The first email in history was send by Ray Tomlinson in 1971 from one computer to another right next to it. The contents of the email don’t survive, but we do know they included instructions for using the @ sign. The first email spam was sent in 1978. To this day the sender (a salesman) maintains he did nothing wrong. It is apparently not known when the first email attachment was sent, but my guess is that the contents of the email probably had to explain how to open it.

This week’s column is about email attachments. An attachment is simply a file that is sent along with an email. The file might be a picture, a Word document, an audio file, or even a few files compressed ("zipped") into one file. The idea is pretty simple: the message and the accompanying file are encoded and then sent to someone else. That person then reads the message, detaches the file and looks at the picture, reads the document, listens to the music, or decompresses ("unzips") the files.

There are only a few potential problems, most of them surmountable, but many of my clients struggle with attachments. Here are a few of the most common issues:

Q: When I try to send a file, I get an error message that says the file is too big. What should I do?
A: Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) impose a limit on file size. If a file is too large, your Internet Service Provider will simply refuse to send it. The ISPs do this because they don’t want enormous files choking the portion of the information highway that runs past their front door. Even if you can send the file, your recipient’s ISP may have more restrictions on what can be received. To avoid this problem --- wait for it --- DO NOT EMAIL LARGE FILES! Yes, it’s just that simple.

Q: If I can’t email the file, what can I do?
A: You have two choices. You can either use a program to decrease the file size, like IrfanView for photos and a "zip" or file compression program for many types of files, or, you can use an alternative to emailing files. Try Flickr or a similar service for photos, setting it up so only certain people can view and download the photos. Another convenient way to get your files (almost any kind of files) to your friends and family is the You Send It website. They don’t require you to set up an account or answer any personal questions. Just fill in the recipient’s email address, your email address, and upload the file. The recipient will get an email with a link to the file, and they can download it at their convenience.

Q: I got a message with an attachment, but I can’t open it. What’s up with that?
A: The most common cause of this is receiving a file that was created in an application the recipient’s computer does not understand. Most of us have Microsoft Word (or something that will let us view Word files.) Most of us have something that can display a photo or other image. Not everyone has every program, though, so when you receive an attachment you can’t work with, ask what program was used to create it. If you don’t have it, you and the sender may need to seek an alternative.

Q: I keep getting attachments called "winmail.dat". What’s causing that?
A: The sender is using Microsoft Outlook (not Outlook Express --- that’s different) and winmail.dat is a file that preserves fonts, colours, and other customizations. But only other Outlook users can see those things. You can ignore the attachment…UNLESS the sender is actually trying to attach something. In that case s/he should send the message using "Plain Text" format. That will solve the problem.