How to Send Large PDF Files via Email

Sometimes you may find yourself needing to send a large pdf file as an email attachment. But when you try to attach the file, you may see a notification that says “pdf too large to email”. Let’s talk about the best way to send large pdf files by email, plus other convenient ways to share any type of large file online.

PDFs remain one of the most commonly used document formats for sharing information. They're universally supported across different platforms and are easily accessible.

Almost every business team collaborates using PDFs to share project proposals, reports, and analyses. The document format can contain anything from text, images, and other multimedia like high quality videos.

However, they can be so large that you can't send them via emails as attachments. And since most teams share their documents, especially with clients, through email, this may become a challenge. So, how big a file can you email? Email clients don't allow more than 25 MB documents, and PDF files can be as large as 10 GB.

That's because a PDF document can contain thousands of pages and high-quality videos and images. These multimedia content, and even fonts, can bump up the file's size significantly.

You may also want to send multiple PDF files at once, especially those that have been separated to save space. As a result, you may want to transfer multiple PDF files in one folder.

The First Step: Compress PDF File Before Attaching

Sending a large pdf file by email will be much easier if you compress the file before trying to attach it to your message. If you don’t know how to compress large files, read this article. You will find different compression tools that will help reduce the size of your large pdf file without losing quality. The upload and download time will also be reduced. So this step is very important!

By the way, if your internet speed is not very high, compressing your large pdf file before sending will save you time. Do not skip this step, always compress large PDF files before attaching them to an email message.

After compressing, you will get smaller PDF files (usually 1/10th of the original size), which are much easier to work with. So you can just type your message and attach your compressed pdf files to it.

No more waiting while large pdf files take their time getting attached.

Guide tor Compressing Large PDF Files

When you find yourself waiting too long for attachments to upload, you’ll know it is the right time to try compression tools. There are a lot of benefits to compressing large PDF files before attaching them to email:

1. It saves you time (no need to wait for upload to finish);
2. Reduces storage space taken up in your email account;
3. Reduces costly bandwidth use;
4. Reduces download time for the file recipient.

We strongly recommend compressing pdf files before sending them as attachment. One of the easiest methods is zipping the folder. The best thing about it is that there is no need to install any third party software.

Let’s go through the main steps :

1. Create new folder and give it a name that will be easy to recognize for you and your recipient;
2. Put all your large pdf files into this folder;
3. Right-click on this folder;
4. From the drop-down menu, choose "Send To" and then "Compressed (Zipped) folder";
5. Your folder with large files will start getting compressed;
6. As a result, you will get a .zip file that you can easily attach to your email.

The resulting .zip file will be smaller in size compared to the original size of your folder. Your email recipient needs to unzip the file to use it. The easiest way to go about it is to double-click on the .zip file, which will immediately show all compressed files contained in it. And you don’t even have to install anything: this functionality is built into Windows. But remember, if you have already installed another compression tool on your computer, the installed software has most likely been set as the default zip program and will be used automatically instead of the built-in Windows feature.

Having compressed files for the first time, you will see that it’s not that hard. The task can be carried out by anyone who wants to send large pdf attachments via email faster, and it does not require any special skills.

Disadvantages of compression

While file compression can be an answer to "How to send PDF to email," it's not always the best solution. Here are some reasons:

• Some files will still be too large to transfer: Some PDFs will still surpass the 25mb limit even after compression.
• Your recipient may not have file compression software: Your recipient must have compression software installed to decompress the file and open it.
• File quality degradation: Compressing a PDF file comes with the risk of reducing image quality. That is, the quality of the images in the document may become lower than the original, which may affect visibility and presentation.

Alternative Way of Sending Large PDF Files by Email

Don’t want to use compression tools? An alternative way is to use online file sharing services like Dropbox, Google Drive or FileWhopper. Of course, there are a lot of different services with a multitude of options. All you need is figure out what options are really important to you. If the file you want to upload is really huge (even as big as 10TB), your best bet is to use the FileWhopper service. FileWhopper takes your security very seriously: all files are encrypted with a password. Send your first file or folder and get a 50% discount for your second transfer of up to 5TB! We bet you won’t regret it 🙂

Using FileWhopper to Transfer PDF files

If you're wondering how to send a PDF file of any size, your best bet is FileWhopper. Here are reasons you should consider using the service:

• You can send files or folders of any size, whether it's 1 TB or 10 TB.
• You don't have to worry about starting the transfer process from the beginning whenever you lose your internet connection or your computer shuts down unexpectedly. The service always saves your progress and you can continue from where you stopped once you're online again.
• The transfer process is fast as FileWhopper uses multi-threaded technology. Many servers are deployed to transfer your files concurrently, giving you ultra-fast speed. Your recipient can also start downloading the file(s) or folder once you start transferring. They don't have to wait for you to finish the process.
• Security is one of those limitations that come with email that you won't have to worry about when using FileWhopper. The service deploys a zero-knowledge security policy that makes it impossible for even the FileWhopper team to see your file contents. Your files and folders will be encrypted with a password and only your recipient will be able to decrypt it.
• If you're sending a PDF file up to 2GB, you can easily use your Android or iPhone. Your recipient can download the file using their Android or a PC with any OS. Downloading on iPhone is temporarily not available.

Are you excited about FileWhopper's soon-to-be-released Business Solution? It's the ideal choice for those who frequently need to send large files and folders. With the Business Solution, you'll experience both convenience and fantastic pricing.

Let's not forget the cost savings! Buying storage in bulk leads to big discounts. For instance, a 500GB Business account costs only $69.99. Compare that to 10 separate 50GB transfers using a Personal account, which would cost around $100. That's a sweet 30% saving with the Business Solution!

Check these out:

• Extended file storage: Enjoy an additional 14 days of storage, totaling 28 days for recipients to download your files.
• Additional downloads: Need multiple people to access your file? Add 5 extra downloads, for a grand total of 6.
• The Extras combo: Want even more? Opt for the Extras combo, which lengthens storage to a whopping 3 months (90 days) and permits 3 downloads.

Keep in mind, the Extras combo can't be combined with the 14 extra days of storage, but you can still add 5 additional downloads to the same transfer.

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