If you use the SugarSync file synchronization and backup service and Microsoft Outlook, you'll want to download this free add-in--and do it sooner, rather than later. SugarSync for Outlook takes care of several nagging problems with the email client. The most notable is one that affects almost all email users: the problem of not being able to send large file attachments because email providers block them. Email providers block the sending or receiving of very large files because it clogs up their servers and uses up bandwidth. If your boss is in the habit of emailing PowerPoint decks, this spells trouble.

SugarSync for Outlook solves the problem neatly. You may already be familiar with Sharpcast's SugarSync; if not, you'll still find it easy to pick up the way SugarSync for Outlook works. This add-in installs directly inside Outlook. When it's time to send a large attachment, send it as you would normally. Instead of sending the file itself, though, SugarSync sends a link to the file, which it backs up onto a SugarSync server. When the recipient gets your email, he or she clicks on the attachment, and the attachment is downloaded from the server. It's that simple.

SugarSync for Outlook lets you see how many times a file you've sent as a link has been downloaded, and if you decide you no longer want the file to be available to those to whom you've sent email, you can disable the link. You can even send a link to a file from a different computer, as long as it's one connected to your SugarSync account.

I found that Outlook sometimes took a performance hit from using the SugarSync for Outlook add-in. It wasn't so much as to make it unusable, just noticeable. But it's a small price to pay for such a useful tool.

There are other workarounds for the too-large-attachment problem, such as using the YouSendIt service. But SugarSync is superior, because it integrates directly into Outlook and adds extra features, such as download tracking and the ability to send links to files that live on other computers.

--Preston Gralla