OS X used to include an option to share files via File Transfer Protocol but this is now somewhat hidden. To turn on FTP on a Mac—more correctly, SFTP, or secure FTP—enable Remote Login in the. To allow another Mac running Mac OS X Tiger, Leopard, or Snow Leopard to be visible to Spotlight on your system, enable File Sharing on the other Mac. (Oh, and remember that you need an admin-level account on that Mac or access to a good friend who has an admin-level account on that Mac.). When you install the Microsoft OneDrive sync app for Mac, a copy of your OneDrive is downloaded to your Mac and put in the OneDrive folder. This folder is kept in sync with OneDrive. If you add, change, or delete a file or folder on the OneDrive website, the file or folder is added, changed, or deleted in your OneDrive folder and vice versa. Tip: You can also generate sharing links through the OneDrive desktop app for Windows 7, Windows 10, and Mac. All you need to do is right-click the file or folder in your OneDrive folder on your computer, and select Share a OneDrive link. This will copy a link to your clipboard that you can paste into an email, website, blog post, and so forth.

Although file sharing has come a long way, there is still no single way or service which can fulfill all requirements of each and every user. So, come with us as we talk about the various ways in which you can transfer files between Mac, be it your own devices or with a friend’s device.

Read: 10 Ways to Share Files between Two Windows Computers

If the computers are on the same local network, why not share the files directly via network itself. We have previously seen how to transfer files between Ubuntu and Windows on local network. Today we are going to see an even easier way to transfer files among Linux, Windows and Mac OS X on local network. For this purpose, we’ll be using an.

Transfer Files From Mac to Mac

1. Online Services

Cloud storage services are a viable option for file sharing if you have a high-speed internet connection. These services or websites allow you to host your pictures, videos and all types of files on their servers and all your files can be accessed from anywhere in the world with a computer connected to the internet. Cloud storage is extensively used as backup solutions by many people and they can even be used to share files with other people just by sending them a link to the hosted file.

Some of the popular cloud storage services include – Dropbox, One Drive, and Google drive etc. All of them offer 10-15 GB free storage once you sign up. If you need more storage space, you need to upgrade to a paid version, which usually cost $3-4 per month for 100 GB. All of these also come with smartphone clients, making all your files accessible even from your or your friend’s phone.

If you want to share large files with your client, but don’t want to pay for a service, then try pCloud. As of writing this post, the trial version the limit is 20 GB.

However, if the file to be sent is very small in size (less than 30 MB), you can also consider sending easily via emailing services like Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, etc.

Read: 7 Ways To Access Your Computer’s Files Remotely Over the Internet

Pros:

Allows sharing between two( or more) devices anywhere in the world.
Files can be accessed as many times as wanted.
Compatible with also Windows, iOS, Android or almost anything that has a browser, including Apple TV.

Cons:

Dependent on internet connection
To share/host large sized files, might have to shell out some money

Conclusion:
Although all the cloud services offer plans, most offer a free limit (different for each) which should be enough to share files. Cloud offers you the ability to share files with devices or people with whom it is not physically possible to be with.

2. Physical Devices

Physical storage devices such as pen drives, external hard disks (HDDs), Solid State Drives (SSDs) have risen in popularity over the last few years owing to the ease of file sharing they offer. Just connect the device to the sender’s Mac, copy the files to it and then connect it to the receiver’s Mac and then copy from the device to the computer. Pen Drives are good for a quick transfer of small files, HDDs are great for sharing very large files (upto 4TB) and also backing up your computer. And if you want something more compact and much faster, SSDs will do the job pretty well but they do come at a price compared to hard disks.

Another great thing about them is that you can also use these devices to not only share files between two Macs but even Windows and Android device (using an OTG cable or adapter).

However, if plugging in a hard drive is too much work for you, consider getting a Wi-Fi drive like this one from ScanDisk. They cost more than the physical Hard Drive and offers less storage, but comes with the convenience to access those files over the network.

Quick Tip: Before using the same HDD with MacOS and Windows, make sure to format it to exFAT or FAT32 as Window’s default NTFS is read-only on MacOS and might cause problems.

Read: How to Format Hard Drives

Pros:

Very easy and minimal number of steps required to use
Choose accordingly over a wide variety of sizes (all the way from 4GB to 4TB)
Conveniently portable to take everywhere

Cons:

Physical devices, so susceptible to damage or data loss

Conclusion:
Physical storage devices are better than cloud services for storing or transferring huge amounts of files as they offer a better bang for the buck and they even work without an internet connection while being portable to take with you. However, keep in mind, they still have to be physically given to the receiver which shouldn’t be a problem if you are sharing with yourself or with a friend at school or work.

3. File Sharing

Of course, most of you knew about the previous two ways, but very few know of the File Sharing System built right into Mac OS. File Sharing, which uses SMB, is one of the most efficient and fastest ways in which you can transfer files between two Macs on the same network.

Read: How to Access your Computer Files From Anywhere With TeamViewer

But first, you need to activate File Sharing on the Mac from which you want to access data. Go to
System Preferences > Sharing. Turn on File Sharing by clicking on the radio button next to it.

Under “Shared Folders”, remove or add the folders which you want to share, and under “Users”, you can manage the access rights of various users. Make sure the icon is green and says “File Sharing: On” and under it there should be your device’s address starting with “smb://“ which in my case is: “smb://anurags-mbp”

Now on the other device, go to Finder > Go > Connect to Server

And type in the smb address. Next, there should be a pop-up asking you for which folder you want to open. Select the required folder and input the username and password of the user of the hosting computer and you are good to go.

File Sharing Pc To Mac

QuickTip: If you want the fastest transfer speeds, we recommend connecting both the devices to the network via wires.
Also, if you want to share with Windows computers, go to Options and turn on afp along with smb.

Pros:

Very fast transfer speeds
Rights to each user can be controlled

Cons:

Devices need to be on the same network

Conclusion:
If you want to transfer files between your own computers or to a friend’s computer connected to the same network, File Sharing offers faster transfer speeds and even offers management of access rights for the various clients.

4. Using Wires

Most of the new Macs come with Thunderbolt ports which offer insane bandwidth, but did you know you can use them solely just for File Transfer? There are two ways in which you can do so: Target Disk Mode or Thunderbolt Bridge.

Target Disk Mode allows you to access the whole hard disk of one Mac from another Mac, allowing you to copy files to and from the target device. Using all the lanes of the Thunderbolt wire, you get the fastest speeds and this method is highly reco

File Sharing For Mac Os