How to send large files by email: a link instead of an attachment

How much fits in one email

A whole message, with all its attachments, can be up to 25 MB. Attachments are encoded for sending and grow by about a third, so roughly 18 MB of actual files fit into one message.

Webmail checks this itself: it will not let you attach a file over the limit. A mail program will try to send, but the server will refuse the message and the program will show an error.

The same limit applies to mail sent to you: a message over 25 MB will not arrive, and the sender gets a refusal. The recipient’s server may have a limit of its own, smaller than ours.

A message with a link weighs a few kilobytes. The file itself stays on Disk, and the recipient downloads it from there.

How to send a file as a link

1. Open Disk at https://disk.alpost.ch/ or with the “Disk” item in the webmail menu. Sign in with the same address and password as your mail.
2. Upload the file: “New” → “Upload files”, or simply drag it into the browser window. The antivirus checks the file; an infected one is not stored.
3. Click “Share” next to the file and create a link in the “Share link” section.
4. Copy the link and paste it into your message — in webmail or in any mail program.

Public link rules

The rules are the same for everyone and are checked when you create the link. If a link is not created, one of them is the reason: Disk itself only says that the link could not be created.

1. A single file only, up to 100 MB. Put several files or a folder into an archive without a password.
2. Links can be created once the mailbox is 7 days old. Until then you can share only with Alpost users — see below.
3. Disk sets the expiry date itself — 7 days. You can shorten it, but there are no links without an expiry date.
4. After 100 downloads the link closes by itself.
5. Programs, installers, scripts and disk images cannot be shared — for example exe, msi, apk, dmg, iso.
6. Neither can password-protected archives, or archives that Disk cannot open and check.
7. If a linked file is overwritten or renamed, Disk checks it again. If it fails the check, the link is removed.

A password on the link

Anyone who gets hold of the link can open it. If the file is not for strangers’ eyes, set a password in the link settings, under “Password protection”.

The password must be at least 10 characters. Disk will not accept passwords that are too simple or that appear in known leaks. Send the password to the recipient another way, not in the same email.

What the recipient sees

The recipient opens the link in a browser and sees a page with the file name and a “Download” button. They need no Alpost mailbox and no registration. If the link has a password, they enter it first.

At the bottom of the page there is a “Report abuse” link. It is on every public Disk page and leads to the contact form.

Once the link has expired or the file has been downloaded 100 times, the link stops opening. If the recipient missed it, create a new link to the same file.

If the recipient is on Alpost too

Then you need no link. Click “Share” next to the file and enter the full address of their mailbox — the file appears on their Disk.

This way you can share a folder, or a file over 100 MB. There is no expiry and no download count, and the age of the mailbox does not matter. The file takes up space only on your side.

You can find a person only by the exact address, and only if they have opened Disk at least once.

Space on Disk

A file on Disk takes space from the shared 1 GB — the same space your mail and website use. A 100 MB file is a tenth of all your space.

If there is less free space than the file needs, Disk will not upload it. When the space runs out completely, mail stops arriving.

Once the recipient has downloaded the file, delete it from Disk: the space in the shared 1 GB is freed within a few minutes. How much your mail, website and Disk use is shown in your account.

What is not here

1. No links to files over 100 MB. You can keep such a file on Disk, but not share it by link.
2. No links to folders — only to single files.
3. No links without an expiry date.
4. No attaching from Disk in webmail: you cannot attach a file to a message straight from Disk. Disk does not send an email with the link either — you copy the link and paste it into the message yourself.
5. No upload links: you cannot receive a large file through Disk from someone without an Alpost mailbox.
6. No separate space for links: the file takes space from the shared 1 GB.

See also

• Free Disk
• Google Calendar alternative: move calendar and contacts to Disk
• Disk: first steps and sharing files
• Sync Disk with your phone and computer