When you have to copy files from one Mac to another , make large file usable to others , or get files from your company ’s shared bulk , you need to connect to a waiter . It may be a file waiter , a NAS ( net - attach storage gimmick ) , or just another Mac on your internet . You probably already be intimate a basic way to perform this everyday task , but is that method acting the speedy and most commodious ? Here are eight ways you’re able to link to a server .
1. Connect from the Finder
One of the simple-minded style to link up to a server is to penetrate its name in the Shared section of a Finder windowpane sidebar . ( If you do n’t see the Shared section , chooseFinder > Preferences , and then checkConnected Serversunder Shared . ) If you ’re join to the host for the first time , you ’ll see a dialogue box asking for your user name and password .
you may streamline the process by checkingRemember This Password in My Keychain . The next sentence you click the server in the Finder windowpane sidebar , you ’ll connect automatically .
When you link up to a file server — such as another Mac — in this way , the Finder windowpane will show you all available “ part . ” The ploughshare let in your home folder , if you ’ve enter with a user name and password for that Mac ( if , for example , you ’re connect remotely to your laptop computer ) ; public folders for other users of that Mac ; and any disc or volumes that you have access to .
2. Connect using an alias
If you call in a particular folder on a server often , you’re able to link up more speedily by tote up an assumed name of that folder to your Mac . An alias is a form of crosscut , and you’re able to spot it easy by the little pointer at the bottom left of its icon . After you ’ve plug into using the method acting above , hold down the Command and Option key , and drag the booklet to create an false name on your Mac . Put it on your screen background or anywhere else ; you could even put it in the Favorites plane section of your Finder sidebar , or in the Dock .
To connect and go to that specific folder , double - sink in the alias , or single - chatter if it ’s in the Finder sidebar or in the Dock . This method will save you a deal of time if the folder you demand to access is buried in the host ’s hierarchy .
Bonus shortcut : choose a folder and press Command - T to impart it to the Finder sidebar , in the Favorites section , without going through the steps of creating an assumed name .
3. Connect via the ‘Connect to Server’ dialog box
Press Command - K while in the Finder ( or chooseGo > Connect to Server ) to reveal the ‘ Connect to Server ’ dialog box . Here you’re able to touch base to a wide variety of server , not just to those that show up in the Finder sidebar . ( Only Mac and Windows servers , using either AFP or SMB for sharing , will come along in the sidebar by default . ) For instance , you may utilise this method to connect to an FTP server when you require to upload some graphics that you want to apply on your web log . In the Server Address field , figure the server ’s name , such asftp://ftp.example.com . If you link up to a waiter often , click the positive - signboard ( + ) button , and the host ’s URL will be salve in the Favorite Servers section of the dialog box .
To connect to another Mac on your local net , either clickBrowseand find the connection , or ( if you know its name ) , introduce its name as.local(for example , pequod.local , as in the screenshot above .
4. Connect from the Apple menu
desire a quick style to reconnect to a host ? Click theApplemenu , and then chooseRecent Items . You ’ll see a list of the most lately travel to server at the bottom . Select the one you desire , and it will bestride in the Finder .
5. Connect from Safari
presuppose that you need to get a single file from the laptop you left up the stairs . Typeprotocol://user : password@server_name / shareinto your Web web internet browser ’s destination bar ; the web internet browser will slip away the request on to the Finder , which will connect to the server . For example , to connect a user to his house folder on my laptop computer , named “ pequod , ” I would enterafp://ahab:whale@pequod.local/ahab .
Theafpstands for “ Apple File Protocol , ” which is what Macs employment for received file share-out . This method includes your parole , so practice it with caution .
Think it does n’t sound practical ? in reality , it can be , because you’re able to save a bookmark to a server , even to a local Apple File Protocol waiter . If you ’ve already connected to the host and the watchword is in your keychain , you call for only typeafp://server_name.local . Press Command - D to save a bookmarker .
Safari will salve the bookmark with anhttp : prefix . To make it bring , you must chooseBookmarks > Show All Bookmarks , find the bookmarker in enquiry , decently - click , and chooseEdit Address . Replace ‘ http ’ with the correct prefix — for exampleafp — and you ’ll be able to practice the bookmarker to open a server in the Finder from your Bookmarks carte or Bookmarks bar .
6. Connect with a webloc bookmark
you’re able to also create a bookmarker that subroutine just like an alias . Type the necessary text to connect to your server , such asafp://pequod.local/kirkin a new papers in a text editor . Select that text , and drag it to the Finder . A filing cabinet will appear with an @ ikon . Double - click this to link up to the waiter . you could stick to this file in the Dock if you wish , in the department to the right wing of , or below , the parentage .
7. Connect in an Automator workflow
If you desire to link up to a waiter as part of an Automator workflow , you’re able to do so by adding two items to your work flow . Launch Apple ’s automation public utility company ( in /Applications ) and see under the Files & Folders heading . The first natural process , ‘ postulate for Servers ’ , let you choose what types of servers ( if any ) to display , and whether the user can record a URL . The second military action , ‘ colligate to waiter ’ , establishes the actual association after a user selects a server .
8. Connect using an AppleScript
For the most part , inspect a server is a unsubdivided task that does n’t require programming or hand . However , there may be times when you ’ll want to connect to a waiter using an AppleScript . To do this , use the next syntax :
severalise app " Finder " to open up position " protocol://username : password@server / ploughshare "
For deterrent example , to have a substance abuser connect to my domicile folder on my laptop computer , nominate “ pequod , ” I ’d apply the pursuit :
differentiate app " Finder " to open up positioning " afp://ahab:whale@pequod.local/ahab "
If you ’ve already connected to the waiter in head , and your password is in your keychain , you may eliminate that part of the dictation :
say app " Finder " to open placement " afp://pequod.local/ahab "
If you omit the user - name - and - password part of the command , and the word is not in your keychain , the Finder will display a dialog boxwood call for for that entropy .
If you require to see some even geekier ways to connect to servers , crack outthis article on the Mac OS X Hints site .
