Overcome the Limitations of Email Attachments with Box.net

Overcome the Limitations of Email Attachments with Box.net

Have you ever had a relative, customer or vendor ask, “Can’t you just email that to me?” Of course. You can email anything, right? Wrong. Attaching images and other files to emails has its limits, and when you exceed those limits, your recipient gets nothing. For those times when you need to share large files like graphics, photos, videos and presentation slides faster than you can format, burn and deliver a CD/DVD, be prepared with a more flexible and forgiving option: Box.net.

Most email providers put limits on the size of email file attachments. Even Gmail, seemingly the most generous of online email providers, limits file attachments to 25 MB. Others may have limits as low as 5 or 10 MB, which could prevent an email with as few as three high-resolution pictures or one minute of video from reaching the intended recipient. Box.net isn’t email, but it’s almost as easy, and it allows you to share much larger files quickly and securely.

How it Works

There are three account plans to choose from on Box.net, including a free version. However, real file-sharing power comes with the Individual and Business plans that cost $7.95 and $15 per month, respectively. With these plans, you’ll have the ability to quickly upload files as large as 1 GB-that’s 40 times the size limit of Gmail.

Box.net upload files dialog

As soon as you’ve created an account, you’ll be asked to create a folder. One option for file sharing on Box.net is to give others access to your folder where they can view or download documents and leave comments about projects. Or, simply create a folder for yourself, upload the files you want to share and Box.net will automatically create a unique website address for that file. Anyone who has that URL can access the file too.

Special Delivery

So what will your mom, graphic designer, video editor and others see when they click on the link you sent them? A simple screen in their web browser that shows the name of the document, the name of the folder where you placed it and any comments you wrote when you uploaded it. They can either quickly preview a browser-friendly version of the file or download the complete file for saving anywhere on their own hard drive. With an upgrade to the “Business” plan, clicking the link immediately launches the file without the intermediary download page.

Box.net list of folders

Blog All about It

If you have a blog or company website, Box.net also will let you directly post photos, music clips, and files for visitors to download. All you need is Box.net’s automatically created URL for the file, and the file remains hosted by Box.net to save you valuable storage space.

Work Smarter

Using Box.net for nothing else but its file sharing capability is a good investment (especially the always-free “Lite” version). However, Box.net does offer many other features, including:

  • Online file collaboration and commenting

  • File-related task assignments with e-mail reminders

  • Mobile file access on browser-enabled devices and iPhone and Blackberry apps

  • Access to version histories of files

  • .and more


All these features are so easy to use that it only takes minutes to start collaborating with noobie colleagues, friends and family. And, its 256-bit Secured Socket Layer (SSL) provides industry-leading encryption of uploaded data so only you and those you authorize will see your files.