Embedded Files
Google designed Gmail with search in mind so they basically "flattened" how we used to organize e-mail, by getting rid of folders. Instead, Google created labels (also known as tags on some other platforms) to help us organize emails and make it easier to find them after you archive them (i.e. move out of the Inbox - which in itself is a label).
The key difference is that you can add multiple tags to emails, so they don't have to be filed into only a single place. In combination with filters, you can move/mark your e-mail messages for easier search and organization.
Creating Gmail Labels to organize e-mail messages
Creating Gmail Labels to organize e-mail messages
There are two primary methods to create Gmail labels, you can do it within Settings, or directly when viewing an e-mail (Video guide):
Usually the easiest way is to click on the label button in your Gmail toolbar and select the option to either "Create new" labels or "Manage labels" to jump directly into Gmail's Settings and the "Labels" section.
2. If you went into Gmail Settings or selected "Manage labels" you will be able to see the option to "Create new label" or make changes to existing labels (see below for details on the latter).
3. Give the new label an identifiable name to assist with your message filing/organization. When you have multiple labels, you can also choose to nest new labels within other labels (like creating folders inside other folders) to further sort & organize your e-mail.
4. Once you have created the new label, you can set the label to either (i) always be visible, or (ii) to be hidden in the label list (i.e. the collapsed section in left pane of Gmail), or (iii) to only appear if there are unread mail messages marked with that label.
You can also set a label to hide or be "invisible" in the messages list (right pane) so it does not overwhelm your view.
5. Labels can be assigned colors to help with visual identification in your mail messages list. Simply hover your mouse to the right side of your label and click on the options button (3 vertical dots), and there is a pull-down menu for "Label color".
You can pick one of the pre-created label and text colors, or create a custom one that fits your needs:
Creating Gmail Filters to mark messages with labels automatically
Creating Gmail Filters to mark messages with labels automatically
Once you have created the label(s) you want, you can either mark messages using the label button as shown in Step #1, or you can create a filter to automatically mark messages with labels, as well as take other actions along with it (Video guide):
6. Start a new filter by either (i) going to the search bar and clicking on the 'Search options' button in the right corner of the search bar, or (ii) going to a target e-mail message then clicking on the message options button (3 vertical dots) in the header section and select "Filter messages like this" option.
7. Within the search options you will be able to find the various criteria you can use to filter out the messages (or take actions on), including the sender, receipient(s), keywords, date range(s) or data size of the message (with attachments). Click on "Search" to preview the filter's resultant messages, and/or "Create Filter" button to set the actions to take after filtering:
8. When you are at the filter actions list, you can start by applying the label that you created, maybe 'star' it to indicate priority or for follow-up, and 'mark it as important' if you do use the "Important" Inbox view.
Feel free to select the other actions if they fit your needs. The last option allows you to also apply actions you select onto messages currently in your Inbox that matches the criteria.
Click on the "Create filter" button when you are ready to go.
9. Once the Gmail filters start working and your labels get more usage, your Gmail Inbox should look a little more colorful with new labels that should allow you to quickly pick out messages from specific senders or topics!
For more information about labels, please review Google's official article: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/118708?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform=Desktop
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