Awesome video, made the transition from Google Drive to iCloud for that Apple integration and I need it to be flawless when I'm sending stuff to people, especially people paying for stuff like photos lol. This helped a lot with understanding the "collaborate" and the "send copy." I kept trying to do "send copy" and I was trying to send 3+ gigabytes worth of pics over iMessage and email which just wasn't working and freezing up. Collaborate is the way better option for bigger file sizes.
Very clear and useful, thanks. Is there anything in particular to be said about compatibility of file formats? For example, can I share a Pages document with a Windows user, or am I expected to know it shouild be converted to a common format?
Thank you, Gary, for yet another great tutorial. I always run into situations where I want to share a file or folder using an iCloud link, similar to what you can do with pictures and videos: share, copy iCloud link. I thought something was broken with Finder, or the feature was a work in progress, until I watched your video. Do you think it would be possible to create a shortcut under the Shortcuts app to streamline this whole process of sharing files and folders? Why does Apple have to make this process so complicated?
Great video, Gary, and quite helpful! I'm wondering, though, whether the shared file is "live" - in other words, does the recipient see changes that the sender might make over time?
Depends on the app and how you are sharing it. With an app like Pages, for instance, if you collaborate on a document you can both work on it in real time.
Your videos are most useful, thank you! My husband has a MacBook Pro running Sonoma. I have an older MacBook Air running Sierra. We have been able to share files from the MacBook Pro to the Air, but the files are only showing up in the Web-based iCloud folder, not in the Finder iCloud folder on the Air. Additionally, the Share menu on the Air does not have the same options. Is there a minimum OS requirement to do this?
Great overview, as always, Gary. One quibble directed towards Apple. IMHO, I get the “Shared / Added by…” labels that are added when a folder and/or files is shared. But… when you shared a very large folder, (e.g. a home office file sharing folder), having those sharing labels on every folder and file gets to be silly and clutters the Finder view. I wish there was a Finder view pref to hide those labels.
@@macmost Unless I’m overlooking something, not quite. You’re in List view. And even then, if you hide the “Shared by” column, those labels just pop over to right of folder / file names. In Column view you can’t hide Shared by at all. Oh well 🤷🏻♂️
Thank you very much for investing so much. I have a question. What do I do in a situation where I have an iCloud with a 2TB capacity and my friend has a basic iCloud and I want him to upload things to my account?
I’m new to your content page and I see you have TONS of great info. Looks great! Thanks for all you do! I’m looking to create a spreadsheet in numbers that will conditionally highlight my todo list by priority and dates. Ex: I need to wash clothes once a week, check email every other day, floorboards once a month. Can I make it calculate and change colors as the days go by? Ex: I checked email today so I make the cell green, but tomorrow it turns yellow in preparation of turning red the next day to indicate I need to do it again...? I hope this makes sense. Please help.
I suppose. Not sure if that is the right tool for the job though. You may have to switch on an off a checkbox to force the cells and conditional highlighting to update. Seems like what you really want is a pro-level to-do or project management app or something.
Hi Gary, I am in the process of saving old home movies from DV tapes onto my Mac, on iCloud. What I want to do after I have done that is to provide copies, or at least allow permanent access, to my wife and two children - we all live apart. Will this work for movies or is there a better option for movies? We all have Mac's.
This will work, but the challenge is that you may have a bunch of huge files to share. But if you have plenty of iCloud space and you all have fast connections then you can put it up there for them to grab.
@@macmost Thank you so much for responding so quickly. The videos are so valuable now 15+ years old with children growing up so this will be short term pain for long term gain - I hope. You are always my MAC advisor of choice so thank you for what you do for us. I learn something from all your videos. Very best Jon.
Thanks Gary, very informative. I've been trying to share a one main folder with multiple folders inside of photos of different vacations. But to no avail, only the first one gets shared and not the others. Do I have to share the others separately?
So you are talking about albums in photos, not folders in the Finder? There you would create shared albums. You can't share a folder of albums as folders are just ways to organize your albums. You have to share the albums themselves.
