How to get the most out of Google Mail. Learn the basics.
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Gmail Basics
Getting the Basics Gmail Environment You will notice the Gmail
environment looks pretty similar a traditional email account. There
are a few unique features that simplify its use. You can choose to
view the environment in icons or text. Conversation view Gmail
groups emails and the replies together in your inbox so you can
always see the entire conversation. Related messages are stacked
neatly on top of each other. Labels instead of folders Labels do
the work of folders with an extra bonus: a conversation can have
several labels, so youre not forced to choose just one particular
folder. Archive instead of delete You should never have to delete
an email. With the archive feature, you get the messages out of
your inbox and into All Mail. The mail will no longer clutter your
inbox, but remains searchable in the case you need to reference it
in the future. Chat and Video chat No need to use another chat
program when its built right in. Use your contact list to chat live
with colleagues or through video if you have access to a
webcam.
Search labels/folders Chat via text or video with your contacts
Organize emails with labels Compose a new email Navigate to other
Google Apps New email will appear in your inbox Unread emails
appear in bold Change Settings Inbox tabs organize your inbox with
up to five different categories Turn your inbox tabs off with the +
Mail Boxes
Buttons in Your Gmail Toolbar Some buttons, like Archive, Spam,
and Labels, are collapsed until you need them. This means that
theyll only show up if youve selected or opened a message. Heres a
guide to the button icons If youd rather have buttons with text
instead of the icons, go to settings and in the Button labels
section, choose Text and then Save Changes.
Understanding Gmail Icons The Star icon is a great way to label
important emails that you need to come back to. Star any email and
it will automatically move into your primary inbox tab. Change this
setting by configuring your inbox.
Your Gmail Boxes Inbox: a display of your recent emails. The
unread messages appear in bold and the most recent will be at the
top. Your messages are automatically categorized into inbox tabs.
Starred: if you receive a message that you want to mark as
important, click and change the star to yellow. Sent Mail: messages
you have sent will appear here. Chats: All chats that you have
taken part in will be archived here. Drafts: if you start an email,
but dont send it, Gmail will store it here. All Mail: your archive,
a storage place for all the mail youve ever sent or received but
have not deleted (no spam). Spam: when an email looks suspicious to
Google, it will put it here. The more spam you mark, the better
Google will get at weeding it out. Trash: messages you delete will
be moved here. It will be stored for 30 days before being
permanently deleted.
Meet Your New Inbox
Inbox Tabs If you prefer to see all your messages in one list,
simply hide the tab and the messages will automatically appear in
your primary inbox Configure the inbox change settings and tabs by
clicking on the settings button
Pull addresses from your Contacts List Format using familiar
word processing tools Add attachments Select the + to get icons to
insert pictures, Drive files, links, emoticons, and Calendar
invitations Composing Email When composing a new email a new
message window will pop up on top of your inbox.
Viewing Attachments Messages that contain attachments will show
the paper clip icon Choose to view or download the attachment
Viewing Conversations When you open a message in a
conversation, all the messages will be stacked neatly on top of
each other To see all the messages in a conversation, just click
the Expand all button Email messages that involve any replies are
collected into a conversation for easy tracking of the
conversation.
Reply To and Forward Messages If there are multiple recipients
of the message, make sure NOT to reply to all unless that is your
intention You can change the default reply behavior to just one
person or to all in the settings When forwarding a message you can
select forward at the bottom of the message or from message menu To
forward an entire conversation, select that option from the more
menu To reply, just click in the box below the message and type
away or choose reply from the message menu
Organizing Your Mail With Labels Create new labels, manage
labels, label a selected message with the tag menu Move messages
into one or more labels for easy locating with the move to menu
Organize your labels by clicking to left of a label to add color,
rename, hide, or delete
Apply Your Label From Your Inbox When viewing the inbox, select
the checkbox next messages to be labeled Click the Labels button
and select the label you want or choose to create a new label Click
the Move To button and select the label you want to move the
messages to or create a new label
Starred Messages To choose more star options go to settings and
find the Star section to drag stars from not in use to in use Use
the keyboard shortcut of a simple s to star messages
Finding Starred Messages To see all starred messages, click
Starred mail box on the left side To search for a particular kind
of starred message use the search box and search using has with the
stars color and the name will appear to be chosen
If youre positive you wont need a message again, use the Delete
button to send it to the trash. All deleted messages are removed
permanently after 30 days. Deleting unimportant mail is a great way
to free up some of your storage, but with Gmails free storage, you
can probably keep those messages, too! Archiving mail moves
messages out of your inbox and into your All Mail box for
safekeeping. You wont be bothered with extra messages cluttering
your inbox, but youll still be able find a message if you need it
six years from now! Its as though its deleted, but still can be
found if needed for reference in the future. Archiving Your
Mail
How to Archive Your Mail and Find it Again Select the message
in your inbox and then select the archive button Select the All
Mail box from the left Once in the All Mail box, search for the
message in the search box Search using contacts, tags, and
keywords
ChatInstant Messaging Choose a contact from the chat section on
the left. A chat window will pop up on top of your inbox A green
dot: the contact is online An orange dot: the contact is idle A
gray dot: the contact is offline Dots next to the contact mean they
can text chat only. The video camera icon means they are set up to
video chat All text chat conversations are archived in the Chat box
and accessible from the left menu
Change the general look and feel of your environment Setup
other email accounts to work with Gmail Manage your labels Change
your Inbox Tabs and Categories Set filters to determine what to do
with incoming email Change your chat options Turn Web Clips
(sponsored links above your inbox) on or off Add fun and function
with Labs gadgets Enable offline options to see messages without
Internet connection Personalize your environment with themes
Changing Your Settings Tip: Make 1 or 2 changes and test when
playing with your settings. If you dont know what an option isDONT
CHANGE IT!
Filters allow you to manage the flow of incoming messages.
Using filters, you can automatically label, archive, delete, star,
or forward your mail, even keep it out of Spam. Using FiltersAs
Rules for Your Inbox Click the down arrow in your search box A
window will appear that allows you to specify your search criteria
Click Create filter with this search at the bottom of the
search
A new window will appear and allow you t o choose the actions
you want the filter to take. When finished choosing actions, click
the Create filter button Customizing Your Filters Use a particular
message to create a filter by selecting the message Click the More
button and then Filter messages like these To edit or delete
existing filters go to Settings and click the Filters tab
Contacts From the Mail screen select the red arrow and select
Contacts from the list Click the New Contact button to add a new
contact Fill out the information and save when complete Add your
new contact to a group for easy group messages
Organizing Your Contacts Click My Contacts and then select the
contacts you want to group together Click the Group Button and then
choose a group to add the contacts to or create a new group Compose
a message by selecting a contact and then the Compose button Delete
contacts by clicking the More button Manage groups by selecting the
group from the left and then add or delete contacts as needed
Review Gmail with overview videos or participate in an
interactive tour Become an expert with self-paced training Learn
some Gmail tips and tricks Quicken up your Gmail experience with
keyboard shortcuts Find these tutorials and videos at:
http://learn.googleapps.com/gmail Need More Practice? Want to
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