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Newsletter Archive

E-Mail Attachments

 December  2005

Of all the problems encountered with e-mail, perhaps the most frustrating is the inability to send an e-mail with a large attachment.

You send an attachment and the server responds with a message that the e-mail was not delivered. Why does this happen? The main reason is that Internet service providers (ISPs) limit the size of attachments that can be sent in an e-mail. A cable ISP might allow up to 20 megabytes of attachments while a DSL (high speed over the phone line) ISP usually allows 3 megabytes or more. The size limitation is necessary since large attachments could be very problematic for the e-mail recipient. For example, if the recipient is using a 56K dial-up modem, a 2 megabyte attachment can take up to 15 minutes to download.

 Contact your Internet service provider to determine how many megabytes of attachments you can include in an e-mail. If you need to send attachments that exceed this size limit, consider using compression software, file splitting or FTP transfer, discussed as follows.

 Compression 

One solution for sending larger files is to compress the data in the file before attaching it to the e-mail. The most popular form of compression is .zip but there are many others, including .rar and .ace. Compression works well with text-based documents of all types but files such as graphics or music cannot be compressed very much.

 Windows XP and Windows ME have built-in software to compress files to the .zip format but if you are still using Windows 98 or Windows 2000, you will need to purchase auxiliary compression software to compress files. The more popular compression software costs about $30 for a single user license. Many compression software companies allow you to download the program for a free 30 to 40 day trial period before you purchase it. 

If the data is too large to be compressed into one file, it is possible to use compression software to split the file into separate parts that could be individually e-mailed to the recipient and then reassembled. Windows XP's and Windows ME's built-in compression software does not support file splitting, so this would require installing third party compression software. 

The FTP Alternative

 If you find yourself constantly needing to send large attachments to the same people, FTP (File Transfer Protocol) or SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) hosting might be your best option. Most recent web browsers and file managers can connect to FTP services via an URL, which takes the form of ftp://<ftpserveraddress>.

FTP providers offer an area on their server on which you can store private files and folders that can only be accessed by a username and password that you establish. Costing as little as $6.00 a month, FTP allows you to store 500 megabytes on a server that is accessible from anywhere in the world.  

To transfer files, each user simply goes to the FTP site, enters a username and password to access the private storage area and then downloads the files. FTP is also very handy if you need to access your own files while you are on the road.

Many ISPs also offer this type of service for free but only up to about 5 megabytes. More storage on the server will require upgrading your services. 

Opening Attachments 

Another perplexing and often time-consuming e-mail frustration is the inability to open attachments.

 One reason for this may be that the receiver is using Outlook which is configured by default to block all attachments that could potentially harbour a virus. To check for this possibility, open Outlook, open the Tool menu, select Options, click the Security tab and uncheck the "Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus" option. However, the danger of deselecting this option is that an attachment may have a virus. Thus, it is imperative to have a virus scanner and scan the attachment before opening it.

If the file will still not open, chances are that your system does not have the appropriate application software to open the data. In this instance, ask the sender what software was used to create the file. For example, an attachment with the extension .xls requires the Excel program, .ppt requires PowerPoint, and .pdf requires Adobe PDF Reader. If the sender cannot transmit the document in a format that is compatible with your application software, then it will be necessary to purchase the appropriate software.

 Solutions

 Problems with e-mail attachments can be time-consuming and costly. The solution may require upgrading your operating system, purchasing compression software, using FTP for transferring files, or investing in additional application programs. If you need to transfer large attachments, the investment is well worth it.