How To Send A Folder Through Email

Do you have a collection of files or pictures in a folder and want to send them to someone using email?

If so the first thing that most people do is to try and attach the folder to an email message.

If you have ever tried doing this you will have found that most email clients refuse to do it. Instead they want you to select the individual files from the folder.

You could simply select all of the files in the folder using the shift key, but if you did it this way then the recipient would see lots of email attachments.

The better way to do it is keep the files in the folder and to package this folder into a Zip file.

Now you can then send the zip file as an email attachment and it appears as a single file containing the entire folder..

When the email arrives at the recipient they simply save the attachment and unzip it.

Note: Packaging the folder into a zip file doesn’t remove the email attachment size limits imposed by email systems which is typically 25MB.

If the folder contains large files and exceeds 25 MB then you need to use a file sharing service line Dropbox, Onedrive, Google Drive etc to send the folder.

The video below takes you through the entire process using Yahoo mail to send the folder as an attachment.

However the technique will work with any email client.

Notes: The ability to compress files and folders is standard in windows and doesn’t require extra software.

Common Questions and Answers:

Q- Do I have to use Yahoo Mail to send the folder or can I use outlook?

A- You can use any email client you want.

Q- Do I need to use Dropbox to send the Attachment?

A- No if the attachment is less that 25MB. If it is larger than that then yes you need to use a file sharing service like Dropbox.- See Using Yahoo mail with Dropbox

Q- Can I send several folders using this technique?

A- Yes just add the folders to the zip package

Related Tutorials and Resources:

• Sending picture attachments with WLM
• Sending and Receiving Email Attachments for Beginners