How do I compress files to send via email please?

[oceanauk]

I want to send mp3's to friends and can't because the files are so big - can I compress them somehow?  Many thanks!

[adydb]

There are several conversion methods...

Winzip, rar etc....Your best best is to google it and download an evaluation copy. MP3's though will not be reduced by much at all, if it's still too big your best bet is to lower the bitrate it's saved as.

[stevie21]

True, mp3 is *already* a compressed file so there's really not much you can do with them apart from edit them to make the bitrate lower. Perhaps even (if it's a voice recording) make it mono instead of stereo but you'll need audio editing software for this.

Is it music and how big are the files?

[Hammer]

Burn em on CD and stick em in the post.

[Chapel]

Careful though - it may be a tad illegal...

[oceanauk]

Thanks everyone - think I'll stick to Hammer's idea!!! LOL! Is it really illegal though?? It is just a couple of chill out tunes off an old cd I have that is now deleted!

[fo3nix]

yes, it's illegal.

suggestion: get a decent email account that'll let you send larger files. http://www.gmail.com

[alunrw]

You could upload it to a file storage site and e-mail the link for your friend to download - heres a decent one that allows you to store up to 60mb http://savefile.com/

[Layla0919]

Actually, I have another solution for you:
There is a free tool named Jihosoft Big File Sender which I found on Google. I tried, it does work. It is designed to split large files into specified size and then rejoin them together,which makes transferring large files via email more easier. I split a 100MB .zip file into 4 pieces, and then send them via gmail one by one. Finally use big file sender merge the spitted files together to create the original file.
I don't know if it works for sending bigger size as they declaimed, you guys can give it a try.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DDsMLt_2hU