Prevent "File Size Exceeds Limit" Email Errors With an FTP Site

As time goes on, the average size of a file that you're dealing with increases dramatically. Even ten short years ago, sending a file larger than 25MB in size would practically be unheard of.

These days, it is not uncommon to need to send a file that is several hundred megabytes or a gigabyte or more at any given time.

Despite this, many email providers have yet to truly catch up to these new needs of their users and still have "File Size Exceeds Limits" in place that do little more than add frustration to a situation that should be effortless given the circumstances.

What are "File Size Exceeds Limit" Restrictions?

As the name suggests, these email errors are ones that you receive when you attempt to send a file as an attachment with an email that is over a size supported by the email provider. Even Gmail, one of the most popular email services in the world, only lets users send files with a maximum total size of 25MB at a time.

If you do have to send a file over that size, you typically have a few options available to you. You could choose to split the file up into smaller parts, requiring the user to then use software to reassemble them into the original file upon receipt. While this will technically work, it increases the chances of accidentally sending part the file to the wrong recipient exponentially or making mistakes in the reassembly process. In order to get around these restrictions, users may also attempt to upload their file to a free or consumer oriented cloud-based file sharing service; and, just email the link to the person they're communicating with. This, too, may "get the job done" but lacks a number of important security protocols necessary to make sure the file itself is not compromised in transit.

FTP and File Size Exceeds Limit Solutions

With FTP, on the other hand, all of these concerns evaporate in an instant. Not only are there no file size exceed limit restrictions with FTP, but the entire process is also much easier than ever. A large graphic design firm that has to send hundreds of 100MB image files to a client for review can not only do so just as easily as by email, but with complete control over security via things like granular user accounts and at-rest and in-transit encryption. A government agency that needs to send a terabyte of documents to a sister agency can also automate the uploading process via "bulk" or "batch" upload, making an entire directory available with very little intervention required on behalf of the original user.

Most importantly, you'll never again find yourself in a situation where you're about to send a message only to have to scramble to come up with another solution because of a dreaded "file size exceeds limit" error. With an FTP site at your side, you can get all of the advantages of file sharing with none of the downsides.