Gmail is one of the most successful services signed by Google, since practically everyone uses an email account when signing up for a new Google account (on the smartphone, on YouTube etc.). Before Gmail, online email services were inconvenient to use, very limited, and required a desktop client like Microsoft Outlook to be able to work decently. Gmail is instead a real web-based e-mail client, powerful and so full of features that it would need a manual with hundreds of pages! Gmail remains the most popular online service for e-mail, even if not everyone fully exploits its power: to be able to exploit it properly we will show you in this article the best features that distinguish it from the competition. Using Gmail email will never be the same after reading this guide!
READ ALSO -> Synchronize the address book between Gmail and Outlook and import contacts
If we don't have a Gmail account yet, we can fix it by opening a Google Account here -> New Google Account .
To use Gmail from smartphone or tablet we can download the specific app from here -> Gmail ( Android ) and Gmail ( iPhone ).
1) Research
Since Gmail is a Google service, it is obvious that the search for emails can be better than in any other program or web mail service. If desired, there would also be no need to sort my emails into folders, since it is possible to search for them precisely and quickly.
The important thing is to know the most useful Gmail operators for the advanced search of Mail and attachments .
For example we can search all emails by date, including the emails received on that day or in the previous or following days: for example we can type in the search bar " after: 2018/12/25 " to search all the emails received after Christmas, instead " before: 2018/12/25 " to search for emails received before Christmas. If, on the other hand, we have unread messages for a long time but "disappeared" among the countless subsequent messages, we can always open the All messages menu (bar on the left side) and type in the search bar " is: unread ", so as to view all unread emails since we have the active Gmail account.
2) How to use filters
With Gmail we can use filters to automate the management of received messages based on the sender, based on the subject, based on the topic etc. Each email can be transformed into a filter by pressing on the three dots next to the email date and time and using the Filter messages of this type item . Alternatively we can create a filter on the fly by clicking at the top on the triangle on the right of the search bar and start filling in the various fields.
In addition to the Search button, we can also use the Create filter button, so that we can filter all the resulting emails in an excellent way. The filter can also be retroactive, that is, valid for organizing emails already received.
READ ALSO: Order the inbox with filters and aliases in Gmail to manage the emails received
3) How to use labels
Instead of using filters, you can use labels as a sort of binder to organize your mail.
Gmail already automatically applies the right labels according to its algorithms (by inserting Faceboook messages in Social for example or Amazon shipments in Updates ), but we can improve the management of labels and create new ones by clicking on the symbol in the form of gear and going to the Settings menu -> Labels .
If instead we want to change a label assigned to an email already received, just open it and click on the Label button at the top.
4) Use Gmail with other email accounts
Gmail makes it very easy to import other email accounts, so that you can receive messages from other addresses and also send emails using those addresses. To add email accounts just click on the gear symbol and go to Settings -> Account and import, then click Add another email address . Gmail uses IMAP and SMTP to be able to receive and send e-mail from other operators; many of these are self-configuring (just enter your email address and password), in other cases we will have to recover the access parameters for manual configuration.
To find out more, we recommend reading the article on how to import and manage other Email accounts in Gmail with multiple boxes
5) Cancel the sending of an email
As seen in another article, you can activate the function to cancel the sending of an email sent by mistake, so that you can immediately remedy any fool or misunderstandings. In this way, after pressing the Send email button, we will still have a few seconds to cancel it in case we were wrong. Normally, the time for rethinking is limited to 5 seconds, but if we want to increase the time for canceling an email we can change it in the Settings menu -> General, by changing the item in Cancel sending -> Cancellation period of the send .
We can set up to a maximum of 30 seconds, besides it is not allowed (also in order not to slow down the sending of the email to the Gmail servers too much).
6) Activate "Reply all" by default
When a new group message arrives in Gmail we can make sure that, when you click on Reply, the email is addressed to all the addresses marked in the recipient field and not just to the sender. This option can be activated in Settings -> General and by activating the check mark on the Reply to all item, present in the Default response behavior .
7) How to send automatic replies when we are absent
If we are absent for an extended period of time and we want anyone who writes us via email to know that we cannot be found, we can set the automatic responder to Gmail, which will immediately send a personalized message to all the senders who will contact us. To configure it, we always click the gear button, then go to Settings -> General .
Scroll down the page until you reach the section Auto responder .
We set a start date and an end date (optional) insert a short text in Subject and our reasons or excuses for the absence or lack of response, so as to notify in time anyone who decides to reply to us by email.
To avoid sending mail to newsletters or service messages, we can tick the Reply only to people included in my Contacts item, so that only trusted people automatically reply. At the end of the configuration, click on Activate auto responder and close Gmail completely: we are ready to leave for the holidays or for a long journey without too many thoughts!
8) Attachments in Google Drive
Gmail is integrated with the Google Drive cloud service, so the attachments received can always be saved on the Google cloud space in order to carry them with you on your PC or other devices.
This is really convenient to save and send even large files and to take advantage of the viewing and editing features of documents with Google Docs.
READ ALSO -> In Gmail attachments and received files open in preview and are saved in Google Drive
9) Reserved mode for confidential emails
As already explained, it is possible to send protected emails in Gmail with expiration and password.
Thanks to this feature, messages with confidential and sensitive information can be sent so that only the recipient can open them and also so that after reading that email the first time, it is then automatically deleted.
10) Use Gmail as a complete client
Gmail can be considered a real email client because of some peculiar features:
- You can access Gmail via browser or via app from anywhere, as long as it has a PC, smartphone or tablet with Internet access
- You can also open Gmail offline without an internet connection
- All Gmail emails sent and received can be downloaded to the PC
- Other email accounts can also be used within Gmail
- You can Snooze Email in Gmail to receive them again
- Spam emails can be blocked with a powerful filter that is managed by artificial intelligence in Gmail.
- You can archive Email in Gmail to reset your Inbox without deleting anything
- You can schedule the sending of emails to a future date in Gmail
So if we are looking for a way to replace Outlook in the management of emails, perhaps the time has come to use only Gmail for all our e-mail boxes, so that we always have at hand all the work messages or personal messages.
READ ALSO: Complete guide to Gmail to get started and become experts
