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Advanced EmaOrganizatio
using ta
Devon Cam
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8/3/2019 Advanced Email Organization Supplement
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If you’ve tried organizing email, you’ve
probably used folders. The metaphor has
been around since the early days of
computers, and it served us well in the
beginning. Users needed to anchor the
computer’s file system to something they
understood in the real world. The folder was
perfect.
However, in the past five years, developers
have recognized and filled a need to take full
advantage of the unique benefits of digital
organization. The innovation is tagging.
Think back on the folder metaphor. Here in
meatspace (the non-virtual world), a
document can only exist in a single folder. If you need a document to be filed in two
different places, you need copies. If you want
to change one copy, you change both. If you
forget to change both...
Physics tell us that a piece of paper can only be in one place at a time. Organization on
computers thankfully doesn’t need to concern
itself with the pitiful limitations of spacetime.
Overview
Folders: the prevaidigital organizat
metaphor but not
b
Tags: Not as stronmetaphor, but a betway to organize dig
informat
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Tags are very much like folders but without
the exclusivity. A single item can have
multiple tags—as many as you want, in fact.
Here’s a concrete example. I have a tag called
“projects” which I use to track any work that
doesn’t fall into working tickets day-to-day.
This way, I can click the tag and, at a glance,
see where I am and what I need to do on all
my side-projects.
Another tag is called “trouble,” and it’s here I
keep computer problems. So, what if
someone emails me to say an entire computer
lab is down? That’s trouble, but it’s also a
pretty serious project. Luckily, I can organize
it as both.
Tagging realizes that, in two years when I’m
looking for that email, I’m not going to know
whether I put it into “projects” or “trouble,”
and it lets me put it in both.
Tag
I’m not sure whereput this email. It wo
really make sense to it in two differ
places. With tags, I do that easily. In fac
could put it indifferent places
want
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Making tags is really easy in
ENA Webmail. Just click
the button shown. The hard
part is developing a system
that will still work long after you’ve forgotten
where you filed away that email.
Give some thought to the way you will tag
your email. I have some general rules I use to
develop tags.
•Use plural words for nouns, singular for
concepts
•Use all-lowercase letters for your tags except
in the case of a proper noun
•Use as many tags as apply to each message
•Use multiple word forms if necessary
Organizing is a game in which you develop a
system your brain can understand once you
have forgotten about it. When you look at an
email, try to guess what you would think of
when you want to find it later.
Tagging is simple; it’s word association!
Don’t think you will setup all your tags in the
beginning. You will almost certainly create
new tags as you go. Tagging is free-form.
Tagging i
Practic
You can create ytags in a numbe
places—even as yoapplying them. Just l
out for the tag ic
These are not hard fast rules. They j
happen to be what I uYou can probably co
up with better on
It’s still a good ideamaintain your tags. If
old tag would mbetter sense wit
different name, bymeans change
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Tags make more sense for digital
organization, but folders still have their place.
I have put my folders to work turning my
inbox into a to-do list.
Most emails are actionable meaning
the recipient needs to take some
sort of action on them. This folder
structure allows every email to be
classified based on when it is actionable.
This is unlike my tag organization which sorts
messages based on their content. The basis
for the sorting of messages into folders is
dissimilar enough to warrant a different
mechanism to create separation from the
content organization. It also happens to be acase in which exclusivity makes perfect sense.
As such, the folder is an excellent mechanism
for this scheme.
As my messages come in, I will first tag them
while they are in the inbox. Then, I will sortthem based on when they can be acted upon.
You may want to check the folders
periodically and move your messages
between them as deadlines approach.
Folder
Have The
Plac
Folders work well for tbecause each action
be completed at oone time. Folders
help because I am forto sort each mess
into only one fol
The folder names self-explanatory for
most part. It’s importto note I lead the nam
with a numberinfluence the order.
“Archive” folder contacompleted itemsitems which are
actiona
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Finally, we have reached the payoff. The sole
reason for organizing is so you can easily find
things later. If you use the tips here, you’ll
have no trouble finding the messages you
need to see now or months from now.
Searching in concert with tags and folders is
incredibly powerful.
Here’s a simple search that returns messages
tagged “projects.” It looks the same as
clicking on the projects tag in the left sidebar.
Not terribly useful. Here’s where things get
interesting.
This search finds a tag intersection. The
search will return messages tagged with both
tags. This will find the message I mentioned
earlier about the computer lab that is down.
