Mapping a Network Drive to Mac

Map network drive on macOS (one-time)

Nowadays, most NAS devices are seriously easy to map. Let’s say that you’ve been working on a document in your home office but have just remembered a key fact that you want to include.

Network drive access can be obtained in three simple steps, provided you don’t mind having to repeat those steps if the connection drops, you restart your Mac, or the device is disconnected:

1. In Finder, either hit Command+K to bring up “Connect to Server” or click Go > Connect to Server

2. Enter the path of the network drive you’re trying to map (e.g. smb://192.168.1.300/shared/Files) and click Connect

3. Enter your login details and password then click OK to mount the network drive

You can now access the relevant drive either via your desktop or the sidebar in Finder windows.

Automatically connect to a network drive on Mac

Maybe you have a server in your office with a connected network drive and want all your employees to be able to connect to it so they can collaborate on shared documents. If you want to keep a Mac connected to a network drive, even after restarting, the easiest way to do this is to follow the three steps above then add these:

1. Hit the Apple menu, then System Preferences > Users & Groups

2. From here, select Login Items and click + to add a new item

3. Find your network drive and click Add, then close the window

This is how to map network drive on macOS so it stays connected even after reboot. Network drives won’t, however, connect automatically if you’re using a different WiFi network.

Make a network drive accessible from Mac desktop

Depending on your settings, mounted drives may not always appear on your desktop. That’s not necessarily a problem if you don’t mind only being able to see connected servers in Finder window sidebars and open/save dialogues.

If, however, you want your NAS device to always be just one double-click away (in the same way that most people have Macintosh HD as a visible item on their desktop) just follow these steps:

CloudMounter is an essential utility to install on your Mac if you use network drives. It gives you a single point of access to all your network drives, as well as any external drives whatsoever. Mount drives from your menu bar and easily access their contents in your Finder.