@@macmost Thanks for responding! No, these are just regular photos (not albums) that I have tried to sort into named folders for some organization. The parent folder is called Photos, inside this one would be sibling folders named Vacations, another one named Family Holidays, and another named Friends etc. I have a total of 5 right now. So the parent folder is just labeled as a Photos folder that holds two (or more) other folders of just photos. When I tried sharing the parent folder, only one of the 5 were actually shared. I was under the impression that if I shared one parent folder with 5 other sibling folders inside that they would all show up the other persons iCloud Drive, Hope I am explaining this right. It seems like I may have to make 5 separate shares for proper viewing.
Is there a limitation on the file size? Say I created a project in iMovie that was 50 gigs or whatever and I wanted a collaborator to do an edit, is this possible
You wouldn't use this for an iMovie project. That's just too big. It would take a long time to upload for you, and download for them. This is more for regular documents.
Revealing as usual, but one thing is driving me mad. I use Filemaker (affiliated with Apple, I believe) and want to copy the filemaker files (such as one I call "Med" for my medical history). These copies go to my iPhone and iPad, or so I would wish. I plugged each device into the MacOS computer and it decided to synchronise my OS file with my iOS files. It is being perverse by not sending my newly modified files and, in fact, it has become difficult to locate those files on my hard disk. What am I missing out on in using (or misusing) iCloud?
You don't connect the devices physically to use iCloud. You just put the files in iCloud Drive and they sync. No need to connect. Think of iCloud Drive as one location online that you can "see" from all your devices, not something you ever need to "sync."
Hi Gary. Could you please sometime teach us how to share iCloud calendar with someone using Google calendar. It doesn't seem to work and be updated on changes properly.
That's not how it works. iCloud Calendar and Google Calendar are both calendar services. You share a calendar in either service with another person. For instance, in the Calendar app on a Mac you can view both iCloud calendars and Google calendars (and many other services too). If you want to share an iCloud calendar with another person it is up to them how they view it (in whatever calendar app they are using). If they aren't savvy and don't use a calendar app, then your only choice is to share using the service they are using.
Thanks Gary! Just one question. I noticed that the file you shared was .pages, but when you downloaded the file on the other machine it was a .txt file. Does sharing convert the file format?
@@macmost at 1:36 you highlight the file named An Example.pages and then at 5:12 you click on the link to open the file and it is now Example Shared file.txt. I guess I was just focused on the .txt and previously had not noticed that the file name also changed.
I guess this is for MacOS users only. There are a lot of people who use Windows and rely on the iCloud website to do all of this. I would love to see a demonstration of how to do that. I tried several times and got frustrated and ended up not sharing the files.
You don't need to "share" with yourself. If you have two devices and they are both using the same Apple ID then you'd be looking at the SAME iCloud Drive on both. So you'd see the same files. No "sharing" needed.
@@macmost yes, but the syncing isn’t immediate and there’s no obvious way I can see to update the sync. I was fiddling with this for over an hour today and ended up airdropping to myself. It’s a strange issue to have since both devices are also connected to the same (relatively decent) wifi.
@@OlivesD Should be close to immediate unless the file is huge. Also, if one of your devices is on battery and not near full then iCloud syncing can often be delayed as a battery-saving tactic.
@@macmost Thank you. Your thoughts gave me something to think about. I don't think it's a battery issue though because I took it all home and plugged it all into power sources and this today on my mac it's showing that the last sync was 20 hrs ago. I've tried toggling the iCloud sync button off and on again, but still no go yet. The files aren't large, so I think it might be a VPN issue?
@@OlivesD iCloud sync button? Do you mean you switched iCloud off and on again? Don't do that again as there are repercussions that you need to consider. Could be VPN. Why are you using a VPN at home? Try it with the VPN off.
@macmost I'm running the latest OS on a Studio. For test purposes, I create a folder in iCloud, add a screenshot then right click, also went to File menu, but the option is greyed out
So a second layer of protection? You can zip it or make a disk image with a password, for instance? So then the other person needs permission to get the shared folder, and then they also need the password to open it.