This search looks like the last one but for the
inclusion of the keyword “OR.” Without it, an
“AND” is implied between all search terms.
The “OR” finds messages with either tag, as
you might expect. Try a search with “NOT.”
Findin
You
Message
Search is your frieSaved searches often automate
organization processsome deg
AND- Finds items wboth search terms.
multiple ANDs to fmo
OR- Finds items wone, the other, or b
search ter
NOT- Exclude itematching a search te
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Let’s do a search for messages tagged
“trouble” that are actionable today. To do so,
I have to use the advanced search
functionality.
Despite it’s name, advanced search is really a
cinch. It’s much simpler than the tag
searching tricks you learned previously. You
can probably figure it out just by jumping in
and looking around the interface. Everything
is graphical.
After clicking “Advanced” next to the search
box, the area below clears out for the
advanced searching criteria. A bar shows the
available criteria. Clicking on “Folder” and
“Tag” in turn will reveal those search panes.
These two checkboxes will find what we need:
emails about “trouble” which are actionable
today. Click the “Search” button to see the
results.
Advance
Searche
Advanced searching mbe simpler than text-only searching
did before, but it isn’tpowerful. In advansearches, there is
way to find a intersect
Fortunately, you can the advanced criteri
tandem with the tb
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If this or any other search is something you
will reuse, save the search. Instead of
searching again each time, just click the saved
search in your sidebar.
These saved searches can act like folders, but
they have a key advantage. They will update
each time you click. I know many of you like
to be able to see messages from key
colleagues. A saved search is the perfect way.
You’ll no longer have to manually sort all
these messages. Plus, you will not have locked
the message into monogamy with a folder
named for your colleague.
Use the “From:” field in the basic search
section of the advanced search. Enter theuser’s email address in the field, click “Save,”
and enjoy an auto-updating saved search with
every email from that individual.
Saved searches are incredibly versatile, but
use them somewhat sparingly. Only savesearches you know you will use again and
again. They eat up valuable screen space in
your email interface.
Save
Searche
Give your sasearches names in same way you migh
folder. Be sure yoconsiste
If a search will be usonce a day or onc
week, it probably nea saved search. If
useful once per monthat’s a maybe. If
terribly complex, thaanother good reason
sa
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Just as saved searches make repeated queries
faster, filtering automates repeated sorting
tasks.
The best example is an email phenomenon
known as bacn (pronounced like the meat).
Bacn is the halfway point between time-
sensitive emails and spam. You probably
receive several newsletters in your inbox.
These are bacn. It’s not unsolicited like spam,
but it lacks the urgency of other email. You
may read your bacn at the end of the day or in
a week... or maybe never.
A given newsletter is typically sent from the
same email address each issue. For example,
our Techknow newsletter comes [email protected]. Using this information,
I can automatically sort these messages into a
tag called “bacn” or “newsletters,” if you
prefer.
Filters are located in ENA Webmail’spreferences. Once you click preferences, you
will see filters in the left sidebar.
Filterin
Filters will hautomate some of
sorting proce
“Bacn” would be a mgeneral t
“Newsletters” variety of ba
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Once I navigate to Preferences > Filters, I can
click “New Filter” to summon the box shown
here. This is where I tell the filter which
messages to find and what to do with them.
In this example, I’m finding messages from
[email protected], moving them from the
inbox into the archive folder (they are
probably not actionable), and tagging them“bacn.” This gets them out of the inbox and
out of my way so I can deal with my truly
urgent messages.
Makin
Filter
Using “any” in tdropdown menu allo
me to use the plus sto add other sende
can use a single filtersort all my ba
The great thing abtagging my bacn is t
tags get an unrmessage count just
folders and the inbowill still be able to
that my “bacn” tag unread messages just
glancing at the tathe side
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In this hour, you’ve acquired a toolset which
will make organizing and finding your email
as painless and headache-free as it can be.
If you have any questions or suggestions, I
would love to hear them. Feel free to contact
me at [email protected]. I hope you have
enjoyed the session. Thank you for your time.
•Folksonomies - Cooperative Classification
and Communication Through Shared
Metadata
•Singular vs. plural tags in a tag-based
categorization system
The author here merely poses a question. The
meat is in the comments.
•Tagging Best Practices
Although I disagree with the assertion that
singular (as opposed to plural) tags are best,
this is a well-thought set of tagging guidelines
Contac
M
Devon Campdcampbell@k12tn.
865.680.5
AdditionaResource