Before sending a file to someone, you should go through this checklist:

1. Know how big your file is.

   File attachments do not work reliably for most people unless they are
   under 1MB in size. They may clog up somebody's email box or cause the
   recipients email program to "time-out" when downloading their email.

2. Know what file attachment formats your recipient is capable of.

   There are several formats: MIME, BinHex, UUEncode. MIME (Multipurpose
   Internet Mail Extensions) has become the universal standard. It uses 
   what is termed, "Base64 encoding." It is recommended that you use this
   when sending to another machine. All of Microsoft's email products 
   such as Internet Mail, Exchange, Windows Messaging, Outlook, and 
   Outlook Express support the MIME standard. So does Qualcomm's Eudora 
   and Eudora Light products and Netscape's Netscape Mail and Messenger 
   Inbox programs.

   On Mac's, BinHex is one of the most common formats (often referred to
   as .hqx when in file format). There are also Apple Double and Apple
   Single (these are MIME flavors). You can use either when sending to
   another Mac, but it's best to use Apple Double when sending files to
   a PC, because this will split the file in two parts: data fork and
   resource fork - PC's don't have resource forks so they can trash the
   resource fork.

   UUencode is used mainly on UNIX and PC's that don't have MIME. Eudora
   Pro support this, but Eudora Light doesn't. If your mailer doesn't
   support this, you will need to either have the sender resend the file
   in another format (like MIME) or download a utility similar to a .zip
   extractor, which will convert the UUencoded file for you. Such a
   utility can be downloaded from www.shareware.com.

Below are screen shots of some of the more popular email clients available
and their file attachment options:

Qualcomm Eudora Light/Pro
(Tools Menu/Options/Attachments):

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Microsoft Internet Mail
(Mail Menu/Options/Plain Text Settings):

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Netscape Mail 3.0x
(Options Menu/Mail & News Preferences/Composition):

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Netscape Communicator Messenger Inbox
(Edit Menu/Preferences/Mail & Groups/Messages/More Options):

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Microsoft Exchange, Windows Messaging, and Outlook
(Tools Menu/Options/Internet E-Mail):

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