PC Doctor October 18, 2013

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Dear PC Doctor:

I love to get photos of my grandkids but, when my daughter sends them, the files are so big that they fill my e-mail in box and I am unable to receive any other messages until I delete them.  I don’t want to tell my daughter not to send them.  Is there a way to make the files take up less space in my e-mail inbox?

       Thanks, Al

Dear Al:

Great question!  I think we’ve all had giant files e-mailed to us like this!  Here’s what you can do: Ask your daughter to “compress” the files.

If she is using Windows 7, she can right click her mouse over the photos she wants to send.  A drop-down menu will appear.  She should choose “Send to.” From here, she’ll choose “Compressed (zipped) folder.”  The folder will appear on her desktop.  She can give it any name she likes, just as with any other folder.  When she’s ready to e-mail, she can attach the folder to the message (she can follow the directions in her e-mail program).  Then, she’ll send her message.  If there are a lot of photos in the compressed folder, it may take some time to upload.  Most e-mail programs will show the progress at the bottom of the screen.

When the e-mail with the compressed/zipped folder arrives in your in box, you can click “Download all attachments.”  Once downloaded, double click on it and open it up.  Voila!

I hope that helps!

Until next time…Happy Computing!

       PC Doctor