Choose a File Sharing Method

When the type of file you want to share is a photo or video, you’ll most likely use one of the sharing methods discussed in the preceding chapters, since they were designed for that specific purpose. But for other kinds of files—documents, PDFs, disk images, and so on—the ways of getting them from Point A to Point B are so numerous and varied that you might have trouble even deciding on a path to follow.

The next five chapters don’t cover every possible way to share files. Instead, they provide simple instructions for the most useful and popular ways to share files. Which ones should you use under various circumstances? Here’s a quick guide.

Sharing with Yourself

The first question to consider is whether you intend to share files with other devices of your own or with other people. If your main goal is to make certain files available to yourself on other devices, you have two main options:

If you want to have a single, master copy of the file(s) that will be accessible by Macs or PCs on your local network, read Use OS X File Sharing.
If you want each device to have its own copy of the file(s)—or if you need to access the file(s) from an iOS device—read Sync Files and Folders across Devices.

Sharing with Other People

When sharing files with other people, the method you choose depends mainly on the mode of sharing you want to use (as explained in the Introduction):

Share: To give other Mac or PC users on your local network ongoing, read-write or read-only access to files stored in a central location, read Use OS X File Sharing. To collaborate with others (near or far) in real time, read Share Documents with Others.
Sync: If you want each device to have its own copy of the file(s), automatically kept up to date via the cloud, read Sync Folders with Others. You’ll be able to choose whether the other users can change and delete the original files.
Send: If you want someone else to get a copy of the file(s) as they exist today, and you need not keep them perpetually up to date, read Send Files to Others.
Broadcast: If you want to give someone access to the file(s) but retain the option to change them later (such that others could download a fresh copy from the same location) or discontinue access at an arbitrary time, see Broadcast Download Links.

Table of Contents