Gmail is the email provider of choice for the majority of online users including business professionals; but many users may not be familiar with Gmail’s hidden features. ROSE ITSL has compiled the following list of some top hidden features in Gmail that you may not have come across yet.
Attachments
You know that feeling of sending an email and writing out “Please see attached”… and then realizing you pressed send before attaching it? Well, with Gmail that feeling is a thing of the past.
Gmail’s new “attached” keyword recognition feature provides you with a pop-up reminder that there are no files currently attached to your e-mail. The pop-up reads as follows:
All you have to do is press Cancel and you’ve avoided that embarrassing follow-up email (‘Sorry, forgot to attach it. Here it is…’).
Stars
Gmail now has a starring system, that will ensure you don’t lose sight of your most important emails and can come back to them in future. The standard star is yellow – but you can customize your selection of stars, if so desired.
To do so, go to the Gear box in the top right-hand corner > Settings > Stars. You can now add in different coloured stars by simply dragging them between the “In use” or “Not in use” list or make a selection from one of Gmail’s Preset options.
When you return to your Inbox and star a message, the stars will rotate in the order you’ve chosen when you click successively.
If you want to search for messages that are red-starred, go to the search bar and type in: has:red-star. This will bring up any emails with red stars on them.
Multiple E-mail Addresses
If you want to have multiple versions of your email address, you can just add in a full stop to your email address. Google will send the same emails to samjones@gmail.com to sam.jones@gmail.com.
If Sam wanted even more aliases, he could be s.amjones@gmail.com or any other variation.
Handy tip if you want to use multiple email alises to sign up to different web services or newsletters.
To-do Lists
Why use Gmail just as a mail service when you can take it one step further and use it as a to-do list.
All you have to do is click on Gmail > Tasks and a small task bar will pop up at the bottom. Just fill in your to-do list and add in a due date if you want Gmail to remind you about it.
When you’re done, tick the box in the corner to get a satisfactory line strike through your task.
Default Keyboard Shortcuts
The most useful shortcuts are listed below. Use regularly to save time. For a complete list of these default Gmail keyboard shortcuts just press ? whilst on your Gmail inbox and a message box will pop-up. These navigational and formatting shortcuts are always turned on and all work whether or not you’ve enabled the keyboard shortcuts setting.
Ctrl + Enter – Send message
Ctrl + . – Advance to the Next window
Ctrl + , – Go to the Previous window
Ctrl + Shift + c – Add Cc recipients
Ctrl + Shift + b – Add Bcc recipients
Advanced Keyboard Shortcuts
Gmail caters to the needs of the basic user – but it also caters to those advanced users who want personalized keyboard shortcuts.
Before you can use these keyboard shortcuts, you’ll need to enable them in your settings. To do so, go to the Gear box in the top right-hand corner > Settings > Keyboard Shortcuts > Keyboard shortcuts on > Save changes.
Some of the top advanced keyboard shortcuts are as follows:
c – Compose a new message
d – Compose a message in a new tab
/ – Puts a cursor in the search box
r – Reply
# – Moves a conversation to Bin
Pressing ? whilst in your Gmail Inbox would quickly display the complete listing for you as well.
Switching Between Accounts
For those of you who are such big fans of Gmail that you have two accounts – fear not. You can access both on the same browser at the same time.
All you have to do is click on your email address or profile picture in the top right-hand corner, and select Add account. This will then take you to a separate tab where you can log into your other Google account.
If you use Google Chrome, your account information would be saved as a permanent option for you to easily swap between – but if you use any other browser you [may] have to add in the email address each time.