“How do I send a big file to someone? You know – like a big audio file, or video file, or the 600 pictures I took of our last vacation to Hawaii?”
This is a question we get asked a lot. Digital “stuff” is so easy to acquire these days, and sometimes we need to get our “stuff” into the hands of others. In our world over here, most people are still using Email to send things back and forth.
Why can’t I send big files using email?
The occastional Word doc, PowerPoint file, or picture of the kids is fine to send over email. Most email servers will allow files as big as 10MB to pass through just fine. It may be more (or less), depending on the email provider you use, but a 10MB limit is a good general “safe” rule to use when deciding if you want to send a file via email, or if you need to use something else.
A note for Gmail users – with gmail, you can send files up to 25MB in size *to other gmail users*. Note that even if you are sending from Gmail, which allows for 25MB files, and you are sending to a server that does not allow files that big, it will be rejected.
If you need to send a file bigger than 10MB, what do you do?
There are probably no less than 103 answers to this question, but really – you just need one solution, so we’ll keep it short.
Here are some options for sending big files to people:
1. Dropbox
Dropbox is a cloud-based file storage and sharing service that is easy to use, and just… works. You get up to 2GB of free file storage, and you can use it via a web browser, OR install an interface on your computer which allows you to interact with your cloud-based files as if they were right on your computer. Way cool. To share files with people, you can send them a private link to download the file, OR, you can share a folder with someone, and they can pick it up on their dropbox account. If you share files with the same people often, this is the one to use!
2. SendThisFile.com
This service is a file-sending service. It doesn’t store your files like dropbox – it just sends them for you. This service that allows you to send up to 2GB of files, free.
3. Box.com
Box.com is a file storage and sending service. You get 10 MB free, and it goes up from there! Like Dropbox, you can access your files on-demand from any of your devices if you set it up.
4. HighTail.com
If anything, hightail has a great video on the homepage, so you should check that out. This is another file sharing and storage service. You can share files up to 250MB, and like Dropbox, you get 2GB of free storage.
5. Google Drive
Let’s not forget about the Big G! Google Drive has basically annihilated / screwed the competition by its current offering of 100GB of storage for $1.99/mo. If you need cloud-based storage, get this! Google Drive also has a free storage up to 15GB. You can easily share files stored on your Google Drive, AND access any of your files stored there from any device. Pretty rad if you ask me (which, you sorta did, since you’re reading my blog post here).
So there you go – that should get you started!
My personal favorite solutions are Dropbox and Google Drive. What do you use? Let me know in the comments!