Sending Large or Multiple Files Via Email or Other Means
I recently received an email with a 33KB attachment that had been sent via pando.com. In the contents of the email it suggested that I go to http://www.pando.com/download and retrieve a piece of software to be able to open the attachment.
I wouldn’t say I fell off my seat laughing, but it struck me how absolutely ridiculous this email was! They wanted me to download a 4.3MB piece of software to my Mac in order to decompress a 33KB sized file! Granted the file might have been a compressed archive of multiple smaller files, but still, how inane. Needless to say, the whole episode encouraged me to write a how-to article on sending large files via email, the best ways and means, and, of course, the important things to do in order to avoid trouble.
What Are You Sending? Does It Need Compressing?
The whole idea of compressing files comes from a time when bandwdith was at a premium. That’s to say that an additional 1MB could easily result in many more minutes worth of downloading and saturation of the recipient’s narrowband internet connection. Nowadays with broadband connections at home and in the office the consideration to compress a file, or files, is completely different.
When sending a large file - by large, I presume the file to be anything over 5 or 10 megaytes in size - or any file for that matter, you need to consider whether the mailbox at the other end is large enough to receive the file. If you try and send a 25MB email to an email inbox with 10MB size quota, the email will simply be refused by the receiving mail server.
By the same token, you might have a 100KB Microsoft word, which would, ordinarily be accepted by the recipient’s mail server but which is caught by the spam filters and flagged as a potential virus payload, whether it contains a virus or not, and be returned; in which case size isn’t so much the issue.
And so, whether you are able to compress the 25MB file below 10MB, or whether your Word document contains a virus or not, these would be 2 good reasons alone to ZIP archive your file(s) before sending via email.
Compressing Your File, Files or Folder for Emailing
Mac OSX has the ability to create a ZIP archive from within the finder. It also has the ability to decompress the archive from within the Finder also with a quick double click
.
To create an archive of a single file, right+click, or control+click on the file in question and select “Create archive of …” from the contextual menu that appears. To compress multiple files, simply gather them in a folder and do the same.
An alternative to this in-Finder means of compressing files and folders is to download and install Stuffit by Smith Micro. This compression application affords the end user a wider selection of options, from different compression formats, encryption techniques and more; and all of that without the need to dip into the OSX command line.
I recently wrote an entire article on Stuffit and “How To Create Multi-Segment Compressed Archives in Mac OSX” which covers extensively the need-to-know on creating split archives for emailing. This is a handy technique when sending a large file via email which may not be accepted either individually or in whole and can be sent in delayed steps once the recipient has confirmed the receipt and deletion of each in turn.Another advantage to stuffit is that “Stuffit Expander” is available both for Mac OSX and Windows.
Making That Attachment
Having created the required archive just drag and drop the file into the email window, and it will be attached accordingly in Apple’s Mail. Alternatively, using the File drop menu select “Attach File”, or the keyboard shortcut, Shift+Command+A. In Microsoft Entourage simply click the “Attach Attachments” paperclip icon button in the new email window. Other email clients such as Thunderbird and Eudora will have similar means by which to attach files.
Apple’s Mail will happily accept a folder if you drop it into the New Mail window, though I would avoid using this means to send a folder and its contents. At the end of the day, you need to ensure maximum compatibility when files are recieived at the other end, and Apple Mail’s ability to do this is unlikely to be matched at the other end if the end user s not also a mac user with Apple Mail as their email client of choice.
Alternatives to Emailing Large Files
Beyond simply segmenting fiels and such, if you have access to web space, it would make sense to upload files to a secured, or non-secured area for the recipient to download via their browser. This would apply to files or file segments less than 2GB in size as a fair few FTP servers are unable to handle files over 2GB. In this same vain, another alternative to transmit large files to clients would be to just use FTP, though this requires a recipient who is more technically inclined.
Outside of this there are a raft of upload/download services for email such as that previously mentioned pando.com, though others that operate without the need to download and install Windows or OSX compatible sotware. The include, but are not limited to: yousendit.com (simple and reliable).
If you have .Mac (Dot Mac) you could even just mount your iDisk and upload the files there and email the recipient the web link to the files. Even more far fetched might be to try and use P2P network services to share the files, but which requires more coordination and frankly speaking isn’t worth the hassle.
At the End: Conclusion
It seems stupidly obvious, but before you go sending files, it also makes sense to know, rather than assume that the end user will be capable of actually opening them.
When sending files like JPEGs there is little point in compressing them. It’s a tall order to expect a user to actually have to download and install yet more software in order to open an attachment when most if not all computers these days have in built capability to be able to compress and decompress archives, as well as actually view the content direct in the email client.
At the end of the day, the call is simple. Think before you send!
October 24th, 2008 at 12:46 am
The 33 KB file that you refer to wasn’t a compressed version of the file being sent to you, it’s a tiny meta-file (like a .torrent file) that lets the Pando software retrieve the actual file, which would have been much larger (e.g. 1 GB).
Perhaps you should try installing Pando to see what your friend sent you, before complaining about it! :-)
October 24th, 2008 at 2:01 am
Laird, I did, that was my complaint. If we were talking about a 1GB torrent file, I wouldn;t have minded. You hardly need such files sent by email. My beef was the fact that I had to download a 33kb file, followed by a 5MB file and installation, to find out He sent me a 3MB file, and to have a piece of software installed on my computer that (a) i never use, and (b) may or may not have installed, other unrelated junk on my computer.
Anyhow, half the-point to the article is that there are other ways and means that are easier, more free-flowing and make more sense in a small-attached-archive-to-email kind of way.
Thanks for the comment!