WebDAV on a Mac, two ways

What you need

• The address. WebDAV runs over the web, so it's an http:// or https:// address with a path, such as https://dav.example.org/remote.php/dav/files/anna. Your server's or provider's help page usually lists it.
• A user name and password. Some services want an app password made for this, rather than your main one.
• HTTPS when you can. Over plain HTTP the password and the files travel unencrypted.

In Finder: Connect to Server

macOS can mount a WebDAV share as a disk:

1. In Finder, choose Go → Connect to Server.
2. Type the address, such as https://dav.example.org/files, and click Connect.
3. Sign in. The share appears in Finder's sidebar under Locations.

Apple describes this in Connect your Mac to shared computers and servers. It's a good fit for opening the odd file. For moving lots of files, between servers too, a transfer app does more.

In AnyBucket: side by side

1. Press ⇧⌘K (File → Connect to Server…).
2. Under Servers, pick WebDAV for http:// or WebDAV (HTTPS) for https://.
3. Type the server, the path, your user name and password. The password goes to your login keychain.
4. Press Connect, or save it as a bookmark first.

Or paste an address into the palette (⌘K): dav:// for HTTP and davs:// for HTTPS, such as davs://dav.example.org/files. ⌥↩ saves it as a bookmark and opens it.

AnyBucket logs in with Basic or Digest authentication, whichever the server asks for.

What you can do with it

• Copy with F5, move with F6 between the share and This Mac, or any other server in the other pane.
• Copy on the server. Copies and moves on the same server use WebDAV's COPY and MOVE, so the files never travel through your Mac.
• Copy to another server. WebDAV to SFTP, S3 or FTP is the same F5, streamed through a small spool on your Mac. See copy files between servers.
• Look and edit. F3 opens a file in Quick Look; F4 opens it in any app and uploads it each time you save.
• Keep a folder in step. ⌥F5 compares the share with a folder on your Mac and syncs one way or both ways. See sync a folder with a server.

Finder or AnyBucket?

Many people use both: Finder to open a document now and then, AnyBucket to move and sync files.