One of the most frustrating things that can happen when you’re using an email program like Yahoo or Gmail is trying to send an attachment (like a PDF or photo) only to have an error message pop up saying the attachment is too large to send. “Now what?!” you might think to yourself. “How in the world am I supposed to get this PDF sent to this client? He wants to see it by close of business today!”
Dropbox is your answer! It’s literally a one-stop-shop for sending files that are too big for conventional email. But don’t be intimidated: it’s point-and-click, and it’s incredibly simple to use.
First, you want to go to the website www.dropbox.com. You’ll have to register first, but never fear: the basic account is free and the entire website is ad-free too. Be sure to go through the steps required to verify your email address.
After that, you’ll be prompted to install Dropbox on your computer. Click your way through the installation process and when that’s done, a new window will pop up on your computer screen. There should be a new folder titled “Dropbox.”
After that, you’ll be prompted to install Dropbox on your computer. Click your way through the installation process and when that’s done, a new window will pop up on your computer screen. There should be a new folder titled “Dropbox.”
Now it’s time to drag any files you want in there into that window. But that’s just one way to add files. The other way is to go to www.dropbox.com, sign in and add the files from there. Actually, the latter is the recommended way to add files. That way, you don’t have to rely on Dropbox to update automatically. You’ll know exactly which files are in your Dropbox and when you added them. We recommend you keep your naming conventions simple. You should use the subject of the file and the date it was created as its name so it’s easy to find later on when you need it.
From there, the features pretty much speak for themselves. You can share a link to the file with anyone you want. Or you can create a folder and share the entire folder with anyone you want. Just right-click on the file or folder and select “Share Link.” You can email the link directly to any recipient you want or the path to the file or folder will be copied to your clipboard, and you can paste the link into an email.
And just because you gave someone access to a file or folder doesn’t mean that person can see everything in your Dropbox. So you get the best of both worlds: it’s easy to share large files and folders but you still get to maintain your privacy. Oh, and did we mention there’s a mobile version so you can add, access and send your files while you’re on the go?
To create your Dropbox account, just visit www.dropbox.com and click on “Sign up.”
