What You Need to Know to Use a Macintosh Network

The following questions often come up after you install the network cable. Note that the following sections assume that you're working with AppleTalk networking using Mac OS X. The procedures may vary somewhat if you're using Open Transport networking or an earlier version of the Macintosh operating system.

Configuring a Mac for networking

Before you can access the network from your Mac, you must configure your Mac for networking: Activate AppleTalk and assign your network name and password.

Activating AppleTalk

After all the cables are in place, you have to activate AppleTalk. Here's how:

1. Choose the Chooser desk accessory from the Apple menu.

2. Click the Active button.

3. Close the Chooser.

Assigning your name and password

After you activate AppleTalk, you're ready to assign an owner name, a password, and a name for your computer. This process allows other network users to access your Mac. Here's how:

1. Choose the File Sharing control panel from the Apple menu (Apple Control Panels File Sharing).

2. Type your name in the Owner Name field.

3. Type a password in the Owner Password field.

   Don't forget what the password is.

4. Type a descriptive name for your computer in the Computer Name field.

   Other network users will know your computer by this name.

5. Click the Close button.

Accessing a network printer

Accessing a network printer with AppleTalk is no different than accessing a printer when you don't have a network. If more than one printer is available on the network, you use the Chooser to select the printer you want to use. Chooser displays all the available network printers-just pick the one you want to use. And keep the following points in mind:

• Be sure to enable Background Printing for the network printer. If you don't, your Mac is tied up until the printer finishes your job-that can be a long time if someone else sent a 500-page report to the printer just before you. When you enable Background Printing, your printer output is captured to a disk file and then sent to the printer later while you continue with other work.

  To enable Background Printing

  1. Choose Apple Chooser desk accessory.

  2. Select the printer you want to use from the Chooser.

  3. Click the Background Printing On button.

• Don't enable Background Printing if a dedicated print server has been set up. In that case, print data is spooled automatically to the print server's disk so your Mac doesn't have to wait for the printer to become available.

Sharing files with other users

To share files on your Mac with other network users, you set up a shared resource. You can share a disk or just individual folders and restrict access to certain users.

Before you can share files with other users, you must activate the AppleTalk file-sharing feature. Here's how:

1. Choose the File Sharing control panel from the Apple Menu.

2. Click the Start button in the File Sharing section of the control panel.

3. Click the Close button.

To share a file or folder, click the file or folder once. Then open the File menu, choose Get Info, and choose Sharing from the submenu that appears. You can also use the Sharing section of the Info window to restrict access to the file or folder.

Accessing shared files

To access files on another Macintosh, follow this procedure:

1. Choose the Chooser from the Apple menu.

2. Click the AppleShare icon from the Chooser window.

3. Click the name of the computer you want to access. (If your network has zones, you must first click the zone you want to access.)

4. Click OK.

   A logon screen appears.

5. If you have a user account on the computer, click the Registered User button and enter your username and password. Otherwise, click the Guest button and then click OK.

   A list of shared folders and disks appears.

6. Click the folders and disks you want to access.

   A check box appears next to each item. If you check this box, you connect to the corresponding folder or disk automatically when you start your computer.

7. Click OK.

Tip 

With Mac OS 8.5 and later, you can also use the Network Browser, found in the Apple menu, to access network drives or folders. Just open the Network Browser from the Apple menu, double-click the server that contains the shared disk or folder, and then double-click the drive or folder you want to use.