Ledge

Copying files from a shared network folder on a Mac

· 6 min read

In Finder, choose Go > Connect to Server (Command-K), type the share’s address, such as smb://nas.local/Projects, and it mounts like a disk under Locations in the sidebar. Drag files from it to a folder on your Mac and Finder copies them, leaving the originals on the share for everyone else. Copy a file to your Mac before you work on it, and for large or flaky copies use rsync in Terminal, which can simply be run again after an interruption.

Connect to the share

  1. In Finder, choose Go > Connect to Server, or press Command-K.
  2. Type the address. Most look like smb://server/share: smb://nas.local/Projects for a storage box on a home network, or smb://192.168.1.20/Projects using its IP address. Whoever runs the server can tell you the exact one.
  3. Click Connect.
  4. When asked, choose Registered User next to Connect As, enter the name and password for the server (which may not be your Mac’s), and tick Remember this password in my keychain if you will be back.
  5. If you left the share name off the address, macOS lists what the server offers under “Select the volumes you want to mount”. Pick one and click OK.

The share now appears in the Finder sidebar under Locations. In Terminal it lives under /Volumes, for example /Volumes/Projects. The plus button in the Connect to Server window saves the address to a favorites list, so next time it is Command-K and a double-click.

If you do not know the address, try browsing instead: click Network in the sidebar, or choose Go > Network (Shift-Command-K), double-click the computer you want, then click Connect As. Not every server announces itself there, so typing the address is the more reliable route. If you see “There was a problem connecting to the server”, check the spelling, try the IP address in place of the name, and make sure you are on the same network or connected to the right VPN.

Copy to your Mac, then work on the copy

The share is a separate volume from your Mac’s disk, so a plain drag from it to a folder on your Mac copies. The original stays on the share, which is what you want for a folder other people rely on. Look for the green plus badge on the pointer before you let go.

Two drags deserve a pause:

  • Command-drag forces a move. The file arrives on your Mac and disappears from the share, for everyone. Unless clearing it out is your job, leave Command alone.
  • Dragging your copy back onto the share overwrites the shared version if you choose Replace at the name prompt, including any changes a colleague made in the meantime.

Copy, move, or alias when you drag a file on a Mac explains why the same gesture copies here and moves elsewhere.

Opening a file straight from the share is fine for a quick look. For real work, copy it to your Mac, work there, and put it back when you are done.

  • Apps save often, and every save goes over the network. On a slow or dropped connection, a save can fail or leave a damaged file on the share, where it affects everyone.
  • Two people can open the same file from a share. Depending on the app and the server, the second person may get a warning, a read-only copy or no warning at all, and the last one to save wins.
  • Large video and design files open and scroll faster from your own disk.

The cost is that two versions now exist. Name your working copy clearly, tell people when you have a busy file out, and read the Replace prompt carefully when you copy it back.

Why copies from a share crawl or stall

Network copies are slower than local ones, and a few things make them much slower.

  • Many small files. Each file is its own round trip of opening, reading and closing over the network. A folder of thousands of small images takes far longer than one video of the same total size, and Finder may sit on “Preparing to copy” while it counts them. If a big folder of small files gets shared often, it is worth keeping a zipped copy of it on the share.
  • Wi-Fi and distance. A wired connection is usually faster and steadier, and a VPN from home adds delay to every one of those round trips.
  • Sleep. If a laptop sleeps mid-copy, the connection drops. Keep it plugged in with the lid open for long copies.
  • A file in use. If someone has the file open, the copy can stop with “The operation can’t be completed because the item is in use” (Finder names the file). Copy the rest, then come back for that one.

If the connection drops partway, recent versions of Finder may say that copying has paused and offer choices such as Keep Resumable Copy or Keep Partial Copy. A partial copy is incomplete, so do not work from it as if it were the real file.

For a large folder, Terminal’s rsync is more forgiving, because running the same command again skips files that already arrived complete:

rsync -a --progress "/Volumes/Projects/2026 Brochure" ~/Desktop/

That copies the 2026 Brochure folder and everything inside it to your Desktop. The -a option keeps the folder structure and modification dates, and --progress shows each file as it goes. If it stops, press the Up arrow and Return to run it again. Leave off a slash after the folder name to copy the folder itself; with a slash, only its contents are copied. Rather than typing the share path, type rsync -a --progress and drag the folder from Finder into the Terminal window, then add the destination.

The .DS_Store files you leave behind

Finder can leave a hidden .DS_Store file in each folder you open on a share, where it keeps that folder’s view settings. Colleagues on Windows can end up seeing them as stray files, and on a busy share they pile up. macOS has a setting that stops Finder writing them on network volumes; stop .DS_Store files appearing on external and network drives walks through it and how to clear the ones already there.

Where a shelf fits

Do the copying itself in Finder or with rsync, so the files are on your Mac first. Ledge does no copying across the network and connects to no server; where it fits is around the copy.

One place it helps is with the long paths. Share paths run deep (/Volumes/Projects/Clients/2026/Brochure and on), and dragging from Finder into Terminal only works when both windows are on screen at once. Drag the share folder up to the notch while you are browsing it in Finder, and it lands on a shelf. Later, with the command half typed and Finder nowhere in sight, open the shelf with Option-Space and drag the folder off onto the Terminal window: a terminal receives the path as text, not the folder. The first time Ledge pastes into a terminal, macOS asks for Accessibility permission.

Once your working copies are on your Mac, the shelf can hold them while you hand them on: dropped on a chat app, a file uploads. Ledge has no account and no cloud.

Questions

What does smb:// mean?

SMB is the file-sharing protocol Windows uses, and the one Macs use by default for their own file sharing, so almost every shared folder you meet speaks it. The smb:// at the start tells Finder which protocol to use, the way https:// does for a browser.

Why is the server missing from Network in the sidebar?

Not every server announces itself, and some networks block the announcements. Type the address with Command-K instead. If the sidebar shows no servers at all, check Finder > Settings > Sidebar, where Bonjour computers and Connected servers can be switched on.

Is it safe to open a file directly from the share?

For reading, generally yes. For editing, copy it to your Mac first, so a dropped connection cannot damage the shared copy everyone else depends on.