The power of an online service like Gmail is not only in current advanced mail management features and in the fact that Google often adds new ones, but also in the so-called experimental features included in Gmail Labs . Gmail Labs collects those extra features that are still being tested and developed and that will be able to exit Labs to be integrated into Gmail or they can disappear if rejected by users.
Since some of these features, hidden and unknown to most, lead to even more possibilities to manage the mail received and sent using the Google Mail site, it is worth activating some of them.
Some lab functions are simple and are little more than new buttons, while others are more complex and require some configuration.
There is no risk in activating the hidden features of Gmail Labs which, in case they do not like them, can be easily deactivated at any time.
If then there were problems such as to prevent the correct use of Gmail (it seems to happen very rarely), Google points out that it is possible to start Gmail by deactivating all the Labs features by connecting to the address //mail.google.com/mail/u/ 0 / "> Activated " to activate one of the functions, remembering then to press the Save changes button at the bottom of the page.
Among the simplest Labs functions , which I recommend activating because they offer significant time savings in doing certain operations, there are:
- Sending in the background, useful for ensuring that a message will be sent sooner or later, even if there are connection problems.
- Button marks as already read .
- Cancel Enter to have the opportunity, to think again and to have a few seconds to withdraw the message after it has already been sent.
- Look at messages to read the contents of an email or conversation without opening it, quickly.
After activation, go to the Inbox and right-click on the messages to read them.
- Automatic advance, to go to the previous or next message if you delete an email (by default you return to the Inbox).
- Ability to insert images into the message, not therefore as attachments, but as images immediately visible to the recipient.
After activation, you will notice a button in the composition of the email with which to insert images that can also be dragged into the body of the message using the mouse.
- Default answers, to be used in combination with filters to automatically reply to similar messages (green as creating filters in GMail)
Other important functions of Gmail Labs, to be activated and already described in other articles of this blog are:
- Smart Labels to activate automatic filters in Gmail
- The very useful preview pane of Mail in Gmail
- Multiple inbox to manage other email accounts in Gmail
There are also Labs that make it easier to interact with other Google services.
- If you use Google Calendar, you can activate the Google Calendar gadget and you can then choose to replace the chat panel (for some useless) in the lower left with the list of upcoming events.
In the new pane there is also a Quick Add option so you can create events in the calendar, without the need to leave the mailbox.
- Users who use Google Docs have other possibilities of integration on Gmail and can enable Labs: Create a document with a keyboard shortcut and that of Google Docs Previews in the mail to be able to view Office files without having to leave the Google mail site.
Similar to the gadget for the Calendar, you can instead enable the Google Docs gadget to add a new panel under the inbox folder, to search and browse the files saved online in Google Drive.
- The preview of Google Maps is also very useful, to immediately see on the map an address included in an Email message.
Labs also include some ways to personalize Gmail, such as:
- Custom keyboard shortcuts .
- Moving the chat pane to the right, useful even if you activate the Calendar gadget or the Documents gadget.
- Unread message icon, to have notification of received and unread messages in the title of the open tab of Gmail.com (on Chrome and Firefox).
- Additional emojis to draw extra smileys and emoticons on the chat.
These are the main extra features that are found in Gmail Labs and that are worth trying to optimize the reception and management of emails and the Gmail web application.
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