• What is the maximum size of attachments I can send through e-mail?
  
• How can I tell how long it will take for someone to receive my attachment?
  
• How do I find out the size of my attachment file?
  
• Is there another way of sending large files?

What is the maximum size of attachments I can send through e-mail?

Because of mail server load issues, we recommend never sending attachments larger than 5 MB. Only send a very large attachment if the recipient is expecting it and has agreed to receive it, and if there is no other way for the recipient to get it.

It is not considered good netiquette to send very large attachments with your e-mail. Because a large e-mail message can take a long time to download, it can cause frustration for the recipient. The recipient might not be able to download it at all, and so will be unable to retrieve any further e-mail messages. Also, be aware that the message might be rejected by the mail server because the attachment exceeds the recipient's mailbox limit.

You can decide if it is worth sending a large file through e-mail by calculating how long it will take the recipient to download it. If you think it will take too long, you should not send it. You can find out how long a file will take to download with th is formula. Take the size of the file in KB, and divide it by the download speed of the recipient's modem. Modem download speeds are listed in the table below.

Modem Speed in kbps	Download Speed
14.4	1.5 KB a second
28.8	3 KB a second
33.6	3.5 KB a second
x2, K56flex, V.90	5.5 KB a second

NOTE: These speeds are for reference only. Read more about modem speeds.

For instance, if the recipient has a 33.6 modem, a 4 MB (4000 KB) file will take 19 minutes to download:
4000 KB / 3.5 KB a second = 1143 seconds, or 19 minutes.

The size of a file depends on many things including the program that created it, and whether it contains pictures, graphs, or special fonts. A typical 5 page MS Word document in with 370 words per page will probably have a size of 40 KB.

To find out the exact size of a file, find the file in Windows Explorer. Click the file name. Click the View menu, then click Details. The size will be beside the file name in the right half of the window.
With Macintosh, click once on the file in the Finder, then click the File menu, then click Get Info.
With Windows 3.11, find the file in the File Manager. Click the file name. Click the View menu, then click All File Details. The size will be shown, in bytes, next to the file name in the right half of the window.

If the file is too big to send by e-mail, you can upload it to your personal Webspace, then e-mail the recipient with the URL of the file, so that they can download it themselves from your Webspace. This is an easy way to transmit large files to a friend or co-worker. However, be aware that anyone can download a file that you put in your personal Webspace, if they know the URL.

See also:

• Sending and receiving e-mail attachments
• How do I upload files to my personal Webspace?
• Copying and pasting text into an e-mail message