Attachment Manager Link Replacement for Email Gateway Limits
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Solution Overview
Problem
Message gateways often limit the size of attachments that can be sent via electronic messages, leading to delivery failures when the size exceeds these limits, and users may not be notified if the message is not delivered.
Innovation Solution
An attachment manager uploads attachments exceeding a predetermined size threshold to a shared location, replacing them with links within the message, ensuring recipients can access the content by automatically setting permissions and allowing for automatic download upon receipt.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If attachments are included directly in electronic messages, then recipients can access content immediately, but message delivery fails when attachment size exceeds gateway limits
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment is separated from the message into two distinct parts: the message itself (which passes gateway limits) and the attachment stored at a shared location (accessible via link). This segmentation allows the message to be delivered successfully while the attachment remains accessible to recipients.
Solution Approach 2:
A shared location serves as an intermediary between the sender and recipient for large attachments. Instead of embedding the attachment directly in the message, the system uses a shared storage location with a link that bridges the message and the attachment, enabling delivery without exceeding gateway limits.
2Reliability
If attachments are uploaded to shared location and replaced with links, then message size limits are respected and delivery succeeds, but recipients must access content through additional steps
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically performs the upload and link replacement process without requiring manual intervention from the sender. The attachment manager handles the entire process of uploading to shared location and generating links, making the system self-serving and reducing user effort despite the additional access step for recipients.
3Productivity
If attachment manager automatically processes attachments, then sender workload is reduced and delivery is ensured, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment manager performs preliminary processing before message sending, including size detection, automatic upload to shared location, and link generation. By completing these actions in advance, the system ensures delivery readiness without increasing real-time processing complexity during actual message transmission.
Data Source
AI summary
The size of attachments to an electronic message are examined before the message is sent to determine if the attachments exceed a size threshold. When the size of the attachments exceed the threshold, one or more of the attachments are uploaded to a shared location that is accessible to the recipients of the message. A link replaces each attachment that was uploaded to the shared location. Permissions are automatically set at the shared location such that each of the recipients of the message are able to access the uploaded attachment.