After you’ve connected, the computer will appear under the Shared column in the Finder’s sidebar. You’ll be prompted to authenticate with the appropriate credentials or log in as a guest.

You can also enter the other computer’s local IP address instead of its name. Enter the following address, replacing COMPUTERNAME with the Windows computer’s name: smb://COMPUTERNAME. Open the Finder, click Go on the menu at the top of the screen, and select Connect to Server. Use the Users column to choose which users and groups can access and write to them. Use the Shared Folders column to choose additional folders to share. Click the Options button here and ensure “Share files and folders using SMB” is enabled. Click the Sharing icon and enable File Sharing. Open System Preferences by clicking the Apple logo and selecting System Preferences. You’ll need to enable network file sharing to share folders on your Mac. Replace COMPUTERNAME with the computer’s local IP address if you want to connect directly to an IP address instead. Just type //COMPUTERNAME into Windows Explorer or File Explorer’s location bar and press Enter. You can also connect directly to a computer if you know its name or IP address.

Double-click a computer to view its shared files. You’ll see properly configured Mac and Linux computers appear in this list along with nearby Windows PCs. Visit the Network pane in Windows Explorer or File Explorer to view other computers sharing files with you. Click the Sharing tab and use the options here to share a folder and configure its permissions. Locate the folder you want to share in Windows Explorer or File Explorer, right-click it, and select Properties. RELATED: Customizing Your Network Sharing Settings Tweak the other options here if you’d like to share public folders over the network without requiring a password. Enable “network discovery” and “file and print sharing.” To do this, open the Control Panel and navigate to Network and Sharing > Change advanced sharing settings. You’ll need to enable old-fashioned file sharing on Windows, as other operating systems can’t access homegroups. RELATED: How to Easily Share Files Between Nearby Computers

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