How to move files to another user account on the same Mac

Every Mac has two built-in ways to hand files from one user account to another. The Shared folder, at /Users/Shared, can be read and written by every account, so you put a file there and the other person copies it out. Each account’s Public folder also holds a Drop Box, which works like a mail slot: anyone can put files in, and only the owner can see what arrived.

Why you cannot drop it into their Documents folder

Each account’s files are private to that account. Open Macintosh HD > Users in Finder and you will see a folder for every person on the Mac. Open someone else’s, and their Desktop, Documents, Downloads and the rest each carry a small red no-entry badge. The one that opens is Public.

That privacy is the point of separate accounts, so macOS gives you two deliberate openings instead of letting you write anywhere. Which to use depends on whether the file should be visible to everyone on the Mac or only to the person receiving it.

Option one: the Shared folder

The Shared folder is the simplest route when the other person needs to open the file and keep it.

1. In Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder (Shift-Command-G), type /Users/Shared, and press Return.
2. Drag the file into that window. On the same drive, a drag moves the file. Hold Option as you drop to leave the original where it was and put a copy in Shared instead.
3. Tell the other person it is there. When they log in, they open the same folder and drag the file into their own Documents or Desktop.

To make this quicker next time, drag the Shared folder into the Favorites section of the Finder sidebar, in both accounts.

Two things catch people out.

The file still belongs to you. A file you put in Shared keeps you as its owner. The other account can usually open and read it, but may not be able to save changes to it. The easiest fix is on their side: copy the file into their own folder, and the copy belongs to them. If they need to edit it where it sits, select the file, choose File > Get Info, open Sharing & Permissions at the bottom, click the lock and enter your password, then set “everyone” to Read & Write.

Only the owner can delete it. The Shared folder lets each person remove or rename only their own files. If the other person tries to tidy up after copying, they may be told they do not have permission. Delete your own files from Shared once they have taken a copy.

Option two: the Drop Box

The Drop Box suits one-way deliveries, especially on a family Mac where you would rather not leave files in a folder everyone can browse.

1. In Finder, open Macintosh HD > Users, then the other person’s folder, then Public.
2. Drag your file onto the Drop Box folder. Hold Option as you drop if you want to keep your own copy.
3. macOS warns that you will not be able to see the item once it is in the Drop Box. Confirm.

The recipient finds it in their own Public > Drop Box folder the next time they look. Because you cannot see inside someone else’s Drop Box, you cannot check that the file arrived or fix a mistake afterward. Double-check that you picked the right file before you confirm.

Handing over a batch from different places

If the files come from several folders, say two photos from one project, a PDF from Downloads and a spreadsheet from Documents, moving them into Shared one at a time means a lot of back and forth between windows. You open Shared, go looking for the next file, lose the Shared window behind something else, and go looking for that too.

Ledge turns that into two steps. As you come across each file, drag it up to the notch at the top of the screen and let go; it lands on a shelf that drops from the notch and stays there. When the set is complete, open /Users/Shared in Finder, open the shelf with Option-Space or a click on the notch, and drag the files down into the window.

Dropping onto a Finder folder moves the files themselves, the same as an ordinary drag on the same drive. If you want to keep your own copies, duplicate them first (select a file and press Command-D) and shelf the duplicates. Ledge has no account and no cloud, and files never leave the Mac along the way. How to gather files from different folders in one spot covers the gathering half in more detail.

Both people logged in at once

You do not have to log out to hand something over. With fast user switching, both accounts stay signed in and you can swap between them in a couple of clicks.

1. Open System Settings > Control Center and set Fast User Switching to show in the menu bar, Control Center, or both.
2. Put the file in Shared or the Drop Box.
3. Choose the other account from the fast user switching menu, enter its password, and copy the file out.

Everything open in the first account stays exactly as it was while you are away.

When there is an administrator in the house

An administrator can use Terminal with sudo to copy files straight into another person’s home folder. It works, but the copied file ends up owned by the wrong account, and the recipient may not be able to edit or delete it until the owner is corrected as well. For everyday handovers the Shared folder does the same job with none of that cleanup, and nothing can go wrong in someone else’s folder by accident.

Questions

Can I AirDrop a file to another account on the same Mac?

AirDrop is built for sending between separate devices, and it does not offer another account on the same Mac as a destination. Use the Shared folder or the Drop Box instead.

Will other people on the Mac see what I put in Shared?

Yes, if they look. Everything in Shared is visible to every account, which is why the Drop Box is the better choice for anything private.

Why does the other account say the file is read-only?

They are opening a file you still own. Ask them to copy it into their own Documents folder first, or change “everyone” to Read & Write in the file’s Get Info window.