When a file you want to include in a Broadcast message or Notify is too large to upload, you can still share it using an alternative method. This article explains how to make large files available to your recipients.
Put Your File in a Secure Place to Share
First, you'll need to upload your file to Google Drive or a similar platform. I'll be using Google Drive as our example here, but you can use other platforms like Dropbox as well. Using Google Chrome, please open a new tab or window and click Google Apps in the upper right-hand corner of your window.
In your list of apps, please choose Drive.
Once Drive opens, please choose New.
Then, choose File upload.
From here, select the file you wish to upload and then click Open. The file will start to upload into Drive and will notify you when it's done.
Obtaining your Shareable Link
Once your file is uploaded, you can select the file with your mouse by clicking once and then right-click the selected file to get a list of options. From this list, select Get shareable link.
After clicking Get shareable link, you'll see a message at the bottom left of your window that says the link was copied to your clipboard, meaning your computer.
You may also see an additional pop-up under your file after clicking Get shareable link. Here, you can access your Sharing settings if you need to. Please be mindful of who can do what with this link. It will tell you this information above Sharing settings. You need it to say Anyone with the link can view. If it doesn't, please click Sharing settings and let's change that now.
Sharing Options
Once you've clicked on Sharing settings, a new window will pop up. Please click Advanced.
After clicking Advanced, a new window will appear. From here, click Change.
After clicking Change...choose the option listed as On - Anyone with the link and then ensure the Access is set to Can view and then hit Save.
Once you have saved, you can go back to your SchoolStatus tab or window and paste this link into the body of your message or broadcast with a right-click of your mouse and then selecting Paste or by using keyboard shortcuts like CTRL+V for Windows or Command+V for a Mac. If the link is extremely long and you'd like to shorten it for texting, click here to shorten your link. After you shorten the link, you can paste it into your message using the same steps above. and paste it into your message or broadcast.
Now, anyone you send that link to should be able to view it without any issues. Depending on if you're using your personal Google account or your district account, these options above may already be selected for you.