Open Drive For Mac

How to temporary or permanently map a network drive on a Mac?

Network drive is probably the best alternative for work or home environments where more than one computer is used to share files between them. However, macOS can't automatically detect network devices, unlike installed hardware. So you need to manually install and set them up, afterwards you will need to map a network drive on your Mac. Mapping a network is a process, where you reveal the path to a storage device attached to a network.

With MacDrive 9 Standard, you can access, manage, and even create and format disk drives for Apple's Mac OS from inside Windows Explorer. Not just hard drives, but removable USB drives, too. If you've been using a previous file system, it will be automatically updated when you upgrade to Mac OS Mojave. Files On-Demand settings are unique to each device, so make sure you turn it on for each device where you want to use it. To learn how an admin can turn on Files On-Demand, see Configure Files On-Demand for Mac (IT administrators).

There are two methods how to map your network drive on Mac. First would be for temporary use, where you loose your path to network drive after restart. The second would be a permanent one, where your Mac will detect and mount the network drive every time it connect to the same network with attached storage. Speaking about business, network storage usually comes in the form of server storage, SANs (storage area network), NAS (network attached storage) and cloud services. However, home users also can use the same technologies, but SANs requires higher budget, so NAS or cloud storage would be more efficient.

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What is a network drive?

In case you're not an experienced computer user, you probably wonder what actually is a network drive, although what SAN and NAS is and what is their differences and possibilities?

A network drive is basically any type of storage connected to your router. In most frequent cases these are made up of computers, who's acting like servers to provide storage. A NAS device might be either an external hard drive (even usb flash key) connected to your home router, either assigned NAS device builded with own hardware and multiple drives. However, storage connects to you router and permits to authorized users to reach it. A SAN is basically a more complicated NAS, that can have numerous drives available in same network. These are frequently used in enterprise.

How to temporary map a network drive

Using this method your network drive will be connected and mounted for one time use, which means that it will disappear if you disconnect from network or simply reboot your Mac.

First open Mac 0010OS Finder app, that press Command and K buttons to launch Connect to Server window. Enter the route to the network drive you desire to map, for example: smb://networkcomputer/networkshare and click Connect.

Enter your log in details and click OK to mount the network drive. From now till reboot your network drive will be shown on your desktop and in the Finder's window sidebar. You can access the network share like a usual folder at this point.

Map a network drive to Mac OS which automatically re-mounts after reconnection

Using this method will leave you an openings to reboot your Mac and keep the network drive mapped as well as network reconnections. Your Mac will automatically remounts the drive, so you will be able to find your desktop shortcut whenever you connect to network.

First open Mac 0010OS Finder app, that press Command and K buttons to launch Connect to Server window. Enter the route to the network drive you desire to map, for example: smb://networkcomputer/networkshare and click Connect.

Enter your log in details and click OK to mount the network drive. Once your drive is mounted, you need to enable automatic mounts, so open System Preferences from the Apple menu. Click on Users and Groups (or Accounts in older OS) and choose Login Items. Click on add (+) button to add another login item, locate the network drive you have mounted before and click Add. From now on your network drive will be mapped and automatically remounted every time you reboot your Mac.

However, if you disconnect or loose connection to network where the mapped network drive is located, it won't reconnect automatically until you reconnect to the network and reboot your computer. What is more, shared drive will be accessible through Finder as usual folder.

Make network drive accessible from Mac desktop

Good news that you may access your network drive through your Mac's desktop icon. Just follow several steps and create an icon which always appear on desktop when you connect to network.

First open Finder preferences from a menu bar in very top of you window, this appears when Finder is launched. Click the General tab and select the checkbox next to Connected Servers. This step ensure you to see the drives icon on your desktop, uncheck it and it will be only accessible in Finder window sidebars.

Mount a mapped network drive with a one click

There is a very useful additional step which allows you to create an alias of the mapped network drive, so you will be able to reconnect to the share with just one click. To create an alias, just right-click your mapped network drive icon on the desktop and select Make Alias. Once you've created alias just double-click it and your Mac reconnect to the network drive instantly. This is really useful, if you reconnecting to a network repeatedly.

Video Showing how to map a network drive on Mac:

Optimized Storage in macOS Sierra and later* can save space by storing your content in iCloud and making it available on demand. When storage space is needed, files, photos, movies, email attachments, and other files that you seldom use are stored in iCloud automatically. Each file stays right where you last saved it, and downloads when you open it. Files that you've used recently remain on your Mac, along with optimized versions of your photos.

* If you haven't yet upgraded to macOS Sierra or later, learn about other ways to free up storage space.

