shortcut to making multiple attachments in gmail?
January 17, 2007 2:45 PM Subscribe
Possibly a very dumb question: I need to use gmail to send about 100 different files. Surely, as we live and breathe in the 21st century, there is an easier way to do this than clicking "attach another file" 100 times for each separate one!
When I use Outlook Express to attach files, I have the option of highlighting and attaching as many as I want in one go. So why not in gmail (which, ironically enough, gives me the option of downloading multiple attachments all at once if I've received them)? Is there a trick I'm missing? Is it a browser issue? (I'm using IE 6.0 and do not have the option of switching.) Or is it just not possible to do this efficiently?
When I use Outlook Express to attach files, I have the option of highlighting and attaching as many as I want in one go. So why not in gmail (which, ironically enough, gives me the option of downloading multiple attachments all at once if I've received them)? Is there a trick I'm missing? Is it a browser issue? (I'm using IE 6.0 and do not have the option of switching.) Or is it just not possible to do this efficiently?
Why don't you make a .zip file that contains all of the files?
posted by ambilevous at 2:47 PM on January 17, 2007
posted by ambilevous at 2:47 PM on January 17, 2007
If they're all going within one message, can you put them into a single zip file and then attach that file to your outgoing Gmail message?
posted by marylynn at 2:47 PM on January 17, 2007
posted by marylynn at 2:47 PM on January 17, 2007
I don't have time to check now, but I think gmail doesn't like zips for maybe sending or receiving. However, if you rename the extension, you can fool it, like files.abc or whatever instead of .zip.
posted by Listener at 3:05 PM on January 17, 2007
posted by Listener at 3:05 PM on January 17, 2007
Just tell the reciever to rename the file when they get it. We do this all the time to get around workplace email filters.
posted by Big_B at 3:07 PM on January 17, 2007
posted by Big_B at 3:07 PM on January 17, 2007
Response by poster: Why not put all the files in a single zip file?
I told you this might be a dumb question. ;) I've never had to send more than a handful of attachments before, so zipping them didnt even cross my mind. I'll give it a try. (sheepish) thanks! (on preview: thanks, listener and big_b, for the add'l tips.)
posted by fizzyliftingdrink at 3:10 PM on January 17, 2007
I told you this might be a dumb question. ;) I've never had to send more than a handful of attachments before, so zipping them didnt even cross my mind. I'll give it a try. (sheepish) thanks! (on preview: thanks, listener and big_b, for the add'l tips.)
posted by fizzyliftingdrink at 3:10 PM on January 17, 2007
GMail likes zip files just fine. What GMail doesn't like is potentially "bad" files like EXE and DLL files inside of zip files.
posted by mmascolino at 4:01 PM on January 17, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by mmascolino at 4:01 PM on January 17, 2007 [1 favorite]
Keep in mind that you cannot send more than 10 mb at time with gmail. If you're sending 100 small text or data files, you should be fine, but worth checking.
posted by Derive the Hamiltonian of... at 4:22 PM on January 17, 2007
posted by Derive the Hamiltonian of... at 4:22 PM on January 17, 2007
Well, you'll need them in a zip because otherwise the receiving person will likely have to download each file one at a time too.
One suggestion that hasn't been mentioned is to download Thunderbird and set it up to work with Gmail. Then you can attach multiple files easily.
posted by farmersckn at 8:39 PM on January 17, 2007
One suggestion that hasn't been mentioned is to download Thunderbird and set it up to work with Gmail. Then you can attach multiple files easily.
posted by farmersckn at 8:39 PM on January 17, 2007
Listener, gmail works just fine with zips. I send and recieve them on a daily basis.
posted by nomisxid at 8:47 PM on January 17, 2007
posted by nomisxid at 8:47 PM on January 17, 2007
How big are the files? Can you just put them up on a web server somewhere?
SMTP is not a file transfer protocol.
posted by drstein at 9:10 PM on January 17, 2007
SMTP is not a file transfer protocol.
posted by drstein at 9:10 PM on January 17, 2007
It used to be true that Gmail didn't like zips. This is no longer the case.
posted by Pigpen at 10:32 PM on January 17, 2007
posted by Pigpen at 10:32 PM on January 17, 2007
i have to cosign with the .zip file. best way by far if you're sending a 100 files through email.
posted by NAPO at 10:50 PM on January 17, 2007
posted by NAPO at 10:50 PM on January 17, 2007
You might also like the firefox extension dragdropupload. It lets you drag multiple files onto the attachment button in gmail from a file window and it handles the rest for you.
posted by lockle at 12:24 AM on January 18, 2007
posted by lockle at 12:24 AM on January 18, 2007
For posterity: if you're on Windows XP, the easiest way to zip up a bunch of files is to click the first one, then hold down the Control key while you click the rest (or use any of the other multiple-file selection methods), then right-click any of the selected files and choose Send To->Compressed Folder from the context menu. You'll end up with a compressed folder (which is actually a .zip file) containing all the files you selected, and named after the file you right-clicked on.
Also: I've found that lengthy Gmail attachments work much more reliably if you log into Gmail via https://mail.google.com/ than via any of the http:// addresses.
And Gmail really doesn't like zip files that contain executables (.exe, .dll etc.). I always rename those to filename.zip.renamed before attaching. Personally I think this is a stupid misfeature.
posted by flabdablet at 4:04 AM on January 18, 2007
Also: I've found that lengthy Gmail attachments work much more reliably if you log into Gmail via https://mail.google.com/ than via any of the http:// addresses.
And Gmail really doesn't like zip files that contain executables (.exe, .dll etc.). I always rename those to filename.zip.renamed before attaching. Personally I think this is a stupid misfeature.
posted by flabdablet at 4:04 AM on January 18, 2007
And drstein is quite right. If your 100 files turn into a zipfile that's much bigger than 100KB, you're far better off using something like YouSendIt. Dialup recipients in particular will thank you for this.
posted by flabdablet at 4:10 AM on January 18, 2007
posted by flabdablet at 4:10 AM on January 18, 2007
Worth mentioning that GMail supports normal mail clients, including Thunderbird and Outlook, if they're configured to authenticate and send over SSL on (iirc) port 995.
posted by genghis at 4:52 PM on January 18, 2007
posted by genghis at 4:52 PM on January 18, 2007
7-zip is a small, fantastic, totally free zipping program you can use if you don't want to deal with a trial version of winzip or something. :: 7-zip.org
posted by GrubbyUtter at 5:09 PM on January 18, 2007
posted by GrubbyUtter at 5:09 PM on January 18, 2007
It's totally unnecessary to install extra software into Windows XP to handle simple zipping/unzipping jobs. XP's native Compressed Folders support does it, and is nicely integrated into Windows Explorer and very easy to drive.
posted by flabdablet at 8:35 PM on January 18, 2007
posted by flabdablet at 8:35 PM on January 18, 2007
This thread is closed to new comments.
You can't do this from the web interface because they haven't designed it in.
posted by bonaldi at 2:46 PM on January 17, 2007