Keep cross-border business moving when email won't take the attachment.

It's late evening where you are but already morning in Guangzhou, and your supplier is waiting on the final spec pack before the production line starts at nine. At 500MB, it's too big for email, which has just bounced it back.

WeChat can take it from here. It starts with how much it can carry.

What WeChat Can Handle

On desktop WeChat, you can send a single file of up to 1GB, so the spec pack goes through in one piece, with no splitting or compressing. From your phone, it's best to keep the file under 100MB.

PDFs, documents, spreadsheets, presentation decks, ZIP files, images and videos all work. Send photos and videos as files rather than from your album, and they arrive at full resolution. As with anything shared on WeChat, files need to stay within the community guidelines.

If the wrong version goes out, PDFs and other documents can be recalled within three hours, while photos and videos can be recalled within two minutes. Long-press the file, tap Recall and send the right one.

Pick the Route That Fits the Moment

If your supplier needs a signed purchase order while you're away from your desk, send it from your phone. Open the chat, tap + > File and select the document.

For the spec pack on your laptop, switch to desktop WeChat. Drag the file straight into the chat window, along with any drawings or product renders that go with it. File Transfer, WeChat’s private chat with yourself, allows you to move files between your phone and laptop.

Your team, the packaging supplier and the printer may all need the same pack. Long-press it in the chat and tap Favorite. From then on, you can send it from any chat by tapping + > Favorites.

When It Lands, Things Move

Back in Guangzhou, the spec appears in the chat. Your supplier can preview or download it directly on their phone, even from the factory floor. Once the file is open, the three dots in the top-right corner offer more options, such as opening it in another app or adding it to Favorites.

Files that haven't been downloaded expire after 14 days, so download anything important promptly.

After that, if someone later asks which version was agreed on, open the chat, tap the three dots at the top right > Search Chat History > Files.

More Than A File

Once the spec arrives, the line starts, samples are signed off, and the first shipments leave on time. The deal stays on schedule.

So the next time your email says no, you'll know WeChat can take it from there.

How to Send a 500MB File Fast, on WeChat