

· Yourself: Gives you Read & Write access (or else you won’t be able to modify any files in your shared folders)

· Everyone: Allows others to access your shared folders as guests without requiring a password

· Names of specific network users: Allows you to give individuals access to your shared folders with a name and a password

If you trust everyone on a network, you can give everyone Read & Write privileges to your shared folders. However, it’s probably best to give everyone Read Only privileges and only certain people Read & Write privileges.

Defining access privileges for guests

To define access privileges for guests, follow these steps:

1. If Sharing isn’t open, right-click the System Preferences icon on the Dock and choose Sharing from the menu that appears, or choose ⇒System Preferences and then click the Sharing icon.

2. Click File Sharing in the Service list.

3. Click a folder in the Shared Folders list.

The Users list enumerates all the people allowed to access this particular shared folder (refer to Figure 4-4). By default, every shared folder lists your name with Read & Write privileges.

4. Click Unknown User (the guest account) to call up the access option pop-up menu and choose an access option, such as Read & Write, Read Only, Write Only (Drop Box), or No Access.

5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 for each shared folder you want to configure.

6. Click the Close button of the System Preferences window.

Giving individuals access to shared folders

The access level you give to the Everyone account for a shared folder means that anyone on the network has that level of access to your files — Read & Write, Read Only, Write Only. You probably want to give Everyone the minimum access to a shared folder and give specific individuals higher levels of access.

To define a username and password to access a shared folder, follow these steps:

1. Right-click (two-finger click on a trackpad) the System Preferences icon on the Dock and choose Sharing from the menu that appears, or choose ⇒System Preferences to open the System Preferences window and then click the Sharing icon.

The Sharing pane appears.

2. Click File Sharing in the Service list.

3. Click a folder in the Shared Folders list.

The Users list enumerates all the people allowed to access this particular shared folder.

4. Click the plus-sign button under the Users list, and then click the Contacts category or one of the groups from your Address Book in the left pane.

A dialog appears, shown in Figure 4-5, where you can either choose the name of a person stored in Contacts or create a new user.

If the name of the person you want to add isn’t a user in Contacts, add him to Contacts (see Book V, Chapter 1) or as a Sharing Only user (see Book III, Chapter 2).

Figure 4-5: Choose users from your Contacts who can access shared folders.

5. Scroll through the list and click the name of the person to whom you want to grant privileges.

The Choose Password dialog appears, as shown in Figure 4-6.

Figure 4-6: Create theuser's password.

6. Enter a password in the Password text box.

7. Reenter the password in the Verify text box.

8. Click the Create Account button.

9. In the dialog that appears, type your user password (the one you use to sign in to your Mac) to approve the configuration change.

Your new user name appears in the Users list.

10. Open the pop-up menu that appears to the right of the name you just added to the Users box, and choose Read & Write, Read Only, or Write Only (Drop Box) to assign access privileges, as shown in Figure 4-7.

11. Click the Close button to quit System Preferences.

Figure 4-7: New user names in the Users list.

Removing accounts from shared folders

If you create an account for others to access your shared folders, you may later want to change their access privileges (such as changing their access from Read & Write to Read Only) or delete their accounts altogether.

To delete an account from a shared folder, follow these steps:

2. Click File Sharing in the Services list.

3. Click a folder in the Shared Folders list.

The Users list enumerates all the people allowed to access this particular shared folder.

4. Click the name of the User for whom you want to change privileges.

5. Click the arrows next to the name to open the Privileges pop-up menu.

6. Select the new privileges you want the user to have.

7. Click the Close button of the System Preferences window.

To delete a user, follow Steps 1–3 in the preceding list, and then follow these steps:

1. In the Users list, click a name that you want to delete.

2. Click the minus-sign button under the Users list.

A confirmation dialog appears, asking whether you want to keep the account from accessing your shared folder.

