Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition

Networking with Windows

Microsoft Windows may dominate the corporate market, but there are Macs in the offices of America. Mac OS X represents a historic moment in Mac–Windows relations: It lets Macs and Windows PCs see each other on the network, with no special software (or talent) required.

In fact, you can go in either direction: Your Mac can see shared folders on the Windows PCs, and a Windows PC can see shared folders on your Mac. Read on.

WORKAROUND WORKSHOP: When Your Workgroup Isn't WORKGROUP

When you first turn on Windows Sharing in Mac OS X, the Mac tries to show what a good sport it is by announcing that it's part of a Windows workgroup (network cluster). Unfortunately, it believes itself to be in the workgroup called Workgroup—while Windows PCs start out believing that they belong to a workgroup called Mshome.

This distinction isn't earth-shatteringly important. But if the Macs and PCs have the same workgroup names, connecting is easier; for example, your Mac is more likely to show up on the PC from across the network, and your Local folder (in the Networking icon of the Sidebar) won't display both Macs and PCs.

The easiest solution: Open the Directory Access program in your Applications→Utilities folder. Click the padlock, sign in as an administrator, and then double-click the SMB/CIFS item in the list.

In the resulting dialog box, type (or choose) the new name you want—Mshome, or whatever matches the PC's workgroup name—and then click Ok. Quit Directory Access and click ...