How to send large files in Outlook

Microsoft Outlook dominates the business email market. In fact, Gartner Research puts Microsoft Office market share at 94%. If you are a business computer user, it is highly likely that you are using Outlook to handle your emails and file sending.

Given Microsofts success, it may surprise you to learn that Outlook limits the maximum file attachment size that you can send. When you hit the limit you will see the following Outlook error message “Email attachment size exceeds allowable limit.” This can be a big problem for end users who need to send large files as email attachments.

There are 3 reasons why Outlook won’t send large files:

1. Outlook has a default email attachment size limit of 20 megabytes. This limit applies to one large attachment  or several attachments whose sum total size is greater than 20 MB.
2. Outlook is often configured with a Microsoft Exchange Server mailbox, which has a default attachments file size limit of only 10 megabytes.
3. Information Technology (IT) departments will set limits on maximum upload usage to control costs. This will vary depending on your department budget, the Internet Service Provider (ISP) you use, and the ISP plan you have selected.

Given these limits, how can you send large files in Outlook?

Business class Manage File Transfer (MFT) service providers with an Outlook plug-in, such as SendThisFile, will get you around Outlook file size limits without resorting to changing server settings or IT policies for your entire company.

To support our business users we offer a plug-in that integrates with Outlook. Available to any SendThisFile paid plan, this plug-in allows you to send large files from Outlook directly. You don’t have to leave Outlook and you don’t have to use a web browser.

Our Outlook 2010 plug-in is flexible too. You can set the plug-in to automatically activate for file attachments over a certain size limit. For example, you can set it to use SendThisFile only for files larger than 20 megabytes. You can also set passwords to protect your files on each transfer. Perhaps the biggest benefit is that file transfers can be tracked through exportable file transfer history logs. A great tool for archiving.

Click here learn more about SendThisFiles Outlook 2010 plug-in.