Large files can both be a blessing and a curse to work with. If you’re working with RAW video files, you can edit those clips to your heart’s desire, but it’s going to be a nightmare transferring a folder of fully edited RAW files online. It could take ages to transfer and the platform your uploading to might have a file size limit. That’s very inconvenient for many and a non-option for professionals working on a deadline. So, how do you send large files online?
In this article, we’ll lay out the best ways you can speed up your file transfer. Let’s go over what you can do.
Compress your files before you transfer
The first step you can take to speed up your transfers is to shrink the size of the file you’re sending. File compression will shrink your files and make the transfer no matter where you want to send. That includes cloud storage or through email.
Compressing files is simple to do. Most computers today come with built-in file compression support. This is how you do it:
On Windows:
- Right click on the clip or file you want send
- Nativagte in the right click menu and select Sent to
- Click Compressed (zipped) folder
On Mac:
- Two-finger click on the clip or file you want to send (you can also control+click)
- Click Compress … [file name}
If you’re sending video or music files, it’s best to use RAR compression, not ZIP compression. There’s less data loss and file corruption when you use RAR. One of the best ways to RAR compress is to use 7-Zip. It’s an open-source file archistve you can use. 7_Zip can compress an entire folder of files and is available for Windows, Mac and Linux
Utilize Cloud storage
One of the most popular ways to send large files today is to use cloud storage. Platforms like Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive all offer cloud storage spaces. Google Drive is linked with Gmail and OneDrive is linked with Outlook, so you’re likely already able to use these services. If not, you can make a free account.
Google Drive
Gmail allows you to attach files to emails as attachments. If the file is too large, Gmail will upload it to Google Drive and you’ll be able to share the file to others. The max file limit you can send as an attachment is 50MB. You can also use Gmail to store a lot of your files. Note, for the free account, Google will allow you to upload up to 15GB. If you want more space, you can pay for more storage. You can store videos up to 5 TB. Pricing for Google One starts at 100GB for $1.99, 200GB for $2.99, and 2TB for $9.99 per month.
Dropbox
Dropbox is another great option you can use to transfer large files. It offers 2GB of free storage and allows for a number of different sharing options. It is very similar to Google Drive, but offers different pricing for larger storage space. For $10 a month, you can get a Plus account with 2TB of space. For $17 a month gives you 3TB of storage.
OneDrive
As for OneDrive, it sports a shared folder system. You can share anything you want at any time. You can also stop sharing with just a click of a button. For its free account, you get 5GB of storage. For $2 a month, you get 100GB and if you go for its $7 package, can get the storage bumped up to 1TB. If you have a subscription with Office 365, you can get 1TB of OneDrive storage for free.
Use a file transfer website
There are a few third-party file transfer sites that can send large files fast. They’re separate from your email and some don’t require an account. They send a link to the recipient, a link that sends them to the file that’s stored online. One of the more popular and reliable sites that does this is WeTransfer.
All you have to do is upload your file, enter your name, email address with the name and address of the recipient. Once you’re done, the recipient will get a link to the file and will be able to download the file. The size of the files you’re able to upload depends. Obviously, paid subscriptions will allow you to send larger files.
Sending large files online can be frustrating, but using a cloud service, compressing your files and using a file transfer website can speed up the entire process.
