Tips for Gmail

August 12

2014

Gmail Training

Tips to save time and increase your productivity

Gmail Training

©2014 Boost eLearning

Page | 2

Tips for Gmail

Learn tips to save time, increase your productivity, and manage your email efficiently.

Table of Contents

Tip: Use pop-outs ............................................................................................................ 3

Tip: Email your Task list .................................................................................................. 3

Tip: Email your completed Tasks .................................................................................... 3

Tip: Use drag and drop to archive an email ..................................................................... 4

Tip: Use drag and drop to apply a Label to an email ....................................................... 4

Tip: Use „Auto suggest‟ when entering text into a field .................................................... 5

Tip: Mouse over a contact‟s name to easily communicate .............................................. 5

Tip: Start a new email from your Contacts page ............................................................. 6

Tip: Use Priority Inbox or other Inbox .............................................................................. 6

Tip: Use Tabs Inbox ........................................................................................................ 7

Tip: Use Categories as automatic labels ......................................................................... 8

Tip: Use Gmail and other Apps Offline ............................................................................ 9

Tip: View attachments without downloading .................................................................. 10

Tip: Email or respond to Google+ connections.............................................................. 11

Gmail Training

©2014 Boost eLearning

Page | 3

Tip: Use pop-outs

Use pop-outs to make the screen you are working in larger. The larger screen is helpful when composing an email, managing tasks, and communicating with chat. Click the pop-out icon in the top right corner of the window you are in.

Looks like:

Pop-out icon for chat and tasks Pop-out icon for composing an email

Tip: Email your Task list

Email your current task list to let people know what you are working on.

Looks like:

Tip: Email your completed Tasks

Email your completed task list to let people know what you have accomplished.

Looks like:

Open your Tasks, then from the Actions menu, select

1. 'View completed tasks' then

2. Select 'Email task list'

Open your Tasks, then from the Actions menu, select 'Email task list'

Gmail Training

©2014 Boost eLearning

Page | 4

Tip: Use drag and drop to archive an email

Drag an email and drop it onto a label to simultaneously archive and label the message.

Looks like:

Tip: Use drag and drop to apply a Label to an email

Drag and drop a Label onto an email to quickly manage your email.

Looks like:

Click on the left side of the email message, then click and drag the email and drop it on top of a Label

Place your mouse over the Label, click and drag the Label onto an email

Gmail Training

©2014 Boost eLearning

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Tip: Use ‘Auto suggest’ when entering text into a field

Type a few letters and Gmail will Auto Suggest the information you are looking for.

Looks like:

Tip: Mouse over a contact’s name to easily communicate

Place your mouse over a contact‟s name to open an email, chat, and more options.

Looks like:

„Auto suggest‟ works for both Move to and Labels features

Place your mouse over a contact's name to open multiple communication options, such as email and chat. If the contact has a picture associated with their profile, you will be able to see their picture. Add a picture to your profile by clicking settings icon, then Settings,

then looking under the General tab for the My picture option. Click “Select a picture” to add a picture to your profile.

'Auto Suggest' also works when entering text into the Search Bar

Gmail Training

©2014 Boost eLearning

Page | 6

Tip: Start a new email from your Contacts page

From one of your Contact‟s profiles, start a new email by clicking on the email address

Looks like:

Tip: Use Priority Inbox or other Inbox

Priority Inbox helps you prioritize your email. Just like the Spam filter improves over time which emails are unsolicited based on who sent the email and which emails you mark as spam, Priority Inbox improves the more you use it and identify emails as important or unimportant. Experiment with the other inbox types to find the one you like best.

Looks like: Click the settings icon, then Settings. Select the Priority Inbox tab, then Inbox You can also select to show or not show the Importance markers

Click on the email address to start composing an email addressed to that person

Gmail Training

©2014 Boost eLearning

Page | 7

Tip: Use Tabs Inbox

Tab Inbox automatically sorts and labels all emails into five categories, giving context to your emails at a glance.