Find out how much storage is available on your Mac

Choose Apple menu  > About This Mac, then click Storage. Each segment of the bar is an estimate of the storage space used by a category of files. Move your pointer over each segment for more detail.

Click the Manage button to open the Storage Management window, pictured below. This button is available only in macOS Sierra or later.

Manage storage on your Mac

The Storage Management window offers recommendations for optimizing your storage. If some recommendations are already turned on, you will see fewer recommendations.

Store in iCloud

Click the Store in iCloud button, then choose from these options:

• Desktop and Documents. Store all files from these two locations in iCloud Drive. When storage space is needed, only the files you recently opened are kept on your Mac, so that you can easily work offline. Files stored only in iCloud show a download icon , which you can double-click to download the original file. Learn more about this feature.
  
• Photos. Store all original, full-resolution photos and videos in iCloud Photos. When storage space is needed, only space-saving (optimized) versions of photos are kept on your Mac. To download the original photo or video, just open it.
  
• Messages. Store all messages and attachments in iCloud. When storage space is needed, only the messages and attachments you recently opened are kept on your Mac. Learn more about Messages in iCloud.

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Storing files in iCloud uses the storage space in your iCloud storage plan. If you reach or exceed your iCloud storage limit, you can either buy more iCloud storage or make more iCloud storage available. iCloud storage starts at 50GB for $0.99 (USD) a month, and you can purchase additional storage directly from your Apple device. Learn more about prices in your region.

Optimize Storage

Click the Optimize button, then choose from these options.

• Automatically remove watched movies and TV shows. When storage space is needed, movies or TV shows that you purchased from the iTunes Store and already watched are removed from your Mac. Click the download icon next to a movie or TV show to download it again.
  
• Download only recent attachments. Mail automatically downloads only the attachments that you recently received. You can manually download any attachments at any time by opening the email or attachment, or saving the attachment to your Mac.
  
• Don't automatically download attachments. Mail downloads an attachment only when you open the email or attachment, or save the attachment to your Mac.

Optimizing storage for movies, TV shows, and email attachments doesn't require iCloud storage space.

Empty Trash Automatically

Empty Trash Automatically permanently deletes files that have been in the Trash for more than 30 days.

Reduce Clutter

Reduce Clutter helps you to identify large files and files you might no longer need. Click the Review Files button, then choose any of the file categories in the sidebar, such as Applications, Documents, Music Creation, or Trash.

You can delete the files in some categories directly from this window. Other categories show the total storage space used by the files in each app. You can then open the app and decide whether to delete files from within it.

Learn how to redownload apps, music, movies, TV shows, and books.

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Where to find the settings for each feature

The button for each recommendation in the Storage Management window affects one or more settings in other apps. You can also control those settings directly within each app.

• If you're using macOS Catalina, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, click Apple ID, then select iCloud in the sidebar: Store in iCloud turns on the Optimize Mac Storage setting on the right. Then click Options next to iCloud Drive: Store in iCloud turns on the Desktop & Documents Folders setting. To turn off iCloud Drive entirely, deselect iCloud Drive.
  In macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click iCloud, then click Options next to iCloud Drive. Store in iCloud turns on the Desktop & Documents Folders and Optimize Mac Storage settings.
• In Photos, choose Photos > Preferences, then click iCloud. Store in iCloud selects iCloud Photos and Optimize Mac Storage.
• In Messages, choose Messages > Preferences, then click iMessage. Store in iCloud selects Enable Messages in iCloud.

• If you're using macOS Catalina, open the Apple TV app, choose TV > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Files. Optimize Storage selects 'Automatically delete watched movies and TV shows.'
  In macOS Mojave or earlier, open iTunes, choose iTunes > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Advanced. Optimize Storage selects 'Automatically delete watched movies and TV shows.'
• In Mail, choose Mail > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Accounts. In the Account Information section on the right, Optimize Storage sets the Download Attachments menu to either Recent or None.

Empty Trash Automatically: From the Finder, choose Finder > Preferences, then click Advanced. Empty Trash Automatically selects 'Remove items from the Trash after 30 days.'

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Other ways that macOS helps automatically save space

With macOS Sierra or later, your Mac automatically takes these additional steps to save storage space:

• Detects duplicate downloads in Safari, keeping only the most recent version of the download
• Reminds you to delete used app installers
• Removes old fonts, languages, and dictionaries that aren't being used
• Clears caches, logs, and other unnecessary data when storage space is needed

What is a network drive?

In case you're not an experienced computer user, you probably wonder what actually is a network drive, although what SAN and NAS is and what is their differences and possibilities?

