One of my pet peeves is people who send huge attachments via e-mail. Thanks for helping my Outlook grind to a halt and clogging up my inbox buddy! Not only does sending whopping files as e-mail attachments bug me, it’s just not a very good idea full stop – you can read why here.
So for a while now I’ve been extolling the virtues of using alternatives methods to sending large e-mail attachments – and my favourite of those alternatives is YouSendIt.
In a nutshell, with YouSendIt you upload your file to their secure servers for free via a web page, they send an e-mail to your chosen recipient with your brief message and a link to download the attachment, the recipient then chooses to download the attachment or not – quick, simple, no fuss, no muss – and a darn site more reliable than sending that 20mb file via e-mail!
YouSendIt already provide a free plug-in for Outlook to make the whole process even simpler – just write your e-mail as normal, attach your file as normal and send as normal – YouSendIt then strips the attachment out, uploads it securely without any intervention, and sends the e-mail with a link for the recipient to download if they choose.
They’ve also now provided a Desktop plug-in called YouSendIt Express (similar to your context sensitive “Sent To…” menu) that allows you to upload files directly from your computer. Right-click the file, click “YouSendIt” and voila!
So now there is really no excuse for sending large files by e-mail is there? Of course people will continue to do it, but if like me, this continues to annoy the hell out of you in the same way as junk mail through your letterbox and spam in your inbox – how about firing the offending sender a reply containing a link to this blog article (http://tinyurl.com/578n4r) – hopefully they’ll get the message. 🙂
Richard Tubb is one of the best-known experts within the global IT Managed Service Provider (MSP) community. He launched and sold his own MSP business before creating a leading MSP media and consultancy practice. Richard helps IT business owner’s take back control by freeing up their time and building a business that can run without them. He’s the author of the book “The IT Business Owner’s Survival Guide” and writer of the award-winning blog www.tubblog.co.uk
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