How To Network Two Computers By Sharing Files between Windows and Mac

1. Connect the two computers. Use an Ethernet cable to connect your two computers to one another.
   • You’ll need an Ethernet to USB-C adapter to plug into your Mac’s Thunderbolt 3 port before you can attach an Ethernet cable to the Mac.
   • If both your Mac and your Windows computer are connected to the Internet, you can transfer the files over Wi-Fi; however, doing so will lead to much slower file transfers than if you use a cable.
2. Enable file sharing on the Windows computer. To do so:
   • Open Control Panel by typing control panel into Start and then clicking Control Panel.
   • Click Network and Sharing (skip this step if you see “Small” or “Large” in the upper-right side of the window).
   • Click Network and Sharing Center
   • Click Advanced sharing settings
   • Check the “Turn on file and printer sharing” box.
3. Share a folder. Do the following:
   • Open Start
   • Click File Explorer
   • Select the folder that you want to share.
   • Click the Share tab.
   • Click Specific people…
   • Select Everyone from the drop-down menu at the top of the window.
   • Click Share
   • Click Done
4. Enable file sharing on the Mac computer. To do so:
   • Open the Apple menu
   • Click System Preferences…
   • Click Sharing
   • Check the “File Sharing” box.
   • Change the “Everyone” permissions from “Read Only” to “Read & Write”.
5. Share a folder from your Mac. Click the ＋ icon below the list of shared folders, then double-click the folder that you want to share.
   • You may have to click Add to add the folder to the list of shared folders.
6. Access the Mac’s files from the Windows computer. You can do this from within the File Explorer:
   • Open Start
   • Click File Explorer
   • Click the Mac’s name below the Network heading on the left side of the File Explorer.
   • Open the shared folder.
   • Select the files that you want to save, then press Ctrl+C
   • Go to a folder on your computer and then press Ctrl+V.
7. Access the Windows computer’s files from the Mac. You can do this from within the Finder:
   • Open Finder.
   • Click your Windows computer’s name in the lower-left side of the window.
   • Open the shared folder.
   • Select the files that you want to save, then press ⌘ Command+C
   • Go to a folder on your Mac and then press ⌘ Command+V.

    

See Also

How To Network Two Computers By Sharing Internet from Windows

How To Network Two Computers By Sharing Internet from a Mac

How To Network Two Computers By Sharing Files from Windows to Windows

How To Network Two Computers By Sharing Files from Mac to Mac