[hs1125]

All I want to do is download and save a "zip" file either through e-mail or direct download to my blackberry. I don't need this file for my blackberry I just want to save it to my 8830 and transfer to my laptop then its useable for me. Whats inside the attachment is something that the 8830 can't open because its an unsupported file format

[neilwick]

You can do it, but you have to download it from the web browser. Attachments cannot be downloaded from the email application, at least not without some extra software.

If your email account is accessible from a web interface, you may be able to download the file from there, but those kind of pages are not usually made for handheld devices and that may be somewhat difficult.

The easiest way to do it is to get the sender to send it by a service like yousendit.com (free for the file size the BlackBerry can deal with). The file sits on their server for 7 days and they email you a link to a page where you can download it and save it.

Zip files are highly recommended (a) because this will minimize the amount you are transferring and (b) because the BlackBerry will not attempt to display it or, in the case of a picture, resize it for your screen.

One more thing: there is a limit on the size of a single "entity" or object that can be requested from a web page. In the case of BES, your company's server is initially installed with a 128K limit, but this can be changed to as much as 1024K (1 MB). I assume that for BIS customers that the limit is set by RIM, but it might be different for different carriers. In my case (and in the case of someone else whose Web message I saw) the limit is somewhere around or just below 500K. 429K is okay, 558K is not. If the file is too large, you will get a message: "HTTP Error 413: Request Entity Too Large".

Neil

[alanh#CB]

I have a similar question. I don't have a Blackberry yet, and need help deciding if I can use one or not. I need to retrive large PDF files while I am on the road (sometimes about 7 megs or so). I then need to get the file to my laptop to print (I need a big laser printer to print the docs and it seems it will be easier to use existing technology rather than trying to Bluetooth it over there).

Will I be able to do this with the regular Blackberry plan from AT&T, or do I need to give up on the idea of doing it on the cheap and go for the Blackberry tethered plan where I can just get to the Internet from the laptop?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Alan H
Newark, DE

[Jake_85]

Introducing Ziplorer: Pack and Unpack Zip Files Directly on your BlackBerry! | CrackBerry.com

[neilwick]

I need to retrive large PDF files while I am on the road (sometimes about 7 megs or so). ...

At the moment, there is no practical way to do this on the BlackBerry itself. PDF email attachments are normally served out in bitmaps scaled to fit the BlackBerry screen. The only way to stop this behaviour is to put the PDF in a ZIP file, but I think the server will still unzip it. If you put it on a website, you can download the ZIP, but you'll be limited to half a meg.

I think the tethered modem route is the olny way to go. The on-device plan is cheaper for a reason. They don't want you to routinely download such massive files.

[sunkast]

You may be better to just get a EVDO card for your laptop if you use it often enough. 7mb is a lot of data to download with a mobile phone.