I received a message on iPhone saying open in photos then it said sender wants to collaborate. You will remain anonymous to owner and participants then it says open or not now if I open, will the owner see that I opened the link?
I hit the link and scrolled up to watch a video sent from the same source and it showed up on that link while I did not consent to open it so I quickly deleted the photo sent well they know it was opened. I never even got an open/not now option? Sorry for the inconvenience.
“Download a copy” only appears when you are sharing a single file. If you share a folder with multiple files inside then the option doesn’t appear. The workaround is to make a zip folder for the multiple files, and then just share the individual zip file, then the “Download a copy” option should appear.
What if the person you sent to has a Mac but doesn't have an iCloud account (or doesn't use iCloud)? I just tested this and he only sees an "Add To Cloud" blue button. No "Download a copy" button.
@@macmost I tried everything. Doesn’t work on non iCloud employees. Can you pls make a video on that? Can’t figure out :( Also if i want to create a new link and deactivate the old one for old employees not to have access. Can we do that?
I realize this comment might not belong here, but i figured you'd see it and point me in the right direction. I don't understand why I can't see my photo albums on my mac photos app, these are the albums I created on my iphone.
Are you sure you have iCloud Photos enabled on both machines, and they are both using the same Apple ID? If so, then you should see them. Call Apple Support if you don't.
Apple made this way too complicated, comparing to literally all the other cloud services (Google Drive, Mega, pCloud, Dropbox...). Why can't I just copy the link of the folder, and send it to whoever I want, so that person can view and download content of the folder...
I wish Apple would just give iCloud drives file sharing the same functionality as Dropbox. Everyone understands Dropbox. These steps are way too complicated.
Thank you Gary, so good and just what I needed at the moment. You always provide such practical and valuable information. Much appreciated! 👍🏻
Great video, as always, Gary, and timely for me -- I have a new reason to be sharing files with a colleague, and this will be *very* useful!
Awesome video, made the transition from Google Drive to iCloud for that Apple integration and I need it to be flawless when I'm sending stuff to people, especially people paying for stuff like photos lol. This helped a lot with understanding the "collaborate" and the "send copy." I kept trying to do "send copy" and I was trying to send 3+ gigabytes worth of pics over iMessage and email which just wasn't working and freezing up. Collaborate is the way better option for bigger file sizes.
This was precisely what I needed!
Best MM video of the year, so far, I know more's to come! Thanks!
very very useful & in my case, doesn't need for secondary right click to copy the link, automatically copied to clipboard.
Gary you are an amazing person. I learn so much from your videos and adventures. Thanks for this one. God bless
I love the Apple ecosystem, but in the case of sharing files, Google Drive is so much easier, especially on the receiver end.
I agree. I've been a Mac user since 1984. Google drv is way better. Sad.....
Very clear and useful, thanks. Is there anything in particular to be said about compatibility of file formats? For example, can I share a Pages document with a Windows user, or am I expected to know it shouild be converted to a common format?
If you are sharing a file with someone you should know if they can use that file. Communicate with them to decide beforehand if you are unsure.
Thank you, Gary, for yet another great tutorial. I always run into situations where I want to share a file or folder using an iCloud link, similar to what you can do with pictures and videos: share, copy iCloud link. I thought something was broken with Finder, or the feature was a work in progress, until I watched your video. Do you think it would be possible to create a shortcut under the Shortcuts app to streamline this whole process of sharing files and folders? Why does Apple have to make this process so complicated?
I don't think there are any actions that will help make it quicker.
Thanks very much, Gary, for this informative video. It is great to recap on these sharing methods.
Great video, Gary, and quite helpful! I'm wondering, though, whether the shared file is "live" - in other words, does the recipient see changes that the sender might make over time?
Depends on the app and how you are sharing it. With an app like Pages, for instance, if you collaborate on a document you can both work on it in real time.
