Sending files via email attachments is a pretty common thing. Whether it’s photos to a family member or an important document at work, we’ve all sent files as attachments. Many email programs tend to set limits on the size of files that you can attach though, which can be annoying.
Large attachments can cause issues for the recipients and for the email provider, but sometimes they are necessary. Gmail offers a solution to this problem though, through integration with Google Drive, their cloud storage service. So, if you’re using Gmail and want to send a large attachment via email, you’re in luck.
When drafting an email, you can attach files by clicking the paperclip icon, located just to the right of the “Send” button, and then selecting the files you want to attach.
Gmail’s file size limit for attachments is 25MB. When this limit is reached, Gmail will seamlessly upload files to Google Drive and include a link to download the file, instead of attaching it directly to the email.
There are three ways to reach the 25 MB limit. The first is by uploading a single large file. In this case, the file will immediately upload to Google Drive.
The second scenario is when a batch upload of attachments exceeds the limit. In this case, all files in the batch will be uploaded to Google Drive.
The third scenario is when smaller files are uploaded individually. In this case, if the file being uploaded takes the total attached file size above 25MB, then it will be uploaded to Google Drive. Conversely, if the total attached file size will remain below the 25MB limit, the file will be attached instead.
If the files you want to attach to your email have already been uploaded to your Google Drive or have been shared with you via Google Drive, you can attach them directly from Google Drive without having to upload them again. This can save time when dealing with large files and slow upload speeds.
To attach a file directly from Google Drive, click the Google Drive icon, a little to the right of the paperclip icon used to attach files. It’s a rounded triangle shape.
Once you’ve clicked the Google Drive icon, a popup window will appear that you can use to choose what files to attach from your Drive, or from other Google Drive files shared with you.
Select the ones you want to use and then click on Insert at the bottom left corner. If your files are smaller than 25MB, you can choose whether you want a Drive link or an attachment via the option in the bottom right, but if they are bigger, it will auto-select Drive link for you.
All that’s left for you to do is send your email!
Emma L says
Upload based methods are too cumbersome. With Binfer you can send large files of any size. You can drag and drop entire folders with hundreds to pictures. Keep publishing such interesting articles.