PC-Mac-Net FileShare
User Manual

Getting Started

Overview
The PC-Mac-Net FileShare application must be running on all computers you wish to share files between. It only uses Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) for it's operations, so you don't need other protocols such as NETBEUI, AppleTalk, etc. to successfully share files.

In addition, you don't need file sharing enabled on your computer, nor do you use the Network Neighborhood, My Network Places, the Chooser, or any other networking functions built into your operating system to use PC-Mac-Net FileShare.

Setting Up
Select the Preferences panel and enter a Sharing Password to ensure only authorized users (ie. those people who know your password) can access your shared files and folders. Then choose the Shared Folders panel and add all the files and folders on your computer you wish to share.

If you wish to share files with your friends over the Internet, select Internet (Internet Workgroup) from the Workgroup Setup Method popup menu on the Preferences panel. Then enter the Workgroup Name you and your friends have chosen to use, and press the Join button. Your friends' computers should appear in the Connect to popup menu on the Transfer Files panel within a few seconds.

The fastest way to set up a LAN workgroup (eg. a simple home network) is to select Auto-Discovery from the Workgroup Setup Method popup menu on the Preferences panel. All computers on the LAN should then be discovered quickly and automatically. No further setup is required.

Operation
When you launch PC-Mac-Net FileShare, you should see other computers running PC-Mac-Net FileShare listed in the Connect to popup menu on the Transfer Files panel after a few seconds. They will also be shown in the Remote User Connection List listbox on the Network panel, and you can see their IP address, their computer name and what they are doing.

Select a computer from the Connect to popup menu to view it's shared files and folders. You may need to enter a Sharing Password to gain access to files on this computer (once entered, the password will be stored and automatically used for subsequent operations).

When you have the remote file list displayed, simply double-click a file in this list (or highlight it and press the Download button - the left-pointing arrow) to begin transferring it to your computer. The file will be stored in the folder displayed in the Local File List listbox. You can also highlight a range of files and/or folders in the remote file list and press the Download button to get them all.

To upload files to a remote computer, the remote computer must be set up with a shared folder which has been set to 'Writeable'. You can then navigate into this folder via the Remote File List listbox, select files in the Local File List listbox and press the Upload button to upload the files to it.

The Sync button works similarly to the Upload button, except that it transfers (uploads and downloads) files so that the contents of the selected folder is synchronized with the equivalent remote folder on the Remote File List. If the remote folder doesn't exist, it is automatically created. Synchronization means: any files not at both locations will be transferred, so that they exist at both locations; any updated files will be transferred, overwriting the old ones (if they exist).

Dynamic help text (based on which button, textbox, etc. you have the cursor over) is displayed at the bottom left side of most panels.

Notes
If you get a message saying that a computer is unreachable, try again. Sometimes network packets get lost (especially in congested networks) and simply trying again can result in success.

A file shown in the Local File List or Remote File List with an '*' in front of it's size value is a Macintosh file with a resource fork. When transferring these types of files to another Macintosh, all file information will be transferred correctly. However, when transferring these types of files to a PC, only the data fork will be transferred (thus, the file may be corrupted) unless you check the Transfer MacOS Resource Forks checkbox in the Preferences panel.

If a control is disabled, the dynamic help text associated with it will be displayed in red. Normally, it is displayed in black.

Further Information
Please read the section on Detailed Operation for further information.