A very useful and informative video tutorial today! I love learning new things! Thank you, Gary! 👏🏻❤️
Your videos are most useful, thank you! My husband has a MacBook Pro running Sonoma. I have an older MacBook Air running Sierra. We have been able to share files from the MacBook Pro to the Air, but the files are only showing up in the Web-based iCloud folder, not in the Finder iCloud folder on the Air. Additionally, the Share menu on the Air does not have the same options. Is there a minimum OS requirement to do this?
Possibly. I can't remember when they added file sharing and Sierra may simply be before that.
Great overview, as always, Gary. One quibble directed towards Apple. IMHO, I get the “Shared / Added by…” labels that are added when a folder and/or files is shared. But… when you shared a very large folder, (e.g. a home office file sharing folder), having those sharing labels on every folder and file gets to be silly and clutters the Finder view. I wish there was a Finder view pref to hide those labels.
You can. View, Show View Options. Turn off Shared By.
@@macmost Unless I’m overlooking something, not quite. You’re in List view. And even then, if you hide the “Shared by” column, those labels just pop over to right of folder / file names. In Column view you can’t hide Shared by at all. Oh well 🤷🏻♂️
Thank you very much for investing so much.
I have a question. What do I do in a situation where I have an iCloud with a 2TB capacity and my friend has a basic iCloud and I want him to upload things to my account?
Try it and see. It should work if you create the Shared folder.
Very helpful, thank you so much!
You are a hero my friend!!
I’m new to your content page and I see you have TONS of great info. Looks great! Thanks for all you do!
I’m looking to create a spreadsheet in numbers that will conditionally highlight my todo list by priority and dates. Ex: I need to wash clothes once a week, check email every other day, floorboards once a month. Can I make it calculate and change colors as the days go by?
Ex: I checked email today so I make the cell green, but tomorrow it turns yellow in preparation of turning red the next day to indicate I need to do it again...? I hope this makes sense. Please help.
I suppose. Not sure if that is the right tool for the job though. You may have to switch on an off a checkbox to force the cells and conditional highlighting to update. Seems like what you really want is a pro-level to-do or project management app or something.
Hi Gary, I am in the process of saving old home movies from DV tapes onto my Mac, on iCloud. What I want to do after I have done that is to provide copies, or at least allow permanent access, to my wife and two children - we all live apart. Will this work for movies or is there a better option for movies? We all have Mac's.
This will work, but the challenge is that you may have a bunch of huge files to share. But if you have plenty of iCloud space and you all have fast connections then you can put it up there for them to grab.
@@macmost Thank you so much for responding so quickly. The videos are so valuable now 15+ years old with children growing up so this will be short term pain for long term gain - I hope. You are always my MAC advisor of choice so thank you for what you do for us. I learn something from all your videos. Very best Jon.
Nice video Gary. I still can't get this to work. Apple's eco system used to be so intuitive. Ughh
Where are you running into trouble?
Thanks Gary, very informative. I've been trying to share a one main folder with multiple folders inside of photos of different vacations. But to no avail, only the first one gets shared and not the others. Do I have to share the others separately?
So you are talking about albums in photos, not folders in the Finder? There you would create shared albums. You can't share a folder of albums as folders are just ways to organize your albums. You have to share the albums themselves.
@@macmost Thanks for responding! No, these are just regular photos (not albums) that I have tried to sort into named folders for some organization. The parent folder is called Photos, inside this one would be sibling folders named Vacations, another one named Family Holidays, and another named Friends etc. I have a total of 5 right now. So the parent folder is just labeled as a Photos folder that holds two (or more) other folders of just photos. When I tried sharing the parent folder, only one of the 5 were actually shared. I was under the impression that if I shared one parent folder with 5 other sibling folders inside that they would all show up the other persons iCloud Drive, Hope I am explaining this right. It seems like I may have to make 5 separate shares for proper viewing.
@@golfnut1982 Not sure what is going on there. The complete contents of the folder should be shared.
@@macmost I’m perplexed too. If you think of anything, let me know. Appreciate your help.
GREAT stuff - again
Is there a limitation on the file size? Say I created a project in iMovie that was 50 gigs or whatever and I wanted a collaborator to do an edit, is this possible
You wouldn't use this for an iMovie project. That's just too big. It would take a long time to upload for you, and download for them. This is more for regular documents.
