Dear Mr. Internet: Help! I rely so much on communicating through e-mail. I often attach files which, for some reason, often are "lost", or are unable to be opened by the people I am sending them to. How can I make sending attachments more reliable? Bob Nachman, ABR, CRS, GRI, MBA RE/MAX All Stars Scottsdale, AZ

Dear Bob:

You are not alone --this is a common complaint among active e-mail users. E-mail attachments can be such an important part of our online marketing, that knowing how to do it successfully every time can make a big difference in the results of your online business. There four situations involving attachments that can cause real problems for both the sender and receiver:

1. Receiver Cannot View The Attachment - the file came over fine, but the recipient doesn't have the necessary software to open and view it.
2. The Attached File Is Too Big - many e-mail systems limit the size of attached files. Also, if a big file does get through, the long download time can annoy the recipient.
3. The Recipient Uses AOL - attachments sent from a standard e-mail system to an AOL account will often get mangled --this can also happen when sending attachments to recipients using corporate e-mail accounts.
4. The Attachment Contains Sensitive Information - sometimes e-mail is delivered to someone other than the intended recipient. This can be a serious liability if it contains sensitive information (i.e. a client's financial information).

Fortunately, there are easy solutions to each of these attachment problems...

How To Make Your Attachments Universally Viewable

Let's say you want to send property photos from your MLS system or a CMA, your recipient is not likely to have the necessary software to view these files. Using HotSend, you can create a special version of any printable document (called a "Hot" file with a .HOT file extension) that can be viewed with the free and easy to install HotSend viewer. Simply download and install the free Hotsend software, which then becomes one of your "printers". To send a "Hot" version of your document you simply "print" it using the Hotsend print driver. This will automatically convert it to the ".HOT" format and attach it to a new e-mail message --all in one step. If your recipient does not have the necessary viewer, HotSend includes a link in each e-mail message so they can quickly (it's less than 200kbs) and easily download it.

How To Compress Your Attachments To Make Them Smaller

You can "compress" most files (often making them considerably smaller) by "zipping" them. PKZip is the standard compression software for Windows PCs. You simply run your file through the PKZip software to create a compressed version of it, having a .zip file extension. The only disadvantage to this method is that the recipient will need the appropriate software to "unzip" (i.e. decompress) the file. Fortunately, most people have some sort of zip software on their machines.

How To Avoid The AOL "Mangled Attachment" Problem

This was covered in last month's article on How To Make Your E-mail AOL Friendly. Using a free service called Click2Send you create online "safe deposit boxes" where you can upload any file (through a Web browser). This eliminates the need to send an attachment because it allows the recipient to simply download it through their Web browser (via a link sent to them by e-mail). Click2Send is also the solution to sending very large files because you can upload files up to 50mbs in size.

How To Send Attachments Securely

UPS Online Courier is a service similar to Click2Send in that it lets you upload any file --only in this case, to a highly secure server. The recipient receives an e-mail with a link to where they can download the file using their Web browser. However, for added security, the password required to download the file is not included with the e-mail. You must contact them in some other way (i.e. phone) to deliver the necessary password. Also, UPS Online Courier will track whether the document was downloaded and when it occurred.

You might it helpful to use the table below as a quick reference for choosing the right method for sending attachments:

Situation	Suggested Method(s)
Recipient doesn't have the software necessary to view the file	HotSend
Large Files	HotSend (will often reduce file sizes during conversion)  PKZip  Click2Send (for very large files)
Recipient uses AOL	Click2Send  UPS Online Courier
File contains highly sensitive Information	UPS Online Courier

One last thing to remember. It is extremely important to never change or remove the file extension of any attached file you are sending, no matter what method you use to send it. For example, if you send a Word file "Your CMA.doc" but leave off or change the ".doc" part, the recipient's computer will not have a clue on how to open that file.

E-mail is more than just messaging. It can also be a highly effective way to deliver documents that are important to your business and clients. Knowing how to do this consistently, regardless of the situation, will help eliminate frustration and make your online business that much more profitable!

Article Resources:
HotSend - an easy and free way to make all your e-mail attachments universally viewable	PKZip - the standard for compressing PC files
Click2Send - great for sending attachments to AOL recipients and/or large attachments	UPS Online Courier - a highly secure way to send transactionally sensitive documents

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