Home / Faculty and Staff / Computing Office / xFiles

xFiles

The xFiles are Social Sciences’ Secure Shared Drive which provides essential shared drive file storage and supports reliable, consistent backup/restore services. 

The “xFiles” consists of ten separate departmental servers that support instruction, research, and administrative needs. xFiles also allows you to share your files with others, accessible from anywhere, including off-campus, and supports Macs and PCs. xFiles has its own rigorous and proven backup plan that will keep your vital data safe.

If you need help, please contact us:

If you are part of the Social Sciences faculty and staff and you need help with this, please email us at socsci-it@ucsc.edu.

How to connect your Mac to xFiles:

IMPORTANT NOTE:

  • In order to access xFiles from off-campus or not using campus wifi, you’ll need to make sure to use the UCSC VPN.
  • OR you can connect to xFiles while on campus, when you are connected to a secure campus internet connection: Just connect to an ethernet cable, or wirelessly to: Eduroam, Resnet, UCSC-Guest, UCSC-Devices, or similar.

Connect to xFiles:

1. Click on Finder icon to open the Finder app:

Finder icon from Mac programs

2. Once Finder is open, press the Cmd key (⌘) and the letter k at the same time, and then you will see a window open asking for the Server Address at the top.

The image is exactly what is described in the previous text.

3. In the "Server Address" field, type your Server Address from this table below.

xFiles Servers and Folders

List of Server Addresses and Project Folders by Department
Department Server Address Project Folder
Anthropology smb://anth-files.ucsc.edu ANTH-Projects
Economics smb://econ-files.ucsc.edu ECON-Projects
Education smb://educ-files.ucsc.edu EDUC-Projects
Environmental Studies smb://envs-files.ucsc.edu ENVS-Projects
Latin American/Latino Studies smb://lals-files.ucsc.edu LALS-Projects
Politics smb://poli-files.ucsc.edu POLI-Projects
Psychology smb://psyc-files.ucsc.edu PSYC-Projects
Sociology smb://socy-files.ucsc.edu SOCY-Projects or CMMU-Projects
Dean/Division smb://dean-files.ucsc.edu DEAN-Projects
Research smb://research-files.ucsc.edu RESEARCH-Projects

For example, if you are Sociology Faculty or Staff, you would type: smb://socy-files.ucsc.edu

The image is exactly what is described in the previous text.
Colors may vary.

4. Next, click the “Connect” button.

Then you will see an option to select one of two folders.

A window with 2 folders in it.

There are two folder options:

  • Your department’s projects folder - shared folders specifically created for files to be used and accessed by multiple people. Typically named: (Your department abbreviation)-Projects. For example, for the shared Education folder, it is: EDUC-Projects
  • Your folder that is assigned to you - This is for your backups and whatever other things you want to store for your own work and is not shared with anyone else. Typically named the same as your CruzID name. For example if your CruzID is JaneD, your personal folder name will be JaneD.

Select the folder you want to access and tap OK.

4. A new window will open. Select the second radio button, labeled Registered User, then for Name: enter your CruzID, and for Password: enter your Gold Password.

The image is exactly what is described in the previous text.

5. The xFile shared drive you selected will now be in the left column in any Finder window until you disconnect from VPN or the campus server.

The image is exactly what is described in the previous text.

Congratulations! You have connected to xFiles on a Mac!

More Help with Mac

If you are part of Social Sciences Faculty and Staff and you need help with this or other Computing and IT, email us at socsci-it@ucsc.edu: 

How to Connect your PC to xFiles:

IMPORTANT NOTE:

  • In order to access xFiles from off-campus or not using campus wifi, you’ll need to make sure to use the UCSC VPN.
  • OR you can connect to xFiles while on campus, when you are connected to a secure campus internet connection: Just connect to an ethernet cable, or wirelessly to: Eduroam, Resnet, UCSC-Guest, UCSC-Devices, or similar.

Connecting your PC to xFiles:

1. Select Start/window icon and type “Control Panel” in the search box. Open the “Control Panel“

window icon for Start menu on a PC

2. Select “User Accounts”

The image is exactly what is described in the previous text.

3. Under “Credential Manager“, open “Manage Windows Credentials“

The image is exactly what is described in the previous text.

4. Click on “Add a Windows Credential“

5. Follow the steps below in the Add a Windows Credential Window:

  • In the “Internet or Network Address” field, enter your department’s Server Address (Server Name): You can find the Server Addresses here.
  • In the “User name:” field, you will type “AU\” followed by your CruzID field.
  • In the “Password:” field, enter your Gold Password then click OK.
The image is exactly what is described in the previous text.

Connecting to the Department Shared Folder, AND your Personal File Folder

Once the above steps are done, there are two options for connecting to folders:
  • Your Department’s Projects folder - shared folders specifically created for files to be used and accessed by multiple people. Typically named: (Your department abbreviation)-Projects. For example, for the shared Education folder, it is: EDUC-Projects
  • Your Folder that is assigned to you - This is for your backups and whatever other things you want to store for your own work and is not shared with anyone else. Typically named the same as your CruzID name. For example if your CruzID is JaneD, your personal folder name will be JaneD.

Connecting to Your Department’s Projects Folder in xFiles:

Open up file explorer, such as by clicking “This PC” on your desktop, and look to the left side of the window for This PC. You might need to scroll down on the left side column. 

Right-click This PC. This will open up a list of options.

Exactly what is described in the text before.

Click Map network drive.

  • This will open up a new window.
  • For Drive: type P: as it will give access to the communal projects.
  • In the Folder: field, type \\SERVER-files.ucsc.edu\SERVER-Projects, replacing SERVER-files.ucsc.edu with the correct address from the Server Name column and replacing SERVER-Projects with the correct folder from the Project Folder column from the Servers Names and Project Folders.
  • Note: Reconnect at sign-in should NOT be selected for a device you share with a co-worker.
  • Click Finish.

Connecting to your Personal Folder in xFiles:

Reopen up file explorer and look to the left side of the window and right click This PC.

  • This will open up a list of options. Click Map network drive which will open up a new window.
  • For Drive: field, type H: as it will give access to your home folder within the server
  • In the Folder: section, type \\SERVER-files.ucsc.edu\CRUZID, replacing SERVER-files.ucsc.edu with the correct address from the Server Name column from Server Names. Next, replace CRUZID with your CruzID.
  • Note: Reconnect at sign-in should NOT be selected for a device you share with a co-worker.
  • Click Finish.
The image is exactly what is described in the previous text.

Once Connected:

Congratulations, you are now connected to xFiles. When you are connected to the VPN or a secure network, you can now easily access xFiles. 

When you double-click on any folder on your PC it will open a window (or Windows Explorer, also known as File Explorer). In that window, in the left side menu, you can find your folder(s), under “This PC.” 

Image is exactly what the proceeding text says.
Colors may vary.

If you need help, please contact us:

If you are part of the Social Sciences faculty and staff and you need help with this, please email us at socsci-it@ucsc.edu.