Dealing with large files and cloud restrictions is kind of a pain sometimes. Most messaging or email services weren’t built for sharing huge files—so hitting size limits is pretty normal. Honestly, it’s frustrating when you just want to send a big video or a bunch of detailed documents, and the system keeps stopping you. But don’t worry, there are a few tricks to get around it. Some involve setting up or using integrated cloud features, while others require third-party tools or splitting files into chunks. Knowing what’s available can really save time and hassle, especially if you regularly send large files for work or school.
How to Share Large Files Without Headache
Send via Gmail Google Drive Integration
This is probably the easiest for those already using Gmail and Google Drive. If your file is under 25MB, just attach it directly—easy peasy. But once you hit that limit, Gmail silently offers you to send it via Google Drive instead. It’s a bit clunky at first, so here’s a quick rundown:
- Log into your Gmail and open a new email compose window.
- At the bottom, click the Google Drive icon. Sometimes it’s a triangle, sometimes a drive symbol—find it easily next to the paperclip.
- Select your file or upload a new one from your computer. If it’s not already in Drive, just upload right there—just drag and drop into the window.
- Once the file’s in, click Insert as Drive link. This creates a shareable link that the recipient can access based on your sharing settings.
Why it helps? Because large files aren’t intimately tied to your email size limits anymore, and recipients get a neat link. Usually, it works smoothly, but on some setups, the link might not work immediately and needs you to check sharing permissions—so double-check that they can view the file in Drive.
Use Cloud Storage Services (OneDrive, Dropbox, etc.)
If you already use a cloud service, leveraging its sharing features can be a lifesaver. For example, with OneDrive, you can right-click your file, choose Share, then generate a share link and send that via email. Simple, effective, and doesn’t rely on email attachment limits. Just make sure your sharing permissions are set to ‘Anyone with the link can view, ’ unless you want specific people to have access.
- In OneDrive: locate the file > right-click > Share > copy link or email directly from the panel.
Same generally applies to Dropbox, Box, or other cloud platforms. The whole point is: upload your file once, then send the link instead of the actual file. This works especially well if the file is huge or if you want to keep track of who has access.
Send Large Files with WeTransfer (or similar)
If a quick, no-fuss approach works better, WeTransfer is hard to beat. Free, no account needed for files up to 2GB—that’s pretty decent. Just go to WeTransfer, pick your file, enter your email and the recipient’s, then send it. The system emails a link to your files, and that’s it. Easy, fast, and stress-free.
- Keep in mind that uploading might take a minute or two depending on your connection.
- Also, files stay available for a week, then they’re gone—so quick delivery is key.
Pro tip: If you’re frequently sharing large files, bookmark it or consider their paid plans for bigger or more frequent transfers—but for basic stuff, the free version’s simple and effective.
Split or Archive Files (a bit of a hassle but works)
When all else fails, splitting large archives into smaller chunks is an old-school but trusted method. Zip or RAR files can be sliced into parts, say 25MB each, and sent separately. It’s a bit time-consuming but sometimes unavoidable. Use tools like 7-Zip or WinRAR. For example, in 7-Zip, you can right-click your file, select Add to archive, then set the volume size—like 24MB—to automatically split it into smaller archives.
- On a Windows machine, open 7-Zip, pick your large file, and choose Add to archive.
- Set the Split to volume size as “24M” (megabytes) and click OK. The program then creates multiple parts you can upload separately.
This approach is a bit ancient, but depending on the recipient’s patience and your patience, it can work when direct sharing isn’t feasible.
Use pCloud Transfer for Massive Files
For really big files—up to 5GB—pCloud Transfer works well without needing an account. Just head over to pCloud Transfer. Enter the recipient’s email, your email, choose your file, and hit send. You can even encrypt your files with a password, which adds an extra layer of security if sensitive stuff’s involved.
- Note: the free service allows only one recipient per transfer, but for quick big sends, it’s pretty handy.
From Editor’s Desk
There’s no one-size-fits-all here — depends on your file size, what email service you’re on, and how much time you want to spend. Each method has its pros and cons, and sometimes a little combination is needed. Like, start with Google Drive for under 25MB, move to Dropbox for bigger files, or just hit up WeTransfer for quick bulk transfers. Whatever works, really, but knowing those options makes dealing with large files a lot less frustrating.