How to Use Airdrop, the Easiest Way to Share Files Between Macs

AirDrop is one of OS X’s star attractions. It’s a breakthrough in speed, simplicity, and efficiency. There’s no setup, no password involved. It lets you copy files to someone else’s Mac up to 30 feet away, instantly and wirelessly; you don’t need an Internet connection or even a WiFi network. It works on a flight, a beach, or a sailboat in the middle of the Atlantic. It also works if you are on a WiFi network, doing other things online. 

To give someone a file, you and your lucky recipient must each open your respective AirDrop windows. Then you have a choice:

1. Drag into the AirDrop window.Open the AirDrop window. To do that, click the AirDrop icon (at the top of the Sidebar in any Finder window), choose Go → AirDrop, or press Shift-Command-R. 

Note: If you don’t see AirDrop in the Sidebar, and you’re sure you’re using Lion or later, it’s because somebody turned off its checkbox in Finder → Preferences → Sidebar. Hiding the AirDrop icon in this way means you can’t use the feature at all, at least not by dragging an icon into a window. You can still use the Share button as described below.

The first window shown above appears. After a moment, it fills up with icons for everyone nearby who’s running a wireless Lion or later Mac — and has opened the AirDrop window. They don’t have to do anything else; their icons show up automatically in your AirDrop window.