Of course, Apple would prefer if you used a Mac alongside your iPhone or iPad, but it isn't silly enough to assume that folks would give up their Windows PCs and go all-in on its hardware. As such, some of the core services you'll be using on those mobile devices are also available for Windows.
ICloud Drive lets you organize your files with folders, rename them, and tag them with colors. And when you make a change, the update is made across all your devices. You can even have everything in your Mac Desktop and Documents folders automatically available in iCloud Drive. May 07, 2019 How to sign up for iCloud on a Mac. To work with iCloud, your Mac needs to be running at least OS X Lion (again, highly likely since it came out in 2011). For the best iCloud experience you should update to the latest OS, which is currently macOS Mojave.
![Icloud For Mac Icloud For Mac](/uploads/1/2/6/8/126878248/445747460.jpg)
One specific service is iCloud Photos. It's a relatively easy way to share your iPhone or iPad photos with your Windows 10 PC, once you've got it set up. Here's what you need to know.
How to download, install and set up iCloud for Windows
Before you do anything you need to have iCloud for Windows installed and set up. The good news is that it's an easy process. The even better news is we have a complete guide to walk you through it, step by step.
How to enable iCloud Photos on your iPhone or iPad
It goes without saying, but before you can share anything to your Windows 10 PC you need to make sure you've enabled everything on your iOS device. If you need help with that, check out the guide linked below courtesy of our pals over at iMore.
How to enable sync on Windows 10
If you didn't take care of it already in the first step, the next thing you need to do is to enable iCloud Photos in iCloud for Windows.
- Open the Start Menu and navigate to the iCloud folder.
- In there, you need to open the iCloud application.
- In the box that pops up, check the box next to Photos.
Choose what to sync
In the box you enable Photos in during the previous step, you'll also see a button labeled Options next to Photos. This is where you choose what it is you wish to sync to your PC.
Click on Options and you'll be presented with what you see in the image above. Here's what you can do:
- iCloud Photo Library: Upload your PC photo library to your iCloud storage.
- Photostream: This is a pretty simple way to share your iPhone and iPad photos with all of your iCloud enabled devices. It'll share everything you take and sync it to your Windows 10 PC, but it'll also work in reverse and allow you to add photos from your computer that will then sync to iCloud and any iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV that's set up for it.
- iCloud Photo Sharing: Choose the people you want to share photos with and allow them to add photos, videos, and comments. Comments will show up right in the folder when you open it in Windows 10.
- Download and Upload new photos and videos to and from your PC.
You can also change the folder that synced photos go into. By default, it'll be set to go into Pictures or iCloud Photos, but you can change that to any other that you wish.
How to add iCloud Photos to Quick Access
The steps above will leave you in a position where iCloud will sync your photos to your computer. The photos themselves will reside in the folder specified in the previous step, but iCloud for Windows installs a 'desktop app' for quicker, easier management.
Only it's not a desktop app as you might imagine. To locate it you can either go into the 'iCloud' folder in the Start menu and find iCloud Photos, or just open File Explorer. iCloud Photos will be added there, under Devices and drives in This PC.
- To add to Quick Access in File Explorer, right-click on iCloud Photos and select Pin to Quick Access.
- To pin to the Start menu, right-click on iCloud Photos and select Pin to Start.
How to add Photos to a folder or Photostream
Once you open up iCloud Photos and you're viewing either your folders or Photostream you can add new photos right from your computer. Follow these steps:
- Open the location to which you wish to share new photos.
- Above the main window look for Add photos or videos. (See the image above.)
- Choose the photos from your computer.
- Once you're ready, hit done.
The photos you just selected will soon be available on the devices and to the other people to whom you allow access.
How to create a new shared album
If you want to share a specific set of photos with friends or family who also use iCloud, there's a really easy way to do it. Do this:
- Open the location to which you wish to share new photos.
- Above the main window look for New shared album.
- Add the email addresses of the people you want to share with.
- Give the album a name.
- Click Next.
- Select all the photos you want to add from your computer.
- Click Done.
