Whether you use Gmail as part of the Google Apps suite, as an email solution for your business, or simply for your personal email, Gmail is easily customizable to meet your needs. In these Gmail tips, we’ll take a look at some Gmail Labs settings that can dramatically improve your email productivity – even if you never thought you’d need them.
First up: Gmail Labs, as Google itself describes it, is “some crazy experimental stuff,” and Google may not always support all of them. So these Gmail tips are great for most users, but if you need a continuous and absolutely stable email environment to keep all your nuclear power plants running smoothly, stick with the basics.
Those caveats aside, for just about everyone else, these Gmail tips can make your Gmail experience a whole lot better.
To enable the Unread Message Icon, click on the large cog in the top right in Gmail, and click settings. Click the Labs tab. The Unread Message Icon may appear in the list, but it’s fastest just to search by name. Then, click Enable and Save Changes, and you’re all set. Note: this one only works with the Chrome, Firefox, and Opera browsers.
Activate Preview Pane by clicking on the large cog in the top right of the Gmail interface, and clicking settings. Click on Labs and search for Preview Pane, then click enable. Your inbox will have a new button to the left of the cog. Click to choose between a vertical split (Outlook style), a horizontal split (Thunderbird style), or no split (Gmail default).
Enabling Google Docs preview is similar to the others: click on the large cog in the top right of the Gmail interface, click settings, and click on the Labs heading. Then search for ‘Google Docs previews in mail.’ Enable it and save changes and you’re good to go.
Turn on Undo Send by clicking on the cog in the top right, choosing settings, and clicking the Labs heading. Search Undo Send, enable it, and save changes.
Mark As Read works the same as the others: click on the cog in the top right, choose settings, and click the Labs heading. Search Mark As Read Button, enable it, and save changes.
These Gmail tips are great ways to customize your Gmail experience depending on your needs. You can use as many as you want and turn them on or off freely, so give them a try today.