Be courteous with your attachments

Submitted by Adam on February 16, 2006 - 5:55pm.

The ability to send attachments via email is great. You can attach an important work form to your employees or just a silly picture to a friend.

If you enjoy sending attachments, here are a few things to keep in mind.

1.      Not everyone has the same programs that you do. If you are sending a spreadsheet document from Microsoft Excel or Quattro Pro, save the file as a .csv (comma separated value) instead of the default format. If you are using Microsoft Word, Works or Word Perfect, save your file as a .rtf (rich text format) file. These formats can be read by any computer. Microsoft PowerPoint is also a common format for email attachments and very few home computers actually have the program on their computer.

2.      Resize your photos. There are still many people on dial-up Intertnet service. Keep in mind that a single digital photo from your digital camera can take 20 minutes or longer to download on a dial-up line. You can resize your digital photos in a number of ways, search our site for more tips on this.

3.      Don’t forward non-business emails. Studies show that by the year 2012 the Internet will be full of emails that people have thrown away without reading. Most of these emails are jokes, political commentaries, religious stories, heart-warming tales, chain letters and funny photos that have been forwarded from one user to another.

Be courteous when sending emails, attachments and forwards. Many people only have a few minutes to read their email and don’t want to waste it sorting out the important business and family news from the stuff that is not important.

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