Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Lion Edition

Sharing Your Public Folder

AirDrop is the simplest and happiest way to share files, no doubt about it. But it requires Lion on both Macs, it works only wirelessly, and it’s a one-way street (you have to initiate the file handoff).

The next simplest file-sharing method eliminates all those limitations. It’s the Public-folder method.

Inside your Home folder, there’s a folder called Public. (Actually, inside everybody’s Home folder is a folder called Public.)

Anything you put into this folder is automatically available to everyone else on the network. They don’t need a password, they don’t need an account on your Mac—they just have to be on the same network, wireless or wired. They can put files here or copy things out.

To make your Public folder available to your networkmates, you have to turn on the File Sharing master switch. Choose →System Preferences, click Sharing, and then turn on File Sharing (Figure 14-2).

Now round up the files and folders you want to share with all comers on the network and drag them into your Home→Public folder. That’s all there is to it.

Note

You may notice that there’s already something in your Public folder: a folder called Drop Box. It’s there so that other people can give you files from across the network, as described later in this chapter.

So now that you’ve set up Public folder sharing, how are other people supposed to access your Public folder? See Connection ...