Aside from directly using Thunderbird Send to upload and share files, Thunderbird also has built-in features to utilize Send. One such feature is dragging and dropping a large file into your email message to upload and create a link to that file (rather than attaching the file to the email itself).
Filelinks in Thunderbird
Many email servers and clients do not accept messages with large files attached - this is outside Thunderbird’s control. File size restrictions vary depending what mail service someone uses.
Thunderbird’s Filelink feature eliminates this problem by allowing you to upload large files directly to our servers and send a link to that file instead. The recipient then clicks the link to download it.
Using Filelink With Thunderbird Send for the First Time
- Drag and drop a file over 5mb into an email you are composing in Thunderbird.
- You will see a bar at the bottom of Thunderbird that says "This is a large file. It might be better to use Filelink instead." Press "Link."
- If you have not already created your Thunderbird Send encryption key, Thunderbird will then walk you through the setup and you will press the "Download and Continue" button to save your key. If you already had your key set up, you will be shown how much space you have left in your Thunderbird Send account storage. Close that window.
- You can now drag and drop the file into your email message again to start the process over.
- Thunderbird will give you the ”This is a large file. It might be better to use Filelink instead” message once more. Press “Link” again, and it will immediately start uploading to our servers this time.
- When the upload is complete, Thunderbird will automatically add a section in the message with a link to the file. Finish your message and send it!
- When your recipient receives the message, they will see the link in your email - clicking it will take them to a page where they can download the attachment.
Automatic From Now On
Now that you're set Thunderbird up to use the Filelink feature, whenever you drag and drop a file over 5mb into a message, you will only need to follow steps 4 through 7 above.
For an idea of what your recipient sees on their side after you send them a file, click here!