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From your Mac

Send a file from your Mac to a Windows PC.

AirDrop only works between Apple devices. For a PC, email is the simple answer. Here's how to send it so it opens cleanly on Windows.

Email it from Apple Mail

Mail can send attachments in a Windows-friendly way. For one message:

  1. Open a new message and click the Attach button in the toolbar, then choose Attach Files.
  2. Select Send Windows-Friendly Attachments. If you don’t see the checkbox, click Show Options.
  3. Pick the file and send.

To do it for every message, choose Edit > Attachments > Always Send Windows-Friendly Attachments.

Two habits that help

  • Send a PDF instead of the original format when the person only needs to read it. For Pages and Keynote files, see Send a Pages document and Email a Keynote presentation.
  • Keep the file extension on the name, like .docx for a Word document, so Windows knows what opens it.

Or email it from Gmail

Open Gmail in your browser, click Compose, then click Attach at the bottom and pick the file. Personal Gmail accounts can attach up to 25 MB. Over that, Gmail swaps the file for a Google Drive link. See Gmail attachment size limit.

For a big file

  • Mail Drop: Apple Mail can send attachments up to 5 GB through iCloud. The person has 30 days to download them. Stuck? See Mail Drop not working on Mac.
  • A Google Drive link: go to drive.google.com, click New > File upload, then click Share. Under General access, choose “Anyone with the link” and copy the link. They can open it without signing in to a Google Account. Work or school accounts may not allow this.

More options: File too large for Gmail?

On the same network: share a folder

If the PC is on your network, your Mac can share files with it over SMB. On your Mac, open System Settings > General > Sharing, turn on File Sharing, click Options, and turn on “Share files and folders using SMB.” Tick the account the PC will use and enter its password. The PC connects using the address shown under “File Sharing: On.” Apple’s guide, Share Mac files with Windows users, has the full steps.

Apple notes that passwords for accounts used this way may be stored less securely, so turn the account off when you’re done.

Sending to a phone instead? See Send a file from your Mac to an Android phone.

Send it to your PC people faster with Sendoff

Sendoff is a Mac app that lives in the notch. Drop the file on the notch, pick the person, press Send off. It remembers that your accountant on a PC gets Gmail, so you don’t choose each time, and it checks the file before you send. You get three seconds to undo.

Join the waitlist below, and tick the beta box if you want to test it first.