Revealing as usual, but one thing is driving me mad. I use Filemaker (affiliated with Apple, I believe) and want to copy the filemaker files (such as one I call "Med" for my medical history). These copies go to my iPhone and iPad, or so I would wish. I plugged each device into the MacOS computer and it decided to synchronise my OS file with my iOS files. It is being perverse by not sending my newly modified files and, in fact, it has become difficult to locate those files on my hard disk. What am I missing out on in using (or misusing) iCloud?
You don't connect the devices physically to use iCloud. You just put the files in iCloud Drive and they sync. No need to connect. Think of iCloud Drive as one location online that you can "see" from all your devices, not something you ever need to "sync."
Love your videos Gary, how do you get this link if you are in a hurry and want to share it from and iPhone on the go
Tap and hold the file in the Files app, select Share and go from there.
@@macmost On the iPone after choosing Share there's no Invite with Link option
@@zoltanzana See my other reply to you.
Thank you :)
Hi Gary. Could you please sometime teach us how to share iCloud calendar with someone using Google calendar. It doesn't seem to work and be updated on changes properly.
That's not how it works. iCloud Calendar and Google Calendar are both calendar services. You share a calendar in either service with another person. For instance, in the Calendar app on a Mac you can view both iCloud calendars and Google calendars (and many other services too). If you want to share an iCloud calendar with another person it is up to them how they view it (in whatever calendar app they are using). If they aren't savvy and don't use a calendar app, then your only choice is to share using the service they are using.
@@macmost I really appreciate this. You are and being wished the best, Gary.
Thanks Gary! Just one question. I noticed that the file you shared was .pages, but when you downloaded the file on the other machine it was a .txt file. Does sharing convert the file format?
No, it should be exactly the file you sent. No change is made. Check what you are doing carefully.
@macmost But your video showed a .pages file arriving as a .txt file. When did you change it?
@@cmarlow41 Not sure what you are referring to. Is there a time in the video where you see that?
@@macmost at 1:36 you highlight the file named An Example.pages and then at 5:12 you click on the link to open the file and it is now Example Shared file.txt. I guess I was just focused on the .txt and previously had not noticed that the file name also changed.
I guess this is for MacOS users only. There are a lot of people who use Windows and rely on the iCloud website to do all of this. I would love to see a demonstration of how to do that. I tried several times and got frustrated and ended up not sharing the files.
In the iCloud web interface, move your pointer over the file, then click the three-dots button. Then choose Collaborate With Others.
How about sharing with yourself? Is there a way to immediately sync iCloud to update files between your devices?
You don't need to "share" with yourself. If you have two devices and they are both using the same Apple ID then you'd be looking at the SAME iCloud Drive on both. So you'd see the same files. No "sharing" needed.
@@macmost yes, but the syncing isn’t immediate and there’s no obvious way I can see to update the sync. I was fiddling with this for over an hour today and ended up airdropping to myself. It’s a strange issue to have since both devices are also connected to the same (relatively decent) wifi.
@@OlivesD Should be close to immediate unless the file is huge. Also, if one of your devices is on battery and not near full then iCloud syncing can often be delayed as a battery-saving tactic.
@@macmost Thank you. Your thoughts gave me something to think about. I don't think it's a battery issue though because I took it all home and plugged it all into power sources and this today on my mac it's showing that the last sync was 20 hrs ago. I've tried toggling the iCloud sync button off and on again, but still no go yet. The files aren't large, so I think it might be a VPN issue?
@@OlivesD iCloud sync button? Do you mean you switched iCloud off and on again? Don't do that again as there are repercussions that you need to consider. Could be VPN. Why are you using a VPN at home? Try it with the VPN off.
Do you have a video that shows how to do this from iPhone??
On the iPhone you do it in the Files app. Tap and hold a file or folder. Choose Share.
@@macmost Thank you
@@macmost On the iPad after choosing Share there's no Invite with Link option
@@zoltanzana Is the file in iCloud Drive? Did you switch from Send a Copy to Collaborate? Are you using the latest iPadOS?
