iPad Pro File share from iPad to iMac

[Webcat86]

I've just purchased an iPad Pro, and would like to have a good way to share files to my iMac. I saw another thread recommending Jump Desktop but that's for full remote access. What I want to do is more for example let's say I export some photos to Files, I'd like to put those into a specific folder on my iMac which then gets backed up to my external drive.

Any good options for this?

 

[rui no onna]

Enable file sharing on the Mac and copy files to that shared folder? I assume iOS supports whatever file sharing protocol MacOS uses.

I have a NAS and I can access my SMB shares natively via the iPadOS Files app (… > Connect to Server).

 

[Webcat86]

Enable file sharing on the Mac and copy files to that shared folder? I assume iOS supports whatever file sharing protocol MacOS uses.

I have a NAS and I can access my SMB shares natively via the iPadOS Files app (… > Connect to Server).

With this solution, I add files to the shared folder and then when I'm with my Mac I'd need to move them to the destination folder?

 

[Greybeard2017]

I normally use AirDrop for this sort of thing - select them in the Files app on the iPad and then share

 

[rui no onna]

With this solution, I add files to the shared folder and then when I'm with my Mac I'd need to move them to the destination folder?

Yes.

Or you could always share the external drive/destination folder if that’s always attached to your Mac and copy directly to there.

 

[heretiq]

I've just purchased an iPad Pro, and would like to have a good way to share files to my iMac. I saw another thread recommending Jump Desktop but that's for full remote access. What I want to do is more for example let's say I export some photos to Files, I'd like to put those into a specific folder on my iMac which then gets backed up to my external drive.

Any good options for this?

I use iCloud Documents folder on my MacBook Pro. Documents and all its child folders are automatically accessible via the Files app on my iPhone and iPad Pro. Since macOS automatically creates a local copy of Documents, you can use Time Machine to create a local backup of any folder on whichever external drive you specify. Hope this helps.

 

[Webcat86]

I normally use AirDrop for this sort of thing - select them in the Files app on the iPad and then share

I use airdrop a lot too but this would be for a large amount of files

Yes.

Or you could always share the external drive/destination folder if that’s always attached to your Mac and copy directly to there.

The external drive is a backup (Time Machine) drive, so I do want them locally on the Mac as the primary location

I use iCloud Documents folder on my MacBook Pro. Documents and all its child folders are automatically accessible via the Files app on my iPhone and iPad Pro. Since macOS automatically creates a local copy of Documents, you can use Time Machine to create a local backup of any folder on whichever external drive you specify. Hope this helps.

I’ll be mainly wanting to export photos, to free up storage space and have a cleaner Photos app. So I want to put them in User > Pictures > Folder

 

[heretiq]

I use airdrop a lot too but this would be for a large amount of files


The external drive is a backup (Time Machine) drive, so I do want them locally on the Mac as the primary location


I’ll be mainly wanting to export photos, to free up storage space and have a cleaner Photos app. So I want to put them in User > Pictures > Folder

If you create that folder at the root of iCloud Drive, it will be automatically accessible on your iPad and any of your devices. You could also backup that folder to an external drive using Time Machine if "Optimize Mac Storage" is disabled. However, the exported photos will consume iCloud Drive storage — you can look at this as a secondary, cloud backup. If you’re trying to avoid consuming iCloud storage for the exported files this might not work for you though.

 

[Webcat86]

If you create that folder at the root of iCloud Drive, it will be automatically accessible on your iPad and any of your devices. You could also backup that folder to an external drive using Time Machine if "Optimize Mac Storage" is disabled. However, the exported photos will consume iCloud Drive storage — you can look at this as a secondary, cloud backup. If you’re trying to avoid consuming iCloud storage for the exported files this might not work for you though.

Yeah it’s partly for iCloud storage and partly for neater organisation