A network drive is basically any type of storage connected to your router. In most frequent cases these are made up of computers, who's acting like servers to provide storage. A NAS device might be either an external hard drive (even usb flash key) connected to your home router, either assigned NAS device builded with own hardware and multiple drives. However, storage connects to you router and permits to authorized users to reach it. A SAN is basically a more complicated NAS, that can have numerous drives available in same network. These are frequently used in enterprise.

How to temporary map a network drive

Using this method your network drive will be connected and mounted for one time use, which means that it will disappear if you disconnect from network or simply reboot your Mac.

First open Mac 0010OS Finder app, that press Command and K buttons to launch Connect to Server window. Enter the route to the network drive you desire to map, for example: smb://networkcomputer/networkshare and click Connect.

Enter your log in details and click OK to mount the network drive. From now till reboot your network drive will be shown on your desktop and in the Finder's window sidebar. You can access the network share like a usual folder at this point.

Map a network drive to Mac OS which automatically re-mounts after reconnection

Using this method will leave you an openings to reboot your Mac and keep the network drive mapped as well as network reconnections. Your Mac will automatically remounts the drive, so you will be able to find your desktop shortcut whenever you connect to network.

First open Mac 0010OS Finder app, that press Command and K buttons to launch Connect to Server window. Enter the route to the network drive you desire to map, for example: smb://networkcomputer/networkshare and click Connect.

Enter your log in details and click OK to mount the network drive. Once your drive is mounted, you need to enable automatic mounts, so open System Preferences from the Apple menu. Click on Users and Groups (or Accounts in older OS) and choose Login Items. Click on add (+) button to add another login item, locate the network drive you have mounted before and click Add. From now on your network drive will be mapped and automatically remounted every time you reboot your Mac.

However, if you disconnect or loose connection to network where the mapped network drive is located, it won't reconnect automatically until you reconnect to the network and reboot your computer. What is more, shared drive will be accessible through Finder as usual folder.

Make network drive accessible from Mac desktop

Good news that you may access your network drive through your Mac's desktop icon. Just follow several steps and create an icon which always appear on desktop when you connect to network.

First open Finder preferences from a menu bar in very top of you window, this appears when Finder is launched. Click the General tab and select the checkbox next to Connected Servers. This step ensure you to see the drives icon on your desktop, uncheck it and it will be only accessible in Finder window sidebars.

Mount a mapped network drive with a one click

There is a very useful additional step which allows you to create an alias of the mapped network drive, so you will be able to reconnect to the share with just one click. To create an alias, just right-click your mapped network drive icon on the desktop and select Make Alias. Once you've created alias just double-click it and your Mac reconnect to the network drive instantly. This is really useful, if you reconnecting to a network repeatedly.

Video Showing how to map a network drive on Mac:

Optimized Storage in macOS Sierra and later* can save space by storing your content in iCloud and making it available on demand. When storage space is needed, files, photos, movies, email attachments, and other files that you seldom use are stored in iCloud automatically. Each file stays right where you last saved it, and downloads when you open it. Files that you've used recently remain on your Mac, along with optimized versions of your photos.

* If you haven't yet upgraded to macOS Sierra or later, learn about other ways to free up storage space.

Find out how much storage is available on your Mac

Choose Apple menu  > About This Mac, then click Storage. Each segment of the bar is an estimate of the storage space used by a category of files. Move your pointer over each segment for more detail.

Click the Manage button to open the Storage Management window, pictured below. This button is available only in macOS Sierra or later.

Manage storage on your Mac

The Storage Management window offers recommendations for optimizing your storage. If some recommendations are already turned on, you will see fewer recommendations.

Store in iCloud

Click the Store in iCloud button, then choose from these options:

• Desktop and Documents. Store all files from these two locations in iCloud Drive. When storage space is needed, only the files you recently opened are kept on your Mac, so that you can easily work offline. Files stored only in iCloud show a download icon , which you can double-click to download the original file. Learn more about this feature.
  
• Photos. Store all original, full-resolution photos and videos in iCloud Photos. When storage space is needed, only space-saving (optimized) versions of photos are kept on your Mac. To download the original photo or video, just open it.
  
• Messages. Store all messages and attachments in iCloud. When storage space is needed, only the messages and attachments you recently opened are kept on your Mac. Learn more about Messages in iCloud.

Open Mac Usb On Windows

Storing files in iCloud uses the storage space in your iCloud storage plan. If you reach or exceed your iCloud storage limit, you can either buy more iCloud storage or make more iCloud storage available. iCloud storage starts at 50GB for $0.99 (USD) a month, and you can purchase additional storage directly from your Apple device. Learn more about prices in your region.

