Maybe your boss is away at a conference, you’re working remotely from home or multiple colleagues need to view those images, that presentation or, worse yet, that video. We conduct so much of our work digitally these days that we can’t avoid sending large files online. But sending large files can feel like watching paint dry. Put that USB-stick away as Adele Jarrett-Kerr talks you through some popular options.
Zip it
Compress your file (if you’re a Mac user, ‘create an archive’) to e-mail it more easily. This method is so well-established and yet many people forget about it in their frustration while trying to send a 30MB document from an account that only allows attachments of 25MB. Compression will save you from throwing things at your computer and, should you manage to attach the menacingly large file to your e-mail, it will save your recipient from staring at the inbox with boredom while the item downloads. But if your file is large enough, zipping it won’t be enough. Even compressed, it may be too hefty to send by e-mail.
YouSendIt
This is where online resources like YouSendIt become useful. Its paid service (useful if you need to transfer files larger than 100MB on a regular basis) allows you to send files up to 2GB in size.
There is also a free version which doesn’t require registration and allows you to send files up to 100MB in size. This is how it works: fill in the form, upload your file, send and your recipient will receive an e-mail with a link to download the file quickly and painlessly. The file is available for download for up to seven days with as little hair-ripping as possible.
Other similar services include DropSend (great for backing up by storing files online), BigFileBox (with virus scanning) and Send6.
Dropbox
Dropbox is ideal for sharing files like high resolution corporate photos which need group approval or press photos with a group of people. Its free version allows you to store up to 2GB online and its paid version allows a mind-boggling 100GB of storage. This means that it is organisationally brilliant because you can access the same files whether using your laptop, office desktop or iPhone. No more e-mailing to yourself. And obviously it means that your boss and colleagues can access files you upload and make available to them.
FileSocial
Here’s one for the ‘tweeps’ among us. File Social allows you to upload that corporate video and share it securely on Twitter. A link to the file appears in your tweet. It’s user-friendly, free and does what it says on the tin. So if your office has begun replacing e-mail with Twitter (a surprising number have!) this might be an easy, and certainly fun, solution for you.
