OS X Lion: Share files with others on your network

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Share files with others on your network

You can set up your computer to share files and folders with other users on your network. You can share your entire computer with everyone, or allow specific users access only to certain folders.

To share files, first turn on file sharing, and then, if you want to limit access to specific users or folders, you assign permissions. By default, your computer shares files using Apple Filing Protocol (AFP), but you can also use the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol.

Note: Mac OS X is set up by default to allow guest access to shared folders on your computer. To turn off guest access, deselect the “Allow guests to connect to shared folders” checkbox on the Guest Account pane of User & Groups preferences.
  1. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, and then click Sharing.
  2. Select File Sharing and click the checkbox if it isn’t checked.

    Any user with an account on your computer (in the Users & Groups pane of System Preferences) can access your computer by connecting to it over the network. A user with an administrator account can access your entire computer. For more information about creating user accounts, see:

    Create a new user account

  3. To select a specific folder to share, click Add (+) at the bottom of the Shared Folders list, and then locate the folder, select it, and click Add.

    By default, the Public folder of each user with an account on your computer is shared. To keep a folder from being shared, select it in the Shared Folders list and click Delete (-).

  4. To give only specific users access to a folder, select the folder in the Shared Folders list and click Add (+) at the bottom of the Users list. Select a category of user, and then select the user and click Select.
    • To select a user from the accounts you’ve set up in Users & Groups preferences, select Users & Groups.

    • To select a user from users on your network, select Network Users.

    • To select a user in your personal address book, select Address Book.

    • To create a new account that will only be used for sharing, click New Person, enter a name and password, and click Create Account.

  5. Select the user in the Users list, and then click the triangles next to the user name and choose the level of access the user should have to the selected folder:
    Option Description
    No Access: The user can’t see or copy files from the folder.
    Read & Write: The user can see and copy files to and from the folder.
    Read Only: The user can view the contents of the folder but can’t copy files to it.
    Write Only (Drop Box): The user can copy files to the folder but can’t view its contents.
  6. To change the protocol used for sharing files, click Options, and select AFP or SMB.

    If Windows users connect to your computer to share files, make sure SMB is selected, select the On checkbox next to the name of each Windows user that will share your computer, and enter the password for that user.

Last Modified: Oct 30, 2013
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