Connect to a Windows Share on Macintosh OS X
The Macintosh operating system makes it possible to access files on a Windows server. These may be files shared with colleagues, personal files, or, in this example, a web site. Collections of files are called Windows shares and the Macintosh refers to them as volumes, because they appear as a disk volume on the Desktop.
Network resources like these are protected by accounts and passwords. On the UW-Madison campus, they are also protected by firewalls. For off-campus access to Windows shares, a virtual private network (VPN) account and program are required to bypass firewalls. If interested, ask your technical support staff about VPN access.
Three pieces of information are required to connect to a Windows share: a user account, the server name, and the share name.
Log On
1. Choose Go > Connect to Server... and you will be prompted for the server's address. This is the unique network name of the server, and the name of the protocol used to communicate with the server. The protocol name will be "smb" when communicating with Windows servers. Complete the Server Address with the server name given to you by technical support staff, and click the Connect button to continue. The example server address is to "smb://soe-b6", a local web server also known by the off-campus server address "smb://soe-b6.ad.education.wisc.edu".
Figure 1: Make a New Connection.
2. When prompted, type your username and password into the window then click the Connect button to continue.
Figure 2: Type Account Information.
3. The next step is to pick the share you wish to use. Highlight the desired share in the list and click the OK button to mount it on the Desktop. The list you see may be different, because available shares differ by server.
If the volume does not appear on the Desktop, a Finder setting may need to be changed. To force volumes to appear on the Desktop, choose Finder > Preferences, click the General tab, and fill the checkbox labeled "Connected Servers".
Figure 3: Pick a Shared Volum.
Moving and Editing Files
4. Open the drive icon and a window displays the content of the web site folder. The folder and its contents can be treated like any other set of files on your computer. Files can be edited in place or they can be copied to a personal folder or other location on your computer. Likewise, files and folders can be dragged and dropped into the web site folder.
Figure 4: Web Site Folder.
Figure 5: Menu Item to Eject a Volume.
| Author: | Chris Dowling |
| Revised: | 2009-03-26 |
| Keywords: | Windows share, Macintosh |