Sending Large Files

Files are becoming much larger - especially photo files, and other graphic files such as those created in page layout programs. The result is that we are starting to hit the limits of what can be conveniently sent as e-mail attachments.

There is a need for "a better way" regardless of whether the file you wish to send is a few pictures of your kids for Aunt Daisy or the leaflet that you want printed ready for the launch of your new product.

However, we should still be asking the obvious questions:

Why is it a large file?
Can it be made smaller?

In many cases that picture from your latest 4 Mp digital camera is far more detailed than Aunt Daisy will ever want to see, even if it is shown on the plasma TV in her lounge room.

And much more detailed than can be seen on the more likely 15-inch monitor of her ageing three-year-old Dell.

Unless it is a picture with lots of straight lines or maybe even sharp slightly curved lines like your new Ford Territory, you will be surprised just how much JPEG compression you can create before you see any of those "artifacts" the photo gurus keep warning about.

You can even try the new JPEG2000 which creates smaller files with less depreciation in the amount of information. And then there is the old fashioned solution - simply ZIP the file, or create a zipped folder of it in Windows XP, which is just about the same process but a little easier.

Even so, you may still reach the limits of e-mail.

Very few e-mail servers will accept attachments larger than 10 MB. Many are limited to 2 MB. Some are limited to 1 MB or less. But it is not just that you may be unable to send a huge file - larger files are more likely to be delayed.

They can take longer than snail mail. Let me give an example that occurred all too close to home. A graphic designer had a piece of artwork we needed for a book cover. I tried to explain the workings of FTP (I'll get to that later) but he insisted he'd sent many files of this size, around 2 MB, by e-mail and not had a problem.

Always be wary of that kind of statement: "I've done that loads of times; never had a problem!"

And so I waited. A CD of some replacement pictures for inside the book sent from an adjacent Melbourne suburb by Express mail arrived early next morning.

And I waited.

We resorted to courier.

Three days later, the e-mail appeared in my inbox. Yes, it had been sent, but the 2 MB graphic file which was actually nearly 3 MB as an attachment, showed that it had sat around in the servers of a certain major service provider for many, many hours. (I'll admit here that my hosting service is in the USA, but the quickest part of this file's journey was actually the section from Australia to the USA and back again!)

If I impart human thought to those machines on the way, I can imagine the arguments: can I send this now? No, I'm busy with the little ones, wait until I have more time? Can I send it now? No, I've got to do my nightly backup. Can I send it now? No, I've got a headache.

Large files become even larger when sent via e-mail simply because e-mail uses an older system of storing information, so all that graphics info, and many of the lesser used characters in a Word document, all have to be sent with extra coding. A 1 MB file can be half as large again as an e-mail attachment. It is all automatic, but it gets bigger to be sent and then becomes svelte again on arrival.

So, how do you get these larger files on the move?

One answer is to put them on a Web site.

Does your ISP offer Web space? Many of them do, including Melb PC with its member pages. However it is becoming increasingly common that you have to ask for them, even if they do not cost extra. There will also be limits here. Some ISPs will offer a megabyte or two. Some may offer 5 or 10 MB. They are, after all, intended for Web pages - not for temporary storage of those huge pics.

You can also get free Web space from other places. Such as the 15 MB site you can get at http://geocities.yahoo.com or the 100 MB of space at http://www.doteasy.com/.

If you want to do it with aplomb, how about getting a $10 a year domain from www.GoDaddy.com and 25 MB Web space free from http://www.themooseisloose.net/freehosting.html so that you can put your pics to auntie at www.yoursonfred.com (which is available as I write!).

To put your files on the Web space, your host may offer a means of using your browser, but it is more likely they'll tell you to use FTP (I said we'd get back to that).

So, What Is FTP?

It stands for File Transfer Protocol and is the system by which files can be sent around the Internet. Sites that use this system commonly start with ftp:// in the same way that popular Web site addresses start with http:// (HTTP being Hyper Text Transfer Protocol, the other major set of Internet rules).

To use FTP you need an FTP program, of which the most common are WS_FTP and Cute FTP. There are pictures here of the WS_FTP screen showing how it is very similar to Windows Explorer but with two frames showing the files on your computer and the other one the files at the computer to which you wish to send. You can simply drag files from one side to the other.

There was a common etiquette in the early days of the Internet that if you wanted to go into someone else's storage area for files, you could log in with the username of "anonymous" and use a password that was your e-mail address, and thus the method was known as "Anonymous FTP". It was open to abuse, so despite there being some safety steps, most sites now insist that you are known and have a proper username and password. Of course, we used to be able to leave our back doors unlocked too.

WS_FTP is a common FTP program, available at most
download sites and on many magazine cover CDs. To
contact a site you need an address (which will often
start with "ftp."), a username and a password. For
public FTP sites, the username will be the word
"anonymous" and the password will be your email
address. [Click to enlarge ]

When you are connected you will see a list of files for
the remote computer's directory in the right hand frame.
You can drag files across or highlight them and use
the arrow buttons between the two lists.
[Click to enlarge ]

Storage sites are sites intended for remote storage of files, principally for backup but they can also be used for transferring files if you are prepared to give your username and password to the person who will collect the files. See http://www.lights.com/pickalink/freestorage/ for a list of several such sites, though note that some of these are free trials for a paid service.

Forwarding

Forwarding sites are set up specifically for sending files to other people, and are the latest addition to the armory of services available on the Internet. The site that first built a reliable reputation is http://www.yousendit.com/. It works for files up to 1 GB (1000 MB). You send the file to their server. They send a link to the person whose e-mail address you provided. The file is deleted from the server after seven days.

If you use your web site to make large files available
for download, you may want to create a web page which
makes the process easier. Here is a very simple web page
which also helps the user. And below is the actual code for
the page, as written in Notepad. You can transfer this page
(and the file you want to send) to your site with an FTP
program. [ Click to enlarge ]

Others of this type include http://www.youshareit.com (started earlier this year) and some others which have lower file size limits and/or require you to set up an account, even if it is free, giving them additional info about you.

All these have simple Web sites that invite you to browse your computer for the file you want to send. On clicking the button you open a standard file dialog on your computer as you would to select a file in any program resident on your own drives.

In an attempt to minimise the incidence of misuse, most of these sites have a limit on the number of down-loads of any one file.

Most give little indication of an upload taking place, so I would suggest trying a small file first to assure yourself it is working and ascertain what indication you can expect to receive after a successful transfer. If you are paranoid about the likely effect on Aunt Daisy of getting an e-mail that is sent by the service telling her to download the file, then fill in your own e-mail address as the intended recipient. Then you will get the message giving the file address details and you can send this link in an e-mail which she will know does come direct direct from you.

YouSendIt.com is one of several recently established
sites specialising in sending large files. Fill in the
recipient's email, select the file from your drive, add a
note to accompany the email and your file will be uploaded
to the server. The recipient will get an email telling them
how to download the file using their browser. Much easier
and quicker than trying to send a large email attachment.

About the Author
Gordon Woolf is long time Melb PC member and regular contributor to PC Update. This article started life as a presentation to the Melb PC Peninsula Group. Gordon of worsleypress.com also has a blog and he comments sporadically on subjects of possible interest to those involved in publishing at http://blog.worsleypress.com.