1. Primary – Person-to-person conversations and emails that don‟t appear in other tabs

2. Social – Messages from social networks, media-sharing sites, and other social websites

3. Promotions – Deals, offers, and other marketing emails

4. Updates – Personal, auto-generated updates including confirmations, receipts, bills, and statements

5. Forums – Messages from online groups, discussion boards, and mailing lists

Gmail gives each category a tab at the top of your inbox that allows you to see emails in that category only.

Looks like:

Click the settings icon, then ‘Configure inbox’.

Select the tabs you wish to show or hide.

Gmail Training

©2014 Boost eLearning

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Tip: Use Categories as automatic labels

Use the Categories as automatic labels in the label list even without using the Tabs Inbox setting.

Looks like:

Click the settings icon, then Settings.

Click the Labels tab.

Select to show or hide each category

in the label list and in the message list.

Gmail Training

©2014 Boost eLearning

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Tip: Use Gmail and other Apps Offline

Use Gmail offline to be able to continue to access your Gmail account when you are not connected to the internet. You must first download Google Chrome (when you have an internet connection) to be able to use this feature. Look for Google Calendar and other apps to be available for offline use as well.

Looks like:

Click „Allow offline mail‟

In Google Chrome, click on the „Web Store‟ option

Click „Add to Chrome‟

From your Chrome browser, click „Offline Google Mail‟. Be sure to do this while you still have a good internet connection.

Then click „Continue‟

Now you can use Gmail offline. Once you have an internet connection again, your Gmail account will automatically sync.

Gmail Training

©2014 Boost eLearning

Page | 10

Tip: View attachments without downloading

Gmail gives you a preview of files that are attached to incoming mail. You can view these files instantly in Gmail, without sifting through your “Downloads” folder to find them. You can also save the files to Google Drive or to your computer.

Looks like: Browse and view all attached files in this email.

View next attachment.

Click on an attachment to view it instantly in Gmail.

Click the Google Drive icon to download the file to Drive, or the arrow icon to save it to your computer. Click the printer icon to print.

Viewing options and close screen button.

File name and type.

Gmail Training

©2014 Boost eLearning

Page | 11

Tip: Understand communicating with Google+ connections

If you‟re a Google+ user, you can use Gmail to email people in your Google+ circles, even if you do not have their email address. You can control who can email you this way with a setting in Gmail as explained below.

Who can see my email address?

Your email address is not visible to someone on Google+ until you send them an email or reply to an email they sent you in Gmail.

Sending emails

1. Open Gmail on a computer. 2. Click COMPOSE. 3. Start typing the name of the person. 4. If there is a match in your Google+ circles,

you‟ll see their name and photo.

Receiving emails

If you use Google+, you can receive emails from other Google+ users.

From someone in your circles

Someone who you have added to your circles can send you a regular email. These emails will appear in your Primary category if you use inbox categories.

From someone you haven’t added to your circles

You may receive an email from someone who is not in one of your circles. You can decide whether you want to receive future emails from that person (Note that Gmail adds extra safegaurds and protection to prevent spam through such emails):

To continue receiving emails from that person, reply to the email or click ‘Add to circles’.

To block emails from that person, click the ‘Report Spam or Abuse’ link in the email.

If you ignore the email, the person will not be able to invite you to any new conversations, but they could reply to their original message. To avoid these replies, click the ‘Report Spam or Abuse’ link in the message.

An email from someone you haven‟t added to circles will be filtered into your Social category if you use inbox categories.

Gmail Training

©2014 Boost eLearning

Page | 12

Control who can email you

You can control who can email you via Google+ by changing your settings in Gmail.

Anyone on Google+: If you have a Google+ account, anyone who has you in their circles can send you an email. You can decide whether to allow future emails.

Extended circles: People who are part of your circles's circles can email you, such as a friend of one of your friends.

Circles: Only people you‟ve added to your circles can email you.

No one: Only people who have your email address can email you. For example, if a Google+ connection tries to email you and they don't know your email address, your name won't appear as a contact suggestion in Gmail.

When finished, click ‘Save Changes’ at the bottom of the page.

Open Gmail. Then, click the gear in the top right and select ‘Settings’.

Next, scroll down to the ‘Email via Google+’ section (stay in the „General‟ tab).

Click the drop-down menu and choose one of the options: