Most email providers limit the size of file you can send as an attachment. Which is why, Outlook also gives you an error when you attach a file larger than the allowed limit. If you too have been trying to send a large file as an attachment in Outlook, this post will help you.
Large files as attachment in Outlook
Below we talk about some tips and suggestions on what to do if your file is larger than the set limit.
- If it is an image you are trying to send as an attachment, you can use Outlook’s internal feature to resize the image. First attach the image file with your email, then go to ‘File’ à Info and select “Resize large images when I send this message.”
Outlook will automatically reduce and resize the image, maximum up to 1024×768 pixels.
- There are also multiple methods to reduce image size online. Just Google “Reduce image size” and then upload your image there and specify the size you prefer. Do not reduce it too much as it can also lower the quality of the image.
- Another quick way to send a file that is large is to compress it. Windows 10 comes with a built-in compression tool that will compress your file into a new .zip file. Right click on the file, go to “Send to” and then select “Compress (zipped) folder.”
This method does not reduce the size too much, depending on the kind of file you already have. But it can sometimes help if the size was just barely crossing the limit.
You can also other compression software that can help you reduce the size even more. One of the most popular and free software is called WinRAR. It will also give you an option to compress the file into multiple other formats. But note that the user must also have the appropriate software to open the compressed format. - Use a cloud-service to send the link for the file, using which the user can download it from the server. The free and popular services that allow you to do that are OneDrive (from Microsoft) and Dropbox. First, upload your file to the preferred cloud-storage service of your choice, get a link for that file, copy the link and paste it in your email message. With OneDrive, you can also share multiple files in one-go or entire folders, depending on the permission you have set.
- Microsoft SharePoint libraries are also an efficient way to share large files, especially for business users. The benefit of sharing a file in SharePoint library is that it can directly be accessed within Outlook itself.
Unfortunately, there is no direct way to share a large file that can be attached with an email in a traditional way. Email providers do not allow large files to be sent as an attachment. Services like Gmail offer up to 20 mb of a file to be attached. In most cases, the suggestions above will help you sharing large files in Outlook with ease.