Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers - Martin Evening [303]
As long as you are aware of the restrictions of using email, and the possible limitations of the recipient's server, email can be an effective way to transfer smallish documents. Lots of people use email this way to share photographs and the advanced email programs are also capable of displaying image file attachments within the body text area. Just remember, this is by no means a foolproof way to send all images. If you place too much faith in email you will soon come unstuck.
Uploading to a server
With email you are sending a message that has the image or images embedded in it. Another alternative is to upload the image file to a server. You can then send an email that contains a clickable link that launches the recipient's web browser and takes them directly to a page from where they can view the file or download it directly. The advantage of this is that the email you send is small since it only contains a text link to the server. There is also less risk of such emails being rejected and if the person you are sending the email to needs to share the image link with someone else, they only have to forward the message – they don't have to forward the entire image attachment all over again. First you need to know how to upload to a server. If you connect to the Internet using a subscription service, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) will most likely have provided you with a limited amount of server space that you can use to host your own website and upload files to. If you don't have a subscription service or your ISP doesn't provide an adequate amount of server space, you can always rent space from a company that provides a web hosting service on a dedicated server.
Macintosh iDisk
Another option available to Macintosh users is iDisk, which is part of the now superseded Mac.com package, renamed MobileMe. iDisk is an online server space that you can use for off-site backup storage or as a space to place publicly accessible files and folders. If you want slightly more control, with the added benefit of being able to use space that any of your computers can reach, then there is ‘DropBox’ which offers 2 GB of free server space, and your access can be via the menubar (www.dropbox.com).
Yousendit.com
In the last few years, www.yousendit.com™ has become extremely popular as an FTP replacement file delivery service. All you have to do is go to the above website address, create a new user account and use this website to upload files that can be sent to recipients. The service is free for single file transfers up to 100 MB.
FTP software
Once you have you server space sorted out you'll need a dedicated FTP program to upload and manage the files held on the server. Figure 14.1 shows how I would normally go about making an FTP connection to a server using the Fetch™ program for Macintosh OS X (www.fetchsoftworks.com). If you are working on a PC, try using WS_FTP Pro www.ipswitch.com or Flash FXP™www.fl ashfxp.com. All FTP software is more or less the same. To establish a connection you need to provide a link address to connect to the server. Next, you need to enter your user ID and finally your password. If you are familiar with the steps required to configure your email account, you should already have the username and password information to hand. You may need to enter a subdirectory folder as well, but if you have trouble configuring the connection, speak to your ISP. They are the best people to help you in these instances.
Figure 14.1 This shows the Fetch™ 5.5.3 FTP software interface with the log-in window on the left and a server directory view on the right.
To avoid having to re-enter the information each time you connect, it should be possible to save this information (along with the password if you wish) as a shortcut so that logging on to the server is almost as easy as opening