Technology Services

Exchanging Large Files

One of the stickiest problems we encounter is how to exchange large files. The easiest way to do this, and the one we see the most frequently is via e-mail. Attaching files to e-mails comes with a number of inherent problems: If you attach a file to an e-mail on the Larner College of Medicine system, a copy of the file is saved as part of your mailbox and counts against your mailbox quota. It will also count against the recipient's mailbox quota. A larger problem is that the recipient's mail server undoubtedly has a maximum e-mail attachment size. If your attachment exceeds that limit, it will be rejected by the recipient's mail server.

There are four scenarios for transferring files from the College of Medicine

Exchanging a file with someone else in your department

• All LCOM IS users should have access to the shared network (L:) drive. To share a file with another LCOM IS user in your department, simply copy/save it to L:\Groups\(Insert Department Folder Here) and inform the other user where you saved the file. They should be able to retrieve it with no problems.

Exchanging a file with a COM IS user who is NOT in your department

• To share a file with a user who is on LCOM IS but is not in your department, simply save it to either L:\Temp\Keep07Days or L:\Temp\Keep30Days and then notify the other person where you saved the file.
  
  Caveats: 
  
  
  • These folders are cleared out every 7 and 30 days respectively, so do not use them for long term storage. The process should be: You copy a file to one of those folders and then the other person copies it to another folder. 
  • Everyone on LCOM IS has access to these folders. DO NOT use these folders to exchange files that contain any information that you might deem sensitive. If you need to exchange sensitive information with another LCOM IS user on a regular basis, you should contact the helpdesk and we will discuss the creation of a special folder for this. If you will only have to exchange sensitive information with another LCOM IS user a time or two, you should follow the instructions for exchanging files with people outside of LCOM IS.

Exchanging a file with an FAHC user

• To share a file with a FAHC user, you can either:
  • Use the UVM File Transfer page or, 
  • Save it to either L:\Temp\Keep07Days or L:\Temp\Keep30Days and then notify the FAHC user where you saved the file. The FAHC user will have to map a drive to our shared folder. For assistance with mapping a drive, the FAHC user should call us at 6-7300. 
    
    Caveats: 
    
    
    • These folders are cleared out every 7 and 30 days respectively, so do not use them for long term storage. The process should be: You copy a file to one of those folders and then the other person copies it to another folder. 
    • Everyone on LCOM IS has access to these folders. DO NOT use these folders to exchange files that contain any information that you might deem sensitive. If you need to exchange sensitive information with another LCOM IS user on a regular basis, you should contact the helpdesk and we will discuss the creation of a special folder for this. If you will only have to exchange sensitive information with another LCOM IS user a time or two, you should follow the instructions for exchanging files with people outside of LCOM IS.

Exchanging a file with someone outside of LCOM IS and FAHC

• To transfer a large file to someone who is not using LCOM IS, you can use UVM Enterprise Technology Services' (ETS) browser based File Transfer service. This service allows you to exchange files of up to 750 megabytes without sending them directly via e-mail. Instead, files are saved on a server and a message is automatically generated with instructions on how to retrieve the file.
  
  Note: The "Recover File" option will not recover files from LCOM IS network drives. This will only recover files that have been submitted to the UVM File Transfer system. 
  
  Because this is a UVM ETS service, it requires that you know your UVM netID and password (If you are sending to a UVM address, you can use the "Send File To University of Vermont" without using your UVM netID and password. If you are sending to someone who doesn't have a uvm.edu address, you must use "Send File From University of Vermont" which does require this authentication). If you do not know your UVM netID and password: 
  
  
  1. Go to: https://www.uvm.edu/account/resetpasswd.php
     
     
  2. Fill in the identification information requested (you will need your UVM ID). Note: They ask for your birthdate as YYMMDD. If your password change is rejected, check the format of your birthdate and try again. 
     
     
  3. Enter a password. It is probably easiest to use your current LCOM IS password. 
     
     
  4. Click Reset My Password.
     
     

  
  If you know/once you have changed your Zoo password: 
  

  1. Go to: http://www.uvm.edu/filetransfer
     
     
  2. Click on Send File From University of Vermont.
     
     
  3. Enter your UVM netID and password and click OK.
     
     
  4. Enter the e-mail address of the person you want to receive the file in the Recipient e-mail address field.
     
     
  5. Click the Browse button.
     
     
  6. Browse to the location of the file you wish to transfer, click on the file and click the Open button.
     
     
  7. You may want to enter a description of the file. This is an optional field.
     
     
  8. Click the Begin Transfer button.

If you are exchanging a file with someone outside the Larner College of Medicine Information Systems, you should first give some consideration to the size of the file. There are usually some easy ways to reduce the size of a file.

Reducing Image File Sizes