Access Network Resources

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To access files and folders on a network, you typically connect to shared folders, mounting them on your Mac so that you can use them as if they were local folders. You can print on network printers in the same way as you can print on local printers, and you can access the Internet via the network.

Connect to a Shared Folder

To connect to a shared folder:

  1. Activate the Finder.

  2. Open Go and click Connect To Server. Mac OS X will display the Connect To Server dialog box.

  3. Specify the server you want to connect to:

    • The Server Address text box contains the address of the last server you used. You can type another server’s address over this address.

      click to expand

    • To select a server you’ve designated as a favorite, click it in the Favorite Servers list. (You can add the server in the Server Address text box to the Favorite Servers list by clicking the Add Server To Favorites button.)

    • Click Recent Servers and choose a recent server from the drop-down list.

    • If you don’t know the exact name of the server, click Browse to display a Finder window listing the servers on the network. Double-click the server you want, and supply your user name and password as described in the next two sections.

  4. Click Connect. Supply your name and password as described in the next two sections. (The procedure is different depending on the type of server sharing the folder you’re connecting to.)

Note

A “share” or “network share” is a folder or drive on a computer on your network that has been deliberately shared so that you can access the folder or drive.

Connect to an AFP Share

Follow these steps when connecting to a folder being shared by another Mac. AFP, or Apple File Protocol, is the protocol used by Macs for sharing files with each other.

  1. When you attempt to connect to an AFP share, Mac OS X will display the untitled dialog box shown in Figure 10-1. This dialog box offers you the choice of connecting as a guest or as a registered user.

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    Figure 10-1: When connecting to an AFP share, enter your user name and password, and then click Options.

  2. If you have a user account with this computer, select the Registered User option button and enter your name and password. Otherwise, select the Guest option button.

  3. If you’re connecting as a registered user, click Options. The options dialog box shown in Figure 10-2 will be displayed.

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    Figure 10-2: Choose options for connecting to the AFP share.

  4. If you want to add the password for this share to your Keychain so that you don’t have to enter it when you connect to the share in the future, select the Add Password To Keychain check box. Click Save Preferences if you want to save these settings as your defaults. Click OK to close the options dialog box and return to the previous dialog box.

  5. Click Connect. Mac OS X displays a dialog box listing the volumes you can mount.

  6. Choose the volumes you want to mount:

    • To select a volume, click it.

    • To select a contiguous range of volumes, click the first volume and then shift+click the last.

    • To select noncontiguous volumes, click the first volume and then z+click each of the other volumes.

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  7. Click OK. Mac OS X will close the dialog boxes, mount the specified volume or volumes on your desktop, and will open a Finder window showing the contents of the last volume.

Connect to a SMB/CIFS Share

Follow these steps when connecting to a folder being shared by a Windows computer or a computer running UNIX or Linux. SMB is the abbreviation for Server Message Block and is sometimes called “Samba.” CIFS, or Common Internet File System, is a networking protocol for sharing files among computers.

  1. When you attempt to connect to a SMB/CIFS share, Mac OS X will display the dialog box shown in Figure 10-3.

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    Figure 10-3: Mac OS X displays the SMB/CIFS Filesystem Authentication dialog box when you’re connecting to a Windows, Linux, or UNIX share.

  2. Change the workgroup or domain in the Workgroup/Domain text box if necessary.

  3. Change your user name in the Username text box if necessary. (Mac OS X enters your Mac OS X user name the first time you connect.)

  4. Type your password in the Password text box.

  5. Select the Add To Keychain check box if you want to add the password to your Keychain.

  6. Click OK. Mac OS X displays the SMB Mount dialog box.

  7. Click the Select A Share drop-down list and click the name of the share.

    click to expand

  8. Click OK.

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Quicksteps: Connecting Automatically to a Shared Folder at Login

If you always need to connect to the same shared folders, you may want to make Mac OS X connect to them automatically when you log in. To do this:

  1. Connect to the shared folder as described in “Connect to a Shared Folder.” Save the password for the connection in your Keychain.

