Get Organized in Gmail
Gina Trapani
Desktop e-mail programs like Apple Mail and Microsoft Entourage pack a lot of
power, but if you want the flexibility to quickly check your e-mail from any
computer in the world, an online e-mail service is the way to go. One of the
best is Google's free e-mail service, Gmail. Its generous storage allocation,
killer spam filter, and the ability to group related messages into
conversations are just some of its strengths. But are you getting the most out
of this mature Web application? Look under Gmail's hood and you'll find lots of
advanced features that can help you manage your email smarter and faster.
Use labels
Gmail doesn't use conventional folders to file e-mail messages. Instead, it
offers labels. These tags function like folders, but with one fabulous
difference: a single message can have multiple labels, so there's no limit to
how many places you can "file" your messages. To assign a label to a selected
message, click on the More Actions drop-down menu. Under Apply Label, choose
the desired label. You can create new labels by clicking on Settings and
selecting the Labels tab. You can even color code your labels for easy
identification in lists of messages. From the Labels box on the left side of
your screen, click on the clear box the right of a label's name and select a
color from the resulting pop-up menu.
Use the Labels box to quickly see messages assigned to each label. Add a color
to the label to make labeled messages easier to spot in a list.
Archive it
Don't let e-mail just sit in your Inbox. Whisk away e-mail messages you don't
need staring at you any more by archiving them. Select the message and click on
the Archive button. This moves it into the All Mail list. Archiving your e-mail
de-clutters your inbox but still keeps the message in your Gmail account for
future reference.
Filter it
Just as with Mail and Entourage, you can have Gmail automatically process
incoming messages based on specific characteristics. For instance, you can
label incoming messages from a mailing list as Read Later, automatically
forward e-mail from your spouse to your cell phone, or star messages from the
boss. In Gmail's Settings screen, click on Filters to set the search criteria,
preview the results, and configure what action Gmail should take. Or you can
jumpstart the process by first opening an example of the type of message you
want to filter, clicking on the Reply drop-down menu in the message's
right-hand corner, and then selecting Filter Messages Like This.
Search smart
Need to quickly call up a message from your enormous e-mail archive? Spend a
little time mastering Gmail's search tool. Gmail combines the power of Google's
search prowess with e-mail specific operators to quickly pinpoint the message
you need. For example, to find messages from Jim that discuss his favorite
movies, type from:Jim subject:movie into the search box. Or use from:"John
Smith" has:attachment to locate that PDF map John sent a while back. (The
quotation marks indicate that a group of words must appear next to one
another.) You can use these tricks to build complex searches. To track down
messages from anyone at Example.com except Jill, for example, type
from:example.com AND -from:[EMAIL PROTECTED] For more ideas, take a look at
Gmail's full list of search operators.
Spot personal correspondence
Want to quickly see which messages were intended for your eyes only? Gmail's
Personal Level indicators will show you when an e-mail was sent only to you, as
opposed to a large group. To turn it on, open your General settings and select
Show Indicators. From now on, messages sent to your address only will display a
double arrow (>>) next to the subject line; messages sent to your address and
others get a single arrow (>). Messages not set to your specific address (such
as mailing list messages) get no arrow at all.
Mute conversations
Tired of being distracted by an annoying e-mail thread that just won't die?
When chatty co-workers or talkative mailing-list members extend a conversation
beyond its usefulness, try "muting" the conversation. With one of the messages
selected, press the M key, which tells Gmail to automatically archive new
messages in the conversation as they arrive. (In other words, they don't show
up in your inbox.) To later view all the conversations you've muted, enter
is:muted in the search bar. To unmute a conversation, select it, and from the
More Actions drop-down, choose Move To Inbox.
Get IMAP access
While most Web-based e-mail services can download your messages to a desktop
client via POP, Gmail goes a step further by offering support for IMAP access,
which provides two-way syncing between your client and Gmail. That means that
messages you read, write, or label on your iPhone or in Mail get synced back to
Gmail-and every other IMAP client you're using-so you always have access to the
most current state of your inbox. Gmail even maps folders in your IMAP client
to labels in the Web application. For example, when you place a message in a
folder in Mail, Gmail assigns a label with the same name to the message.
Import mail from other accounts
If you want to turn Gmail into a single, universal inbox for non-Gmail e-mail
accounts, you can. The Mail Fetcher feature can download messages from up to
five accounts via POP. To set it up, click on the Settings link and go to the
Accounts area. In the Get Mail From Other Accounts section, click on Add
Another Mail account and follow the prompts to enter your AOL, EarthLink, or
any other POP-enabled email account.
If you need to respond to a message from one of those other accounts and don't
want it to look like it came from your Gmail address, no problem. Return to
your Account settings and add the appropriate e-mail address in the Send Mail
As section. Then turn on the Reply From The Same Address The Message Was Sent
To option.
Gmail lets you check e-mail from other accounts you own.
Use keyboard shortcuts
Want to navigate Gmail's Web interface without touching the mouse? Use Gmail's
built-in keyboard shortcuts. First, make sure they're enabled: in Settings, on
the General tab, select the Keyboard Shortcuts On option. Some shortcuts are
obvious and easy to remember: for example, press the R key to respond to a
message, press Z to undo an action, or press G and then I to go to the Inbox.
Others will take some practice to memorize. To get a quick reference to Gmail's
keyboard shortcuts, press the question mark (?) for help.
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