If you can’t share files between Mac and Windows computers
Here are some things you can try if you’re having trouble sharing files with Windows computers.
If copying files to a Windows computer from a Mac stops
If you’re copying a group of files to a Windows computer from your Mac and the copying stops, there may be a problem with the name of one of the files.
Make sure all the filenames are allowed by Windows. If one of the filenames contains a character not allowed by Windows, copying stops.
Files copied to a Windows computer must adhere to the Windows file naming conventions, which dictate the allowable characters and other restrictions on filenames. For example, Windows doesn’t allow these characters in filenames:
< > : “ / \ | ? *
If hidden files appear on Windows computers
Filenames that begin with a full stop (for example, “.filename”) are hidden in macOS. However, if you view a Mac disk on a Windows computer, you can see these hidden files.
You can ignore these files on the Windows computer. Do not delete these files if you plan to use the disk on a Mac again.
To hide these files on your Windows computer, see Microsoft Windows Help for more information.
If files added to a Windows shared folder don’t appear on your Mac
Log out of your Mac, then log in again and connect to the Windows computer. If you still can’t see the updated contents of the shared folder, you may need to restart your Mac and then connect to the Windows computer again.