Now, all the photos you added to the folder will be synced to the devices of everyone you shared with. It's important to remember that you need to add their iCloud email addresses, which may well be different than their regular email addresses, so always make sure to check if in doubt.
How to unsubscribe from shared folders
If someone has shared a folder with you through iCloud but you're done with it and want to unsubscribe, you can do that too from iCloud for Windows. Follow these quick steps:
- Select the folder you want to unsubscribe from.
- Right-click on it
- Click Unsubscribe in the bottom left corner.
You'll now no longer see any photos from these folders.
You may not get as wide a range of features as on macOS, but Apple at least provides a comprehensive, if a little rudimentary, way to keep your iCloud Photo Library in order on Windows 10. And you can now move photos both ways, as well as view and edit photos on Windows 10.
For more on iCloud Photo Library, be sure to visit our pals at iMore and check out their ultimate guide.
Updated June 28, 2018: We thoroughly checked through this guide to make sure it contains all the info you need to get the most out of iCloud Photos on Windows.
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If you want your Mac's photos to wirelessly sync to all your other iOS devices and computers, you want to set up iCloud Photo Library: Apple's photo sync service lets you back up your images on all your devices, as well as access them — online or offline — on said devices. If you're willing to pay for the extra iCloud storage space, you can store an incredible amount of photos and videos, all accessible at the touch of a button or multi-touch screen.
Here's how to set it up on your Mac and get everything configured to your liking!
How to set up iCloud Photo Library on your Mac
- Launch the Photos app on your Mac.
- Select the Photos menu in the upper left corner of your screen.
- Go to Preferences.
- Click on the iCloud tab.
- Check 'iCloud Photo Library.' This will begin uploading any and all images you have stored in the Photos app to iCloud.
How to quickly sync images with your other devices
![Free Free](/uploads/1/2/6/8/126878248/445395868.jpg)
Icloud For Mac Desktop
When you enable iCloud Photo Library, your photos and video will by default automatically upload to iCloud, and eventually sync with your other iOS devices and Macs. If you'd like to expedite this process, however, you can enable My Photo Stream: This will automatically sync any images you take to your other devices when you (and they) are connected to a Wi-Fi network.
It is worth noting that this only works with images: Apple doesn't currently support quick syncing with video files just yet.
Tip: If you frequently swap between your iPhone and iPad and want to use screenshots or photos you've recently taken on either, this is worth enabling.
- Launch the Photos app on your Mac.
- Select the Photos menu in the upper left corner of your screen.
- Go to Preferences.
- Click on the iCloud tab.
- Check the My Photo Stream checkbox.
How to optimize your photo and video storage
Download Icloud For Windows 10
If you routinely shoot 4K video or high-quality images on your iPhone, iPad, or DSLR, you may run out of storage space fast. (I have a 1TB iMac, but also have almost a terabyte of 4K video stored in iCloud — it gets unwieldy, fast!) This is especially true if you have a Mac laptop with limited hard drive space: It's nice to look at your iPhone's gorgeous Portrait mode photos, but not necessarily always practical to store all of them locally.
Thankfully, Apple offers an Optimize Storage option, which lets you store full-resolution photos and video of only your most recently shot and accessed imagery; all older photos and videos are available to download via iCloud, and are stored as low-resolution previews on your device so as to save space. You can switch between optimizing your Mac's photos storage or storing your full library locally: Here's how!
Note: If you plan on using Optimize Storage, we suggest having at least one device that stores your entire library locally (usually a Mac with a large local or external hard drive), so you have multiple backups of your photographs and video.
- Launch the Photos app on your Mac.
- Click Photos in the App menu in the upper left corner of your screen.
- Select Preferences from the drop-down menu.
- Click the iCloud tab.
- Click Optimize Mac Storage.
Full-resolution versions of your photos and videos will be uploaded to iCloud.
How to share photos with iCloud Photo Library
Apple's photo service doesn't just provide online backups and sync for your images and video: The company also offers a free sharing service that allows you to send shared albums to friends and family (or create a publicly-shared website). Here's how to turn it on for your Mac.
Questions?
Let us know in the comments below.
Updated May 2018: Updated with more information on setting up iCloud Photo Library for your Mac.
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