3. Click OK.

4. Click the Close button of the System Preferences window.

File sharing in Sleep mode

Your Mac can share files even if you set up your Mac to sleep when it’s inactive for a certain time. (You can use this feature if your wireless network supports the 802.11n or 802.11ac wireless protocol — see Book I, Chapter 3 or Book III, Chapter 3 for a brief explanation.) If you want your Mac to wake up when another user on the network wants to access your shared files, follow these steps:

1. Right-click (two-finger click on a trackpad) the System Preferences icon on the Dock and choose Energy Saver from the menu that appears, or choose ⇒System Preferences and then click the Energy Saver icon.

2. (MacBook model users) Click the Power Adapter tab.

3. Select the Wake for Wi-Fi Network Access check box.

4. Click the Close button of the System Preferences window.

Accessing shared folders

You can share your folders with others on a network, and likewise, others may want to share their folders with you. To access a shared folder on someone else’s computer, follow these steps:

1. From the Finder, choose Go⇒Network.

A Network window appears, listing all the computers that offer shared folders, as shown in Figure 4-8.

Choose the view you prefer from the buttons on the toolbar.

Figure 4-8: The Network window lets you connect to other computers.

2. Double-click the computer you want to access to open a connection window.

3. Click the Connect As button in the upper-right corner to display the dialog shown in Figure 4-9.

Figure 4-9: The Connect As dialog lets you access a shared folder with an account name and password.

4. Select the radio button appropriate for your request:

· Guest gives you access to the folder, usually with Write Only privileges.

· Registered User lets you sign in with your username and password.

· Using an Apple ID lets you sign in with your Apple ID and password.

5. With either of the last two choices, click in the Name text box and type the account name to use for accessing that shared folder.

The Registered User account name is the name that the computer’s user created in the earlier section, “Giving individuals access to shared folders.”

6. Click the Password text box and type the corresponding password.

7. Click the Connect button.

Depending on your access to the shared folder, you may be able to copy, open, or modify files.

You can also find the shared folder’s Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) directly under the File Sharing: On text when you click a shared folder in the Sharing System Preferences window. Type the AFP address, such as afp://192.168.1.3 (refer to Figure 4-7), in the URL address field of your browser and proceed from Step 4.

Sharing Printers

Instead of buying a separate printer for each computer on your network — which is expensive and space-consuming — connect a single printer directly to one computer, and then configure that computer to share its printer with any computer connected to the same network. Depending on your printer, some special functions may be limited to the connected Mac so connect the printer to the Mac that you use for the most diverse functions. To share a printer, follow these steps:

1. Right-click (two-finger click on a trackpad) the System Preferences icon on the Dock and choose Sharing from the menu that appears, or choose ⇒System Preferences and click the Sharing icon.

2. Select the Printer Sharing check box.

A list of printers connected to your Mac — physically or wirelessly — appears, as shown in Figure 4-10.

3. Select the check boxes of the printers you want to share.

Note that Everyone Can Print is the default in the Users column.

4. (Optional) Add individual users just as you do for sharing files by clicking the plus-sign button beneath the Users column; choose No Access for Everyone and give selected users access to that printer.

5. Click the Close button to quit System Preferences.

Figure 4-10: Each connected printer appears with a check box in the Sharing window.

When you choose File⇒Print in an application (say, Notes) to print a document or photo, a Print dialog appears. If you click the Printer pop-up menu, you see printers that you previously connected to your Mac. Choose Add Printer to choose a printer you haven’t used, and a window appears (as we explain in Book III, Chapter 3), listing all the available printers connected directly to your Mac (USB) or shared over the network (Bonjour or Bonjour Shared). Click the Default tab if you don’t see a list of printers.

Bonjour is Apple’s implementation of a networking standard known as zeroconf (short for Zero Configuration Networking), used by most printers to connect to other computers through Ethernet cables (wired networks) or via wireless (Wi-Fi) connections (the number of the standard is 802.11a/b/g/n/ac). Printer companies have written software drivers to make their printers compatible with Bonjour/zeroconf. Windows users can download the Bonjour for Windows application for free, so Windows PCs can access shared printers on a network.