Optimize Storage

Click the Optimize button, then choose from these options.

• Automatically remove watched movies and TV shows. When storage space is needed, movies or TV shows that you purchased from the iTunes Store and already watched are removed from your Mac. Click the download icon next to a movie or TV show to download it again.
  
• Download only recent attachments. Mail automatically downloads only the attachments that you recently received. You can manually download any attachments at any time by opening the email or attachment, or saving the attachment to your Mac.
  
• Don't automatically download attachments. Mail downloads an attachment only when you open the email or attachment, or save the attachment to your Mac.

Optimizing storage for movies, TV shows, and email attachments doesn't require iCloud storage space.

Empty Trash Automatically

Empty Trash Automatically permanently deletes files that have been in the Trash for more than 30 days.

Reduce Clutter

Reduce Clutter helps you to identify large files and files you might no longer need. Click the Review Files button, then choose any of the file categories in the sidebar, such as Applications, Documents, Music Creation, or Trash.

You can delete the files in some categories directly from this window. Other categories show the total storage space used by the files in each app. You can then open the app and decide whether to delete files from within it.

Learn how to redownload apps, music, movies, TV shows, and books.

Open Mac Hdd On Pc

Where to find the settings for each feature

The button for each recommendation in the Storage Management window affects one or more settings in other apps. You can also control those settings directly within each app.

• If you're using macOS Catalina, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, click Apple ID, then select iCloud in the sidebar: Store in iCloud turns on the Optimize Mac Storage setting on the right. Then click Options next to iCloud Drive: Store in iCloud turns on the Desktop & Documents Folders setting. To turn off iCloud Drive entirely, deselect iCloud Drive.
  In macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click iCloud, then click Options next to iCloud Drive. Store in iCloud turns on the Desktop & Documents Folders and Optimize Mac Storage settings.
• In Photos, choose Photos > Preferences, then click iCloud. Store in iCloud selects iCloud Photos and Optimize Mac Storage.
• In Messages, choose Messages > Preferences, then click iMessage. Store in iCloud selects Enable Messages in iCloud.

• If you're using macOS Catalina, open the Apple TV app, choose TV > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Files. Optimize Storage selects 'Automatically delete watched movies and TV shows.'
  In macOS Mojave or earlier, open iTunes, choose iTunes > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Advanced. Optimize Storage selects 'Automatically delete watched movies and TV shows.'
• In Mail, choose Mail > Preferences from the menu bar, then click Accounts. In the Account Information section on the right, Optimize Storage sets the Download Attachments menu to either Recent or None.

Empty Trash Automatically: From the Finder, choose Finder > Preferences, then click Advanced. Empty Trash Automatically selects 'Remove items from the Trash after 30 days.'

Google Drive For Mac

Other ways that macOS helps automatically save space

With macOS Sierra or later, your Mac automatically takes these additional steps to save storage space:

• Detects duplicate downloads in Safari, keeping only the most recent version of the download
• Reminds you to delete used app installers
• Removes old fonts, languages, and dictionaries that aren't being used
• Clears caches, logs, and other unnecessary data when storage space is needed

How to free up storage space manually

Even without using the Optimized Storage features of Sierra or later, you can take other steps to make more storage space available:

• Music, movies, and other media can use a lot of storage space. Learn how to delete music, movies, and TV shows from your device.
• Delete other files that you no longer need by moving them to the Trash, then emptying the Trash. The Downloads folder is good place to look for files that you might no longer need.
• Move files to an external storage device.
• Compress files.
• Delete unneeded email: In the Mail app, choose Mailbox > Erase Junk Mail. If you no longer need the email in your Trash mailbox, choose Mailbox > Erase Deleted Items.

Open Drive For Mac Os

Learn more

Open Mac Hard Drive On Windows

• The Storage pane of About This Mac is the best way to determine the amount of storage space available on your Mac. Disk Utility and other apps might show storage categories such as Not Mounted, VM, Recovery, Other Volumes, Free, or Purgeable. Don't rely on these categories to understand how to free up storage space or how much storage space is available for your data.
• When you duplicate a file on an APFS-formatted volume, that file doesn't use additional storage space on the volume. Deleting a duplicate file frees up only the space required by any data you might have added to the duplicate. If you no longer need any copies of the file, you can recover all of the storage space by deleting both the duplicate and the original file.
• If you're using a pro app and Optimize Mac Storage, learn how to make sure that your projects are always on your Mac and able to access their files.