Mac OS X Lion: The Missing Manual

AirDrop

AirDrop is one of Mac OS X Lion’s star attractions. It’s a breakthrough in speed, simplicity, and efficiency. There’s no setup, no passwords involved. It lets you copy files to someone else’s Mac up to 30 feet away, instantly and wirelessly; you don’t need an Internet connection or even a WiFi network. It works on a flight, a beach, or a sailboat in the middle of the Atlantic. It also works if you are on a WiFi network, doing other things online.

To give someone a file, you and your lucky recipient must each open your respective AirDrop window. To do that, you can click the AirDrop icon (at the top of the Sidebar in any Finder window), choose Go→AirDrop, or press Shift-⌘-R.

Note

If you don’t see AirDrop in the Sidebar, and you’re sure you’re using Lion, it’s because somebody turned off its checkbox in Finder→Preferences→Sidebar. Hiding the AirDrop icon in this way means you can’t use the feature at all, which may or may not be what you want.

The window shown in Figure 13-3 appears. After a moment, it fills up with icons for everyone nearby who’s running a wireless Lion Mac (and who’s opened their AirDrop windows). They don’t have to do anything else; their icons show up automatically.

All you have to do is drag a file or folder icon, or several, onto the icon of the intended recipient. When the Mac asks if you’re sure, click Send or press Return. Now the message says, “Waiting for [the other Mac’s name] to accept.”

The recipient now sees a message that says, “[Other guy’s Mac] ...