Mail -> Why do .pdf files get bigger?

[Droid13]

Dear All,

I am running Mail on 10.4.11 and have noticed an issue when dealing with .pdf files. Every time I try to forward one it increases in size by almost 40% - files that start off as 10MB or so end up being nearly 14MB in size.

I do not use any custom settings and usually don't tick the "Send Windows-friendly attachments" option.

What's going on here? Is there anything I can do about it? Some recipients are unable to handle messages above 10MB, others are limited at 25MB and it is annoying to have to split files after thinking that you had got the files down to an acceptable size.

Thanks for your help!

 

[mkrishnan]

Do you mean that, when they re-save the pdf on their computer, the file on their desktop is bigger? Or do you mean that the e-mail grows in size more than you would expect?

E-mail uses a binary-to-text conversion system to encode and transmit binary files of all kinds -- photos, pdfs, documents, songs, whatever. This is a standard beyond OS X and Apple...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIME

The only thing you can really do about it is to put the file in some kind of online drop-box service or on a webserver, and then link to it in the e-mail instead of attaching it.

 

[Droid13]

What happens is something like this:

1. I attach a .pdf file to an email message. The file is 8.8MB in size.
2. The file says it is 9MB in size in my draft. I hit the send button.
3. The message bounces back saying it is over the 10MB limit of the recipient inbox.

I then find in the CC I sent myself that the .pdf has grown to something nearer 14MB. I find this strange, but maybe that is just how things are...

The only thing you can really do about it is to put the file in some kind of online drop-box service or on a webserver, and then link to it in the e-mail instead of attaching it.

If that is the best way around it for when files are pushing inbox restrictions, then so be it. Thanks for your help!

 

[mkrishnan]

If that is the best way around it for when files are pushing inbox restrictions, then so be it. Thanks for your help!

Sure -- no problem. What you're describing is exactly the MIME issue -- you've probably just never noticed it before, but it's always affected your e-mails with binary attachments.

Good luck!