Does this ever happen to you? You need to send a document to your coworker, classmate, or professor. However, you can't send it through Outlook because the file is bigger than 20 MB. How do you solve this issue? In this article, you will learn how to send a large file via Outlook. There are 3 effective methods, and you can find step-by-step guides for each of them.

Before we start, we'd like to inform you that all methods require you to use a powerful PDF solution. We recommend Wondershare PDFelement, which is not only sophisticated but also affordable.

In this article
  1. Solution: Convert to PDF and Compress
    1. Compress the File
    2. Merge the Files
    3. Save the File to a Cloud Service and Share a Link

Part 1. Solution: Convert to PDF and Compress

The largest file size for Outlook is 20 MB. You can't attach anything bigger than that to emails. What should you do if you find yourself in this situation? How to attach a large file in Outlook?

You need to reduce the file size. But is that possible? Yes, it is. You can reduce the file size of a document by compressing it. But remember that the quality of a document also gets reduced when you compress it. With that in mind, we recommend converting to PDF first since it is a lossless format.

Wondershare PDFelement is the best tool to have in this situation. It can convert any document to PDF. Furthermore, Wondershare PDFelement also offers a PDF compressor. So, it gives you access to the two tools that you need for the price of one. On top of that, Wondershare PDFelement has Outlook integration, which facilitates file sharing.

Here is how to convert a document to PDF using Wondershare PDFelement:

  1. Open Wondershare PDFelement.
  2. Click the + button.
  3. Click From File.
creating pdf from file using pdfelement
  1. Select the document that you want to convert and open it.
  2. Click Save.

saving the created pdf

Part 2. How To Send Large Files with Outlook [3 Best Methods]

Now that you know how to convert a document to PDF, you are ready to proceed to the next step. Here are your three options.

Method 1. Compress the File

The most obvious answer to "How can I send large files through Outlook?" is to compress the file that you want to send. Wondershare PDFelement offers a file compressor that has three compression settings: high, medium, and low. The higher the setting, the smaller the file will be. That said, you can use Wondershare PDFelement to compress files that are very large or just above the Outlook file size limit.

Here is your guide to using the Compress PDF feature of Wondershare PDFelement:

  1. Open Wondershare PDFelement.
  2. Click Compress PDF.

compress pdf option in wondershare pdfelement
  1. Drag and drop the PDFs that you want to compress into the input box. Alternatively, click Add Files and select the files.
compress pdf interface in wondershare pdfelement
  1. Set the compression setting that you'd like to use under the "Compress Option."

selecting compression level in wondershare pdfelement
  1. Click Save.

This is the ultimate answer to "how to send large PDF files via Outlook?".

Method 2. Merge the Files

How do I send large files through Outlook if there is more than 1 file? If the files are related, you can combine them into one and then compress it. Then, you can send the compressed file to the other person. Wondershare PDFelement has a feature for this, too. Here is how you use it.

  1. Open Wondershare PDFelement.
  2. Click Combine PDFs.
combine pdf feature in wondershare pdfelement
  1. Click Add Files and add all the documents that you want to combine. Note that they do not need to be PDFs. For example, you can add a Word file, a PDF, and a Text file. The output will be a PDF.

adding files to combine using pdfelement
  1. Add a File Name for the output.
  2. Click Apply.
  3. Go back to the main menu in Wondershare PDFelement. Click Compress PDF.
  4. Click Add Files and select your combined PDF. Alternatively, drag and drop the PDF into the Compress PDF window.
  5. Select your preferred compression level.
  6. Click Apply.

Method 3. Save the File to a Cloud Service and Share a Link

How do you send large files through Outlook without compressing the files? And how to send large video files via email Outlook? You can do that by uploading the large files to a cloud storage system. All cloud storage systems allow you to create shareable links for the files you save in them. By using the links, the recipient can access the large files that you want to send to them.

Here is how to upload a large document to the cloud and send the link through Outlook:

  1. Open the document with Wondershare PDFelement.
  2. Click File > Save to cloud > PDFelement Cloud.
saving pdf to wondershare document cloud
  1. Click Upload.
  2. Launch your preferred web browser.
  3. Navigate to Wondershare PDFelement Cloud and log into your account.
  4. Click Documents > Your Documents.
finding the large file in document cloud
  1. Find the large file that you want to send and click the three dots on its right.
  2. Click Share.
share pdf option in document cloud
  1. Click Create link.
creating shareable link in document cloud
  1. Open Outlook and compose an email. Paste the link into the email.

Conclusion

How large of a file can I email with Outlook? That would be 20 MB, which could be a bit small. So, how to send a large file via Outlook? You need to compress the file, upload it to the cloud, or divide it into smaller files. Wondershare PDFelement is perfect for this job.

PDFelement can convert files to PDFs and then compress them. Furthermore, Wondershare PDFelement can combine multiple files into one and compress the output to reduce the file size. Interestingly, it can also make PDFs smaller by splitting them or extracting the important pages. Then, you can use the Email feature to directly attach the PDF into an Outlook email.

Wondershare PDFelement solves your problems, and gives you more options for streamlining the workflow. What more can you ask for?

People Also Ask

  • 1. How to send multiple large files with Outlook?
    You can send multiple large files with Outlook by combining the files and compressing the output. You can also upload them into a folder in your cloud storage. Then, you can share the link to that folder. You can do both using Wondershare PDFelement.
  • 2. Does Outlook not automatically reduce the file size of attachments?
    Most of the time, you'd want the files you send to maintain their quality. Understanding this, Outlook does not automatically compress the files. Therefore, if you need to send large files, you need to compress them first using tools like Wondershare PDFelement.
  • 3. Can I split large files into smaller parts for emailing?
    Yes, you can do that. With Wondershare PDFelement, you can extract certain pages from a PDF or split the PDF into two. These result in smaller files that you can now attach to an Outlook email. That is how to send a large PDF file through Outlook if not all parts of the PDF are important.
Audrey Goodwin
Audrey Goodwin Sep 23, 24
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12 years of talent acquired in the software industry working with large publishers. Public speaker and author of several eBooks on technical writing and editing.