  2. Open and click System Preferences. The System Preferences window will be displayed.

  3. Click Accounts. The Accounts sheet will be displayed.

  4. Click your account in the left list box.

  5. Click the Startup Items tab.

  6. Drag each shared folder from the desktop to the These Items Will Open Automatically When You Log In list box.

  7. Select the Hide check box for each shared folder you add if you want to prevent Mac OS X from displaying a Finder window showing the folder’s contents when it connects.

  8. Click System Preferences | Quit System Preferences to close System Preferences.

If you find that the above method doesn’t make Mac OS X connect automatically to the shared folders, try creating a URL file to connect to the shared folder.

  1. Activate the Finder, click Go | Applications, and double-click TextEdit to open TextEdit.

  2. Type the URL for the shared folder using this format: protocol://username:password@server/volume, where protocol is afp or smb (depending on the server type), username is your user name, password your password for the server, server is the server, and volume is the shared folder. For example, you would use smb://csmith:secur1ty@accelerated.mshome.net/resource to connect to the shared folder “resource” on the SMB server named “accelerated.mshome.net,” using the user name “csmith” and the password “security.”

  3. Select the whole URL in TextEdit and drag it to your desktop. The Finder will create a URL file from it.

  4. Open and click System Preferences, choose Accounts, click your account, and then click the Startup Items tab.

  5. Drag the URL file from your desktop to the These Items Will Open Automatically When You Log In list box. Select the Hide check box if you don’t want Mac OS X to open a window showing the folder.

  6. Click System Preferences | Quit System Preferences to close System Preferences.

  7. Drag the URL file from your desktop to the Trash.

  8. Click the TextEdit window to activate TextEdit, and then open the TextEdit menu and click Quit TextEdit. When prompted to save the changes to the document, click Don’t Save.

If you’re unable to connect automatically using either of these techniques, you can speed up the process of connecting manually. Create an alias to each shared folder on your desktop (or in another folder of your choice). You can then quickly establish the connection to a shared folder by double-clicking the alias.

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Disconnect Your Mac from a Shared Folder

To disconnect your Mac from a shared folder:

  • Drag the shared folder’s icon on your desktop to the Trash.

    –Or–

  • Click the shared folder’s icon on your desktop, open File, and click Eject. (The Eject command shows the shared folder’s name—for example, Eject Public for a shared folder named Public.)

Mac OS X disconnects your Mac from the folder and removes the folder’s icon from the desktop.

Copy Network Files and Information

After connecting to a network share, you can access its files and folders in the same ways you access the files and folders on your Mac’s hard disk:

  • To open a Finder window showing the folders and files on the network share, double-click the icon for the network share on your desktop.

  • Drag a file or folder from the network share to your hard disk to copy it there. For example, drag a file to an entry in the Sidebar, and then use the Spring-Loaded Folders feature (see the note under “Customize Finder Preferences” in Chapter 3) to navigate to where you want to store the copy of the file.

  • Drag a file or folder from your hard disk to the network share to copy it there. Again, you can use the Spring-Loaded Folders feature to open the folder in which you want to store the copy.

  • Double-click a file on the network share to open it using your Mac’s default application for that file type. For example, double-click a document file with a .doc extension to open the file for editing in Microsoft Word (assuming Microsoft Word is installed on your Mac).

Print on Network Printers

After connecting to a network printer, as discussed in “Install a Network Printer” in Chapter 6, you can print using the same techniques as for a local printer (see the “Printing” QuickSteps, also in Chapter 6).

Access a Network Internet Connection

If the network your Mac is connected to has an Internet connection, your Mac is automatically connected to it and can use it directly unless it requires a user name and password. In most cases, you can access the Internet by simply opening your browser (click the Safari icon on the Dock) or your e-mail application (click the Mail icon on the Dock). See Chapter 4 for more information.



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Mac OS X Panther QuickSteps
Mac OS X Panther QuickSteps
ISBN: 0072255056
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 68

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