How to send large files over email and web

Ever wanted to send a large file but were held back by the email providers' attachment limits? Hitesh Raj Bhagat & Karan Bajaj show you how to quickly share larger files using various services.

Sending Large Files: Most email providers allow you to attach up to 25MB of data to one email. This method works fine if you're sending multiple smaller files — you can just split them into batches. But what if you need to send a 1GB video recorded using your camera, without uploading it to YouTube? What if you have a slow internet connection? These are some of the best practices to keep in mind when sending large files.

Zip Multiple Files: Rather than attach & send a large batch of individual files, it's more convienient for the recipient if you just zip them into one file. The added advantage is that you can password protect the file for extra security. Make sure you send the password separately.

Keep The Delete Links: If you use a file hosting service like YouSendIt to send a large file, make sure you copy and save the delete link to your computer. While the file will automatically expire after a while, the delete link can instantly remove a file from the server if need be.

Split Large Files: One of the best free Zip managers, 7-zip (www.7-zip.org) can also be used to split a large file into smaller zip files for easier sending if you have a slow connection. Right click on a file > 7-zip > Add to Archive and fill in the required size in the 'Split to Volumes' box.

4 Best File Sharing Services

BAYFILE: 1) Bayfile has no limit on the number of downloads for your uploaded files and supports file sizes up to 5GB. The interface shows upload speed & time remaining but does not support multiple file upload. The site removes your stored files after 30 days of inactivity. Once the file is uploaded, you can send the sharing and delete links to your email from the site itself to keep them handy.

FILE DROPPER: 2) This one has a clean and easy-to-use interface — it's one of the best free services for file sharing. There is no sign-up required and you can upload files as big as 5GB. Unlike other services, your files are not deleted if they are not being downloaded on a regular basis — they are deleted only after it stays on their server for 30 days. Here again, you can only upload one file at a time.

SLING FILE: 3) This relatively unknown file hosting service lets you upload files as big as 50GB. Plus, it also lets you upload multiple files at once. Files are only deleted after 180 days of inactivity. Once uploaded, you can send the download and delete links to your email and also share the download link via email with three other people. There are no limits on the number of file downloads per month.

YOURFILE LINK:

4) This is another file sharing site that does not require a sign-up. You can upload files up to 5GB in size with unlimited downloads. However, unlike the other three sites mentioned here, Yourfilelink deletes the file if it has not been downloaded in 15 days. It also shows multiple advertisements, giving it a cluttered look. However, uploads did seem to move along a bit faster than the others.

 

 YAHOO: The all new Yahoo Mail has a much cleaner and faster interface than before. When you sign in, it opens to your inbox and the only highlighted button is 'Compose'. Other actions get highlighted when you select a mail. There's a quick shortcut to delete if you just hover over a subject and you have the option of viewing all photos and attachments ever sent to you, all in one place.

GMAIL: Gmail has a new Compose Message window that resembles a large chat window. Essentially, this allows you to compose a mail without moving away from your inbox (you can refer to other emails as you type). Search has also improved and now resembles Google's Instant Web Search — it displays matching results from email as well as files in Google Drive as you type the search query.

OUTLOOK: Microsoft has introduced a new feature called 'Instant actions' for your inbox. Instant actions are quick access icons that appear next to the subject lines in your message list. Using these you can mark as read, delete or flag a mail without even opening it. You can also connect your account with Facebook and chat with your friends from within Outlook. Another very useful addition is the Outlook alias. You can create an 'alias' or additional mail address with a minute — these alias IDs can be used for various things, such as signing up for newsletters and preventing spam from filling up your primary email inbox.

Send Large Files Directly From Email

GMAIL GOOGLE DRIVE: Gmail is well integrated with Google Drive. Just sign in to your email account and click 'Drive' on the top bar. Select the files you want to share (multiples possible), add email addresses and click send.

YAHOO YOUSENDIT: Sign in to Yahoo Mail and on the left pane you'll see 'Applications' — expand it and click on Attach Large Files. Then you can attach a file as large as 100MB to your email & it will be available to download for 30 days.

OUTLOOK- SKYDRIVE: Sign in to Outlook.com or SkyDrive with your Windows Live or Hotmail ID. Then you can easily share a single file or a complete folder. Just select a file/folder, click on share and the receipient gets emailed.