Work Around Email Attachment Size Limits: YouSendIt

Your internet service provide (ISP) probably sets a limit on the size of the attachments you can send or receive. I’ve occasionally run into situations where a client has tried to send a very large file, and even when zipped (digitally compressed), it won’t come through. This may also occur with multiple or very large digital photo attachments.

YouSendIt offers a solution by allowing you to send as many 1 GB files (that’s a lot of data!) as you’d like. For free. You don’t need to have an account, though by having one (they’re also free) you can send files to up to 100 people at once and have inbox and sent items folders to track what’s been sent and received. For fees, there are also business accounts available with power-user features.

I think YouSendIt’s a great solution for working around attachment size limits or for transferring huge files from one computer to another without having to rely on copying onto multiple CDs or zip drives. Since it requires uploading and downloading files via the Internet, though, you’ll still need to plan for the time it takes to transfer very large files. If you’ve got dial-up service, don’t even bother to try.

According to YouSendIt’s site, Mac users may be out of luck…Mac’s Safari browser doesn’t display YouSendIt’s progress bar properly.