6 Different Ways to Distribute Large Technical Documents

By Ugur Akinci

© 2011 Ugur Akinci
Large files have always been a distribution headache for technical writers. PDF files, book files of all kinds, PPT files need to be planned and generated always with an eye towards their distribution. If your files are too big to send around, review and approval processes will be jeopardized.
Here are six different ways to distribute your large files:
(1) Posting to Intra-Corporate LAN. If your company has a version-control, file backup, or content management system on LAN, then usually such systems also have the bandwidth to distribute your large files without any problems. Examples:  Microsoft SourceSafe, Agile. Consult with your tech support on that.

(2) Converting to a smaller-file format. For example, I like converting my PPT files into Flash format (SWF) before sending them out or emailing them. Search for free PPT-to-SWF converters on the Internet.
(3) You can also try zipping your files although in my experience this rarely makes a big difference in the final file size. Not too effective. My least favorite method to distribute large technical documents.

(4) FTP. My favorite (Windows) FTP client is CORE FTP. Its free Lite version is very reliable and meets all my FTP needs.
(5) Snail-Mail Distribution via CDs, DVDs, etc. This is old, slow and passe but still used by a lot of technical communicators around the world. Use it if you must.

(6) Using dedicated online services.
Adobe SendNow offers to send your large files for $9.95 a month.
Dropbox is another solution, especially popular at this writing with Android mobile platforms.
Are you using any dedicated online or Cloud service to distribute your large files? Please share your experience with us. Thanks.

Posted in Office Productivity, Technical Writing and tagged , , , , ,

About Ugur Akinci

6 Comments

  1. Lee Mills on January 14, 2011 at 6:54 pm

    This is a great list but you are missing some other providers like attachmore, my personal favorite – http://www.attachmore.com. They have a free service and also a subscription service with an app for people that send lots of large files.



    • admin on January 14, 2011 at 7:58 pm

      Lee, thanks for the reference! AttachMore also looks like a good alternative. Thanks for your valuable contribution. Ugur



  2. Manish M. Shah on January 14, 2011 at 8:23 pm

    Another favorite option is File Apartment (http://www.fileapartment.com). Easy to use, fast, no software to download or registration, up to 1 GB, free option, safe, and secure.



    • admin on January 14, 2011 at 8:44 pm

      Manish, thanks! This also an interesting concept — they charge you not only by the file size but the length of time you keep it uploaded as well. Basically they are charging you for the disk space PLUS time you keep your files online, correct? Thanks for your contribution. Ugur



  3. safmon on March 31, 2011 at 4:31 am

    Why not use popular once-click hosters like rapidshare.com? Rapidshare is my favorite, mainly because it allows for max bandwith on the downloader’s side. If you really want a fast service, there’s no way around Rapidshare.
    Dropbox is ok, but it’s just not up to speed for me.



    • admin on March 31, 2011 at 9:38 am

      Safmon, thanks for the feedback. I’ll certainly look into Rapidshare. Ugur