Image files
Image files may be in many formats, the most common being gif
and jpeg/jpg. These are the best for transmitting via email as they
are of relatively small file size. The tradeoff is that they don't contain
as much information as Tif/tiff files, which besides being readilly transportable
between Mac and IBM are much better for further manipulation in a graphics
program. Tif files are often several megabytes in size for a high resolution
image, but are vastly superior if finished image quality is a priority.
Another popular format is PSD, the native Photoshop format, which can be
read and written by many high-end graphics programs. PSD files also tend
to be very large. Avoid using Windows Bitmap bmp format.
If sending an image file in a less common format, it is worth checking
that the recipient has a program which can read &/or manipulate it.
Try to keep the filename as short as possible whilst still being meaningful,
and avoid blank spaces in the filename.
Text files
Text files, often referred to as ASCII files, contain no formatting
and usually have a suffix of .txt. These are most easilly transmitted either
as an attachment to an email, or within the body of the email itself. A
conventional email is a text file. It has become quite popular to send
emails with embedded HTML, but such practice can be very frustrating for
those recalcitrants whose antique email programs do not read the code (and
are probably immune to viral attack).
Document files
Document files are formatted and come in many variations, often with
the suffix of .doc. Not all doc files are the same - MS Word produces doc
files, but there are many versions of Word and they are not always compatible.
Programs other than Word may also produce .doc files. When transmitting
a document file as an attachment, always inform the recipient of the originating
program and its version to avoid confusion. Having said this, by far the
most common doc files are Word 7 and Word 8.
If in doubt that the recipient can read the native format, save the
file as an rtf (rich textured format) file, which is the most commonly
used interchange format and can be read & written by most wp programmes.
If the file has embedded images or other elements, these will be lost on
conversion to rtf.
Spreadsheet files
Most spreadsheet files can be fairly easily converted to HTML by your
web programmer. However, as a rule HTML pages should be kept under 100k
filesize, so if the spreadsheet file is quite large it would be prudent
to divide it up into sections before transmission. This can save your programmer
a lot of work. Excel files are probably the most common, and are favoured
by this programmer.
OCR - Optical Character Reading
One cannot simply scan an article from a newspaper or magazine, transmit
it as an image file to the recipient, and expect to have them magically
transform it into HTML. OCR is usually much more successful when done first
hand by someone very familiar with the hardware and software required,
and is therefore best farmed out to a specialist who knows, when told that
the results must be emailed to a web programmer, what is required.
File Transmission
Even quite large files can be transmitted via email, as you would know.
However, there is a limit, and if for instance several large Tifs need
to be sent, then probably the best method is to put them on a a CD and
send it via courier or snailmail. Something to bear in mind here is that
email boxes often have a limit which may be as low as 2 megabytes, so if
you merrily post a dozen or so 300k files, not only will the last few of
yours bounce, everyone else's will too until the hapless recipient downloads
the contents - after three weeks on holidays.
Email programs can be set up to perform all sorts of functions automatically.
They can be set to ignore emails with attachments greater than a certain
filesize, so you may find that your 4 megabyte email is ignored, despite
the fact that you sent it three times. The program can also be set to ignore
the address of someone who sends unwanted emails - forever! [more]
Zip Files
A zip file is a condensed archive produced by a program such as pkzip
or winzip. A zip file has a .zip suffix. There are several other methods
of condensing files which produce archives with different suffixes (ie
Tar), but zip is by far the most common. Zip files can be produced as self-extracting
archives with a .exe extension which in these days of viral attacks tend
to be avoided where possible.
Zip files and Zip discs are not the same thing. A Zip disc is somewhat
like a floppy disc, but it will store 100 megs or more of information.
Zip discs are no longer in common use.
Related Information: [PDF Files]
More information of this nature at http://www.dropbears.com/u/utilities/newusers.htm
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