Sharing files from a Mac
From The Neuros Technology Wiki
Contents |
Introduction
(If you have Windows, please visit Sharing files from Windows)
It's easy to get your Mac & OSD talking. If you use Leopard, you just need to specify a directory to share. If not, a small but powerful app called Sharepoints will let you do this. Just follow the relevant section below. To find the version of OS X you are running, simply click the Apple icon in the top left of your screen, and select "About this Mac."
Method: Tiger (10.4), Panther (10.3) and older
The above versions of OS X behave slightly differently to Windows on a network by default. The OSD can only find network shares, i.e. folders you specifically choose to share out with a certain name, when they're advertised. Windows advertises the fact that these shares exist, so other machines (like the OSD) can find them & connect to them.
These Macs however don't advertise their shares by default. When you turn on "Windows Sharing", your home directory is available to be connected to, but you need to know the exact name of the share (usually your short username) before connecting to it.
Using a program called Sharepoints, you can create windows-like shares that advertise themselves, so the OSD can see them & connect to them.
Step 1
Install Sharepoints. Download the correct version for your machine, it's available for Tiger (10.4), Panther (10.3) and beyond. Just drag the icon to where you'd like - there's no installer.
Step 2
- Run Sharepoints. You'll see a window like this:
- To make changes, click the padlock & enter in your password.
In the above screenshot, as an example, I began creating a share named "movies" which will share all the files in the /Users/yourusername/Movies directory.
- Enter this info into the app.
- Make sure you enable "Windows (SMB) Sharing".
- Click the "Create New Share" button.
You should see the following:
Step 3
- Click Apple ->"System Preferences"
- Select the "Sharing" icon
- Click the checkbox beside "Windows Sharing" to turn it on. (If it's already on, turn it off, and turn it on again to apply the above changes)
Step 4
Check to see if your OSD can connect to your "movies" share. The username & password are your usual Mac info.
Method: Leopard (10.5)
The introduction of Mac OS 10.5 finally added the ability to designate specific shared directories using the GUI.
Step 1
Open "System Preferences".
Step 2
Click on "Sharing". Under the Sharing Preferences, turn on "File Sharing".
Step 3
Click the "Options" button in the lower-left corner and select "Share Files and Folders using SMB". Make sure this is the only option selected.
Step 4
Check the box next to the user(s) you want to give access to, and assign a password for that user. This password does not have to be the same as the user's login password.
Under the "Shared Folders" column, click the + and select the folder you want to share. Make sure to remove files you don't need as a security precaution.
Now, from your Neuros OSD, you should be able to connect to your Leopard share over your home network.
(Thanks to ChadV for his help in getting these screenshots.)
Troubleshooting
To do.
Guest Sharing
Sharepoints required for all OS versions. If you click the "Show File System Properties" button, you see additional options to allow the following:
- Windows Guest access (so no need to type your username/password with the OSD)
- Control on permissions: if you set permissions for "Other" to 'R', then you've read only access.
It's a slightly more complicated procedure (and easier to have insecure setup), but more convenient. I've to figure out exactly what is to be done before updating this guide. --Greyback 15:07, 13 October 2007 (EDT)
