Easy Ways to Enable File Sharing Over a Network (Locally)

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A step-by-step guide with screenshots and tips

Co-authored by Stan Kats and Darlene Antonelli, MA

Last Updated: February 2, 2025 Fact Checked

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Windows 11/10

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macOS 13 and Newer

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macOS 12 and Earlier

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If you're the administrator of a local network, enabling file sharing will ensure that your users always have access to important files. You'll always able to control which folders are shared and what level of access to give your users. As long as the computer hosting the shared folder is connected to the local network, the shared folder will be accessible to all who need it.

Enabling Local File Sharing on Windows 11/10

Turn on Network Discovery in Control Panel > Network and Internet > View network status and tasks > Change advanced settings > Turn on file and printer sharing. In File Explorer, right-click and click Give access to > Specific people to share the folder or file.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Windows 11/10

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1
Right-click the folder you want to share in File Explorer. Press Win + E to open File Explorer, then navigate to the folder that you want to share.
- Right-click it to open the context menu.
- If you get an error message like "Network discovery is turned off," you'll need to turn it on. To turn it on, you can do 1 of 2 things:
  - Click the error message in File Explorer and select Turn on discovery and file sharing.
  - Go to "Network and Internet" in Control Panel, then go to Change advanced settings and make sure "Turn on network discovery" is enabled.
2
Click Show more options. More likely than not, you'll need to click the Show more button to find the access button.
- Skip this step if you're using Windows 10.
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3
Click Give access to. Another menu pops up to the side.
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Click Specific people. You'll see a list of everyone on your network that you can share files with, but you can type their name in the search bar if the list of network users is long.
- You can also choose "Everyone" to share the folder or file with anyone on the network.^{[1]
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Click Share. You'll need administrative permissions to share most folders and files with others.^{[2]
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Microsoft Support
Technical support and product information from Microsoft.

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- Press Ctrl as you click to select multiple files or folders that you want to share. You can share multiple things at the same time locally.
- You can also use Nearby Share if you don't want to share the file locally over your network.
- For larger files and folders, you might need to use a USB drive to share data.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

macOS 13 and Newer

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1
Open System Settings. You can share files from your macOS system with other users on your local network (even if they are using Windows). The first thing you'll need to do is enable File Sharing.
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Click General. It's next to a gear icon.
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Click Sharing. You may need to scroll down to find this. It's in the last grouping of menu options.
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Click the switch next to "File Sharing" to enable it. You'll see this under the "Content & Media" header.
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Click
next to "File Sharing." Another menu will open.
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Click + under "Shared Folders." This allows you to navigate through Finder to a folder or file that you want to share on your network.
- If you want to share your entire computer with everyone on the network, skip this step and instead click the switch next to "Allow full disk access for all users" to enable it.
- The Public folder of each user is automatically shared. You can stop sharing a folder by clicking it, then clicking - under "Shared Folders."
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Click + under "Users." By default, profiles in your Users & Groups settings can access shared files, but you can also specify with whom to share your data. These are your options:
- Add users or groups from all users of your Mac: Only use this if the person you want to add to the file is also a user on your computer.
- Add users or groups from everyone on your network: You can add more than one person from your network to view or edit your file.
- Add someone from your contacts and create a sharing-only account for them: Use this method if the person you want to share the folder with does not have a device on your network or does not already have a profile on your Mac. This creates an account for them so they can see your folders.
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Adjust the settings for each folder. You don't have to give everyone Read & Write access to your folders; you can adjust the settings as you like. Click their username in the shared list, then choose:
- Read & Write
- Read only
- Write only
- No Access
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Click Done. The window will close.^{[3]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

macOS 12 and Earlier

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1
Open the Apple menu and select “System Preferences.” You can share files from your macOS system with other users on your local network (even if they are using Windows). The first thing you'll need to do is enable File Sharing.
- You'll need to have a local network already set up to use this method.
This is where you can change sharing options and security permissions for users on your system.^{[4]
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When this box is checked, you'll see “File Sharing: On” on the main pane.^{[5]
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If you want to be able to share a folder with Windows users on your network, you'll need to create a special account for them.^{[6]
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This will give you permission to add a new account to the system.
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Create the new user account. Here's how to configure the account so it's used only for sharing:
- Click the “+” to add a new account.
- Select “Sharing Only” from the “New Account” menu.
- Select “Use separate password” rather than the cloud option.
- Enter a username and password for the account.
- Click “Create User.” When Windows users access the shared folder, they'll need to use this username and password to log in.
Now you'll decide which folders to share.
A navigation window will appear.^{[7]
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The folder name will now appear under “Shared Folders.”
Here you'll see options for file sharing protocols.
This tells your Mac to share files with AFP (Apple Filing Protocol).
If you will never need to share with a Windows computer on your network, you can skip this step.
Now you'll return to the Sharing screen.
A list of user accounts and groups will appear.
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Set permissions for your special Windows user account. Select the user account you just created, and then select either “Read,” “Read and Write,” or “Write” from the list on the right.
- Choose “Read & Write” if you want the Windows users to be able to read, edit, and delete items in this folder.^{[8]
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- Choose “Write” if you want users to be able to use this folder as a “drop box” but not be able to edit or delete files.
- Alternatively, you can leave this on “Read” so nobody else can modify the folder.
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Set the permissions for everyone else on the network. By default, all users on the network (the “Everyone” group) have Read access. This means they can view files in the shared folder but not make changes. To change this:
- Click to select “Everyone” in the Users list.
- Choose “Read & Write” from the right panel if you want users on the network to view, edit, and delete files in this folder.
- Select “Write” to use this folder as a “drop box,” so that people can copy files but not view or modify anything.
- Alternatively, you can leave this on “Read” so nobody else can modify the folder.
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Access the shared folder from another Mac on the network. Now that the folder is shared, any user on your network should be able to locate it in Finder beneath “Shared.”^{[9]
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- If the folder does not appear under “Shared,” browse the network by double-clicking “All…” and the folders should appear.
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Locate the sharing address for Windows users. If you enabled SMB for Windows users, here's how to locate the address to which they'll connect:^{[10]
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- Open System Preferences
- Open the Sharing pane.
- Make note of the IP address that starts with “smb” (e.g. smb://172.1.1.1).
- Windows users will connect to this address and log in with the account you created earlier. They'll be able to view any files shared with that user upon a successful login.

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How can I share files between two laptops?

Stan Kats
Professional Technologist
Stan Kats is a Professional Technologist and the COO and Chief Technologist for The STG IT Consulting Group in West Hollywood, California. Stan provides comprehensive technology solutions to businesses through managed IT services, and for individuals through his consumer service business, Stan's Tech Garage. Stan holds a BA in International Relations from The University of Southern California. He began his career working in the Fortune 500 IT world. Stan founded his companies to offer an enterprise-level of expertise for small businesses and individuals.

Stan Kats

Professional Technologist

Expert Answer

There are various suitable ways you can do this. There are file sharing services, like Microsoft's OneDrive, Dropbox and Google Drive. These are the 3 most popular services. There is also a built-in networking feature between Windows and Mac OS - to use this, create a shared folder and grant access to the other machine and pull the files across. That is a little more complex though, so it's always easiest to use the sharing services.

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