Sending electronic files to other people is becoming a frustrating problem for PC users, as the documents they work with are growing larger and larger. Creating a stunning but substantial PowerPoint presentation on your home PC is a bit like building a boat in your basement - how do you ever get it out?
PC files these days are frequently many megabytes. Tempted by fast processors and humungous hard drives, it is all too easy for users to end up with a file of a quite unreasonable size, whether it be a music clip, corporate presentation or video of the kids. Far exceeding the storage capabilities of the standard diskette, these files cannot simply be copied onto a disk and popped into the post. Writing CD-roms is a neat way round the problem if you have the necessary equipment, but still not particularly handy if you want to send 10 copies to people all over the world in a hurry.
Email is the most obvious and also the easiest way to pass a useful file to someone else. Unfortunately, it is fraught with problems when it comes to large files. Sometimes you cannot send messages of many megabytes in size even if you wish to, due to restrictions imposed by the internet service providers themselves. And the worst crime you can commit is to fill up someone's mailbox so they are prevented from receiving any more email. Your corre spondent may not take kindly to discover vital business communications have been disrupted by an animated birthday card.
You may have come across the expert opinion that you should use something known as FTP (File Transfer Protocol). A protocol used to copy files to and from storage repositories, FTP is fine for large organisations that have an FTP server, but hardly appropriate for dial-up home users who will not have FTP access to a disk drive, except perhaps their own web site. Fortunately, there are plenty of much more easily accessible solutions instead.
If you do have your own website and have not used up your storage allowance, you can consider placing your large files there. Then, send the intended recipients the web address in an email, which they click on to view or download the file. For example, if your website is www.deniseworme.com, and you upload a large file called homemovie.mpg to it, mail out the address www.deniseworme.com/homemovie.mpg - in theory, your file is then publicly accessible, but it is unlikely that anyone will find it without already knowing the filename. Nevertheless, do not use this method if security is important.
Some mailing programs, like Microsoft Outlook, will split a file into small parts automatically. But while this overcomes any limit on individual messages, it does not help with any of the other challenges, and makes matters more complicated for both the sender and the recipient. It will only work with some mailing programs - it certainly will not be of any use when sending to web-based email services such as Hotmail - and recombining the messages is a contest most users will not relish.
But now, widely available on the internet and free of charge, is a technique that is within the capabilities of virtually any internet user, and is scarcely more complicated than using a Hotmail account. Several companies provide what are known as free internet drives - it is like having your own disk drive storage out in cyberspace. With names like FreeDrive and WhaleMail, they are specifically designed to be used by the general internet user, and not experts. Naturally, even systems like these have limits - perhaps a time limit as well as a filesize limit - but not many people will need more than the generous 75MB that WhaleMail offers.
Some initial effort is needed before you can use these services, because you do have to register. Thereafter, it is a straightforward matter to copy files into your internet drive and send them to other users. Taking Xdrive ( www.xdrive.com ) as an example, once you have registered and logged in you just click on Upload to upload a file. You can copy up to five files at once. Selecting the files is just a matter of clicking the Browse button - just like adding attachments to a Hotmail message.
Of course, uploading a large file could take a considerable period of time. Xdrive shows you a progress bar, which is a significant improvement on some of its competitors. It also allows you to create folders, in case you have so many files you need help keeping them organised. Access to all these sites is just via your standard web browser, although Xdrive does also provide a software download that installs to give you an "X: drive" in Windows Explorer. This makes copying files, and even folders, a doddle - just drag and drop.
Sending a file to someone else is just a matter of selecting it and clicking on the Share button. Enter up to five email addresses, and they each receive a message with a URL to collect the file from. Files are only made available for a limited period of time - seven days with Xdrive, 14 days with WhaleMail and other services. Watch you do not rename, move or delete your file within that period, or they will not be able to collect it. Unfortunately, Xdrive does not inform you when the file has been collected, so you have to rely on the receiver letting you know.
In theory, Xdrive allows people to view a file before they commit to downloading what could be a lengthy and potentially expensive mistake, but I could not make this work. And when downloading, a rather confusing extra dialog box appears in which you have to select "Open this file from its current location", before you get the dialog for the file itself.
Another technique for sending large files is to use on-line chat and messenger services, such as the popular Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger and IRC. These all allow users to transfer files directly via the internet, and are also free. The drawback is that both parties have to be online at the same time, although if you configure the software correctly you do not have to be around when a file comes in - the action can take place overnight, or while you are out.
If you do want your email software to split large files for you, here is how to do it with Outlook. Both parties will need Outlook 98 or later, although the person receiving the mail does not need to do anything: Outlook will even combine the individual messages automatically. Select Accounts on the Tools menu, and then click the Mail tab. Select the properties for the account you want to change, and on the Advanced tab check the box next to "Break apart messages larger than_" and specify a suitable size.
Unfortunately, the process of splitting the message can take Outlook a considerable period of time. But beware: even if you do not split it up, just emailing a single large attachment can keep Outlook busy for a considerable period - so long, in fact, that you would be forgiven for thinking it had given up the ghost.
Sending large files
Progress.tif Uploads may be slow, so Xdrive's progress indicator helps keeps track
Xdrive Folders.tif Xdrive provides folders to help you organise your on-line files
Download.tif Your recipient has the option of viewing the file before choosing to download it
Email.tif Your recipient gets an email to let them know the file is waiting for them
Free internet large hard drive storage
www.idrive.com
Messenger and chat software
www.mirc.com
