13.   A final miscellany

13.5   How do I send files to other people?
When email protocols were developed, it was assumed that nothing more than plain text would be involved - for which 7-bit ASCII code is sufficient. Now that people want to send files containing 8-bit characters as attachments to email, encoding has to take place to convert to this format, with corresponding decoding at the far end. UUencode was an early scheme for doing this - MIME (Multipart Internet Mail Extensions) is a more recent development that allows greater flexibility. Both methods increase the size of the file you send.

When sending a file as an attachment, there are several points to consider:

  • Does the recipient have (and know how to use) the software for the decoding scheme you choose?
  • After the attachment has been decoded, does the recipient have (and know how to use) the software to load the file you sent?

It is often easiest to email your intended recipient and ask! If you use a modern mailer such as Turnpike, you can choose which form of encoding to use. However, be aware that not all software includes built-in decoding, and therefore some recipients may have to save the attachment to disk and then run it through a separate decoder before they can use your file. Generally it is best to encourage your recipient to discover how to do this, unless you feel able to give support by email on the software they use!

When attaching word processor files, remember that your recipient may not be able to use them, even if they have the same word processor as you but in a different version (this can be a particular problem with Word files if various patches and filters are not installed). One way round this can be to save the work as an .rtf (rich text format) file, since this will be understood by a variety of software.

The following tips may help if your recipients have problems with your attachments (and especially if they use a Microsoft email program):

  1. If your own software suggests splitting the message into separate parts, decline this offer and send it as a single email.
  2. Use MIME (in Turnpike there is a checkbox to enable this, to the right of the "Edit mail header" button).
  3. Ensure all attachments are at the very end of the message: you may even have to put them after the signature.

There is yet another potential problem if the recipient's ISP places a limit on the number or size of emails in the recipient's mailbox. While Demon has no such restrictions, some ISPs impose a limit such as 1 megabyte.

From this, it should be clear that sending attachments can be a matter of trial and error. If the various problems seem insurmountable, a different alternative is to put the file you wish to send on your Demon website, from where your recipient can collect it by downloading it using their WWW browser.
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