Sharing an Internet Connection

Although Wi-Fi and home networks seem universal, sometimes only one Mac has Internet access, and you’d like to tap into it from other Macs. Or one Mac may have access to the Internet through a wireless connection, but a second older Mac may not have a wireless or Ethernet adapter. With Internet Sharing turned on, though, the second Mac can access the Internet through the first Mac.

To share an Internet connection, follow these steps:

1. Right-click (two-finger click on a trackpad) the System Preferences icon on the Dock and choose Sharing from the menu that appears, or choose ⇒System Preferences and then click the Sharing icon.

2. Click Internet Sharing, without selecting its check box in the list box on the left, to highlight it.

3. From the Share Your Connection From pop-up menu, choose how your Mac is connected to the Internet, which could be any or all of the following:

· iPhone USB

· Bluetooth DUN

DUN stands for dial-up network. Your Mac is connected to the Internet through a cellular data connection on a smartphone or tablet.

· Thunderbolt Bridge

· USB Ethernet

· Wi-Fi

· Bluetooth PAN

PAN stands for personal area network. You can create a personal area network between your Mac and other computers or handheld devices (such as smartphones and tablets) when your Mac is connected to the Internet through an Ethernet connection.

4. In the To Computers Using list, select one or more of the check boxes that indicate how the other computer connects to your Mac:

· Thunderbolt Bridge

· USB Ethernet

· Wi-Fi

· Bluetooth PAN

Not all options will appear with every choice.

To find out more about the different connection options for connecting your Macs to create a network, see Book III, Chapter 3.

5. Select the Internet Sharing check box.

A warning dialog appears, as shown in Figure 4-11.

6. Click the Start button.

7. Click the Close button on the System Preferences window.

The second computer — connected to your Mac through Ethernet, Thunderbolt, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth — can now access the Internet.

Figure 4-11: Define howto share your Internet connection.

Seeing Your Screen from Afar

Wouldn’t it be great if while you’re away from your office you could access your Mac? Or if you have a problem with your Mac and want to consult an expert, you can share your screen to show exactly what’s going on? Screen Sharing lets you do this.

Sharing your screen

For you or others to see and work on your Mac from another computer, you need to set up access on your Mac. Follow these steps to do so:

2. Select the Screen Sharing check box.

If you have Remote Management selected, deselect it, or Screen Sharing won’t work.

3. Take note of your computer’s address under Screen Sharing: On, as shown in Figure 4-12.

4. (Optional) Click the Computer Settings button to add a password.

5. Select either of the Allow Access For radio buttons to grant screen sharing privileges to

· All Users, which allows anyone who sees your Mac on the network or uses the address to access your computer.

· Only These Users, which limits access to the people you add to the list. Click the Add (+) button to add users to the list as you do for file sharing, as we explain earlier in this chapter.

6. Click the Close button to exit System Preferences.

Figure 4-12: Use your Mac’s address to access the screen from another computer.

Accessing your Mac

To access your Mac from another computer — or someone else’s Mac from yours — do the following:

1. Open a web browser and type in the address of the Mac you want to view.

This is vnc://192.168.1.3/ in Figure 4-12.

Open a Finder window and click the other Mac’s name in the Finder sidebar; or from the Finder, choose Go⇒Network and double-click the Mac you want to view in the list. Then click the Share Screen button at the top of the window, as shown in Figure 4-13.

Figure 4-13: Access another Mac from the Finder.

2. Type in your username and password or use your Apple ID and password to access the screen of the other Mac.

If you go through a browser, you can also ask permission to use the other Mac. After the shared Mac grants permission, as shown in Figure 4-14, the “asking” Mac shows the screen of the shared Mac as a window on the Desktop.

Figure 4-14: Ask for access when you aren’t a registered user.

3. Select the window of the shared Mac.

Screen sharing menus appear across the top:

· Choose Screen Sharing⇒Preferences to choose how to interact with the shared screen.

· Choose View⇒Switch to Observe Mode to only view the screen without being able to control it.

· Choose View⇒Switch to Virtual Display to control the shared Mac from the remote computer.

4. Observe what’s happening on the other screen, or interact by using standard Mac and application commands.

5. Choose Connection⇒Close to end screen sharing.