Email Attachments

As those who regularly post to the CoE mailing lists know, there is a limit on the maximum file size of attachments. Typically, that limit is 200KB. In order to get around this limit, users should place their files on their network drive in a folder called 'public_html' and add a link to their messages which points to the file. These instructions will outline all the steps necessary to allow you to post those large messages.

The reason for this is simple. There are thousands of student accounts. If someone was to post a large attachment to the student mailing list, they potentially will cause major problems for the email server. As an example, let's say there are 4000 student accounts and you want to send a 5MB attachment. First of all, there is a 10MB limit on the size of a user's mailbox. Right off the bat, you have just used up half of their mailbox size. Secondly, you are putting unnecessary stress on the mail server because that 5MB attachment must be delivered to 4000 mailboxes.

Multiply that: 5MB x 4000 mailboxes. You have just pushed 20GB through the mailsystem with one email. Imagine this: You want to tell students about a new job opportunity but there are three (3) attachments related to this one job. Together, these attachments add up to almost 600KB. Individually, they are each less than the 200KB file size limit. You then get the idea to send out one email per attachment. Multiply that: 3 emails x 4000 mailboxes. You have just sent 12000 emails through the mail system plus the load of the 600KB x 4000 which adds up to 2.4GB. I think you get the idea. Please play nice with the mailing list system.

Step-by-step instructions

  • Step 1: Save the attachment to your network/koala drive in a folder called "public_html". Make sure that the file does not have any spaces in the name. If the attachment was called "My Attachment.doc", change the name to "My_Attachment.doc" or "MyAttachment.doc".
  • Step 2: Craft your email for the mailing list by cutting and pasting the original text from the email you would like to forward. See? You will not be forwarding the email directly. You will be writing a new email by copying the text or add your own comments to preface the email.
  • Step 3: Add the link to the attachment which you placed in your "public_html" folder. For example, you saved an attachment called "My_Attachment.doc" and your email username is "bubba":

    Hi, please check out the following information about the new job opportunity:

    http://www.eng.fsu.edu/~user_name/My_Attachment.doc

  • Step 4: Test the link by copying and pasting said link into the address bar of your favorite web browser. I suggest you use Mozilla or Firefox for obvious security reasons but that is another story. If you are able to download the attachment, then your email is ready to go. Send out the email to the desired mailing list. You're done.

WARNING! Please make sure that you do not place any sensitive personal information (e.g., social security numbers, student grades, etc.) in files you place in your public_html folder. Anything you place in public_html is accessible to everyone on the web.