Document Storage on Mac OS X

This page contains instructions for storing documents on Mac OS X.

Using WebDAV, Mac OS users can access and store documents saved on the Law School student file server in much the same manner you might access documents stored locally on your laptop.

To connect to the student file server from a Macintosh computer running OS X, on- or off-campus, follow these instructions.

• From the Finder, press Command-K or select "Connect to Server" from the Go menu.
• In the window that appears, type https://documents.drake.edu in the address field. Pay close attention to the "https." You won't be able to connect if you enter "http." This is what initiates the secured connection. Click "Connect."
• You will then be asked for your username and password. Enter your nine-digit Drake ID as your username along with your campus password in the password field. Click "Connect."

The students.law.drake.edu volume should now mount on your desktop, allowing you to access your personal and shared files. Once you have finished working with files on the server, be sure to drag the Students volume to the Trash. This will disconnect you from the Law School's server.

Although remote document access provides the convenience and protection of centralized storage, internet connections from home wouldn't be as fast as network access from within the Law School. For this reason it's often best to copy work from the remote file system onto your local computer, make the necessary revisions, then move the document back onto the remote file system.

Note, even on occasions where you plan to open a document for review but not make changes, it may be best to copy the file to your computer and open the local copy. Select versions of Word and potentially other applications may attempt to auto-save documents you are reviewing, and could rename or corrupt remote files. This behavior only affects Macintosh computers.