@@macmost The answer to all of these questions is ‘yes.’ Check it out, and you’ll see the same.
For me, the MAIL address (Google or Apple) is regularly and repeatedly missing from the SHARE menu.
How do I get them in there by hand?
Not sure why it is missing for you, sorry. Just use the Copy link option and then send the email yourself. I prefer and use that way myself.
Hi macmost, thanks for the video. But when you shared a pages, and send it to a Windows. Then I can't open it.
Right. That would happen with any document file you send where the person on the other end doesn't have the app, not just Pages.
When sharing a link to a file or folder... can the person that receives the link share it with others (without your approval)?
If it is a public link, then sure. Same if you sent them an attachment - they could forward it to anyone or post it anywhere they like.
Every time I need to share sth with Windows users I watch this video :D
I pay for icloud storage, but do not see the SHARE option anywhere
What steps are you taking, exactly?
@macmost I'm running the latest OS on a Studio. For test purposes, I create a folder in iCloud, add a screenshot then right click, also went to File menu, but the option is greyed out
@@macmost I just got handled, thank you! Was permissions or some such
How to password protect the folder being sent???
So a second layer of protection? You can zip it or make a disk image with a password, for instance? So then the other person needs permission to get the shared folder, and then they also need the password to open it.
I received a message on iPhone saying open in photos then it said sender wants to collaborate. You will remain anonymous to owner and participants then it says open or not now if I open, will the owner see that I opened the link?
Yes. Do you know and trust the owner? If so, what's the issue? If not, then ignore and delete the message.
I hit the link and scrolled up to watch a video sent from the same source and it showed up on that link while I did not consent to open it so I quickly deleted the photo sent well they know it was opened. I never even got an open/not now option? Sorry for the inconvenience.
Will they see i opened the link?
@@Atreyu1127 I think if you accepted the collaboration then they would have seen that at the time. But if you have left they won't see it anymore.
Thankx
'Download a copy' doesnt show up when i share my link with others
yeah.. here too
“Download a copy” only appears when you are sharing a single file.
If you share a folder with multiple files inside then the option doesn’t appear.
The workaround is to make a zip folder for the multiple files, and then just share the individual zip file, then the “Download a copy” option should appear.
@@sirzackefeller yeah thanks just realized that later :) my bad
What if the person you sent to has a Mac but doesn't have an iCloud account (or doesn't use iCloud)? I just tested this and he only sees an "Add To Cloud" blue button. No "Download a copy" button.
I have a whole section in the video that deal with exact that question: th-cam.com/video/ZEYreB7cIlU/w-d-xo.html
The download button appears for a file but not a folder. So you’d have to ZIP the folder I guess.
@@davidpalermo4695 Ah, that's the difference. Yes, zip it if you need to send more than one file, which makes sense.
How to go about: Sharing with 5 ppl exclusively who dont have iCloud, then delete a specific user not to have access later if need to be? thank you
Yes, you can remove a single person. Try it and see.
@@macmost I tried everything. Doesn’t work on non iCloud employees. Can you pls make a video on that? Can’t figure out :(
Also if i want to create a new link and deactivate the old one for old employees not to have access. Can we do that?
@@tjmanou6422 Sorry, I don't know what the issue could have been.
I realize this comment might not belong here, but i figured you'd see it and point me in the right direction. I don't understand why I can't see my photo albums on my mac photos app, these are the albums I created on my iphone.
Are you sure you have iCloud Photos enabled on both machines, and they are both using the same Apple ID? If so, then you should see them. Call Apple Support if you don't.
Apple made this way too complicated, comparing to literally all the other cloud services (Google Drive, Mega, pCloud, Dropbox...). Why can't I just copy the link of the folder, and send it to whoever I want, so that person can view and download content of the folder...
I wish Apple would just give iCloud drives file sharing the same functionality as Dropbox. Everyone understands Dropbox. These steps are way too complicated.
Bro a 13 Minute video? 🫤
Sorry? I guess? I deal with files, folders, and then both to someone with or without iCloud.