Once the workgroup names on your Mac and PC match, it's time to enable file sharing on your Mac.
Enable File Sharing
- Launch System Preferences, either by clicking the 'System Preferences' icon in the Dock, or by selecting 'System Preferences' from the Apple menu.
- Click the 'Sharing' icon, which is located in the Internet & Network section of System Preferences.
- From the list of sharing services on the left, select File Sharing by clicking its check box.
Sharing Folders
By default, your Mac will share the public folder of all user accounts. You can specify additional folders for sharing as needed.
- Click the plus (+) button below the Shared Folders list.
- In the Finder sheet that drops down, navigate to the location of the folder you wish to share. Select the folder and click the ‘Add’ button.
- Any folders you add are given default access rights. The owner of the folder has Read & Write access. The 'Everyone' group, which includes guests, is given Read Only access.
- To change the access rights of guests, click 'Read Only' to the right of the 'Everyone' entry in the Users list.
- A pop-up menu will appear, listing the four available types of access rights.
- Read & Write. Guests may read files, copy files, create new files, and edit files stored in the shared folder.
- Read Only. Guests may read files, but not edit, copy, or delete any data in the shared folder.
- Write Only (Drop Box). Guests can't see any files stored in the shared folder, but they can copy files and folders to the shared folder. Drop Boxes are a good way to allow other individuals to give you files without being able to view any content on your Mac.
- No Access. As its name implies, guests will not be able to access the specified folder.
- Select the type of access right you wish to assign to the shared folder.
