How to Map a Network Drive on Mac

Network storage devices (NAS) are becoming increasingly popular, and their privacy and control advantages are attracting many users. This article will guide you on how to easily map network drives on macOS systems and provide some practical tips to help you manage NAS storage efficiently.

Mapping network drives (one-time)

Mapping of most NAS devices is very simple. For example, when you edit a document on your home office computer, you suddenly remember an important detail that needs to be quickly modified on your wife’s laptop. At this time, network drive access comes in handy.

The following three steps are to access the network drive, but you need to repeat these steps after the connection is interrupted, restarting the Mac, or disconnecting the device:

1. In Finder, press Command K Call up the "Connect Server" window, or click Go to > Connect Server.
2. Enter the path to the network drive you want to map (for example, smb://192.168.1.300/shared/Files) and click Connect.
3. Enter your login details and password, and then click OK to mount the network drive.

You can now access the related drives through the sidebar of the desktop or Finder window.

How to get the path to the network drive to be mapped? Users who need to share files should follow the following steps:

1. Go to System Settings > General > Share.
2. Click the “i” icon next to the file share.
3. Open file share.
4. Click the " " button under the "Shared Folders" list.
5. Select the folder you want to share and click Add.
6. Add users who can access shared folders and grant them permissions (for example, read-only).
7. Copy the SMB address under the file sharing section (you will see something like "Other users can access shared folders via smb://192.168.1.100") and send it to the person you want to share the folder with.

Automatically connect to network drives

If you want your Mac to stay connected to a network drive, such as a shared drive on an office server, even after a restart, to facilitate employees to collaborate on documents, just follow the three steps above and follow these steps:

1. Click the Apple menu and select System Settings > General.
2. Select the login item and click " ".
3. Locate your network drive and click Add and close the window.

This way, the network drive can be automatically connected even after restarting. However, if you use a different Wi-Fi network, the network drive will not automatically connect.

Show network drive on Mac desktop

Depending on your settings, mounted drives may not always appear on the desktop. If you don't mind only viewing connected servers in the Finder window sidebar and in the Open/Save dialog box, this is not a problem.

However, if you want your NAS devices to always be accessible with just a double-click (like most people, Macintosh HD is a project that is visible on their desktop), CloudMounter, an important utility installed on your Mac when using a network drive. Once the drive is mounted, you can easily access its contents in Finder. The effects are as follows:

DevOps engineer Garry's evaluation of this storage management method:

"The thing I like about this app is that it gives me a single access point for access to all network drives as well as any external drive. I confidently recommend this app to all friends who need it, even those who don't know much about technology. Once installed, you just have to choose the storage device you want to connect to your Mac and log in with your common credentials. That's it -- it will now run as part of your Mac."

Remount the mapped network drive with one click

If you manage or work across multiple departments, each with its own network drive, it is very convenient to create an alias that map network drives:

1. Right-click on any mapped NAS device on the desktop.
2. Select Make an alias.

If you use CloudMounter, remounting is even easier – you can do it with just one click in the menu bar. This is useful if you need to switch between different shared drives.

Manage files with network attached storage

In most cases, macOS's default tools are sufficient to view, edit and delete files. However, if you use a NAS device, things may change.

Delete unexpected duplicate files

It is easy to see a lot of duplicate files on network drives. Experience of professional videographer Sonya:

"This is the story of my life! Most importantly, I follow the 3-2-1 backup rule: I save three copies of my data on two different media, one of which is stored offsite. Sometimes I accidentally copy the file and a single video can take up to tens of GB. I often use Gemini to manage these duplicates."

Gemini is an excellent tool to mine any duplicate content on your drive so that you can discard everything you no longer need while keeping backup documents, photos, and more.

1. Open the app and click on the huge " " or drag the folder of your choice into the window.
2. Select from the recommended location, or select a custom folder.
3. Press the green Scan Duplicates button to start.
4. Manually delete duplicate files or use smart cleaning to automate this process.

Improve file management

For a more granular approach to file management, you might consider using tools like DCommander or Forklift. Both applications offer dual-panel file management, as well as batch renaming, copying, and deletion, which is smoother than the default Finder.

Although originally designed for FTP management, Forklift has become a favorite among network drive users because of its very similarity to macOS. In some marketing materials, it is called the Finder alternative application, and you can't find a more native application unless it comes from Cupertino.

Getting started with the app is very simple:

1. Open the Forklift application.
2. Use the left panel to find the file you want to move.
3. Select the right panel, and then use the sidebar and click your network drive.
4. Start moving, renaming, and archiving files.

If you don't like Forklift, you might consider using DCommander, a Mac alternative to Total Commander for Windows. In addition to two side-by-side file panels (which look very similar to Forklift), DCommander also makes it easy to use a wider range of commands and features (including quick file viewing, selective file decompression, navigation history and a great-looking dark mode) without leaving the dual-panel display.

Both applications allow you to perform operations such as marking certain drives as favorites, creating and browsing archives, and getting previews of projects. In short, they are very similar to Finder for macOS…just better. It's hard to exaggerate how easy it is to manage Mac storage with dual-panel browsing before it's not!

Efficiently manage Mac storage

With macOS, network drive mapping is a very simple process, even if you are not particularly tech-savvy. You may be in trouble if you want to use standard macOS tools to access NAS devices from another network, but for the moment, this is almost the only factor that prevents network drives from competing against cloud computing in the mainstream market.

If remote access is not a particular concern for you and you are using NAS as an alternative to cloud computing, it is definitely worth considering using programs like CloudMounter, Forklift, or DCommander to simplify file management (after the drive mapping is done), and using Gemini to make sure your NAS device is not filled with duplicate files you don't need.

The above software can be subscribed to the Setapp for free trial. This app platform enhances your productivity with dozens of apps for countless tasks on Mac and iOS. Manage your Mac more efficiently from today!

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