To access your Google Workspace services like email and calendar, you'll use a web browser instead of a desktop app.

Why this is important 

A web browser automatically and securely saves your work to the web. When you’re signed in, you’ll be able to see the updates you make on any device and any browser.

And if you use Chrome browser, you’ll get access to more advanced Gmail and Calendar features, too. 

Before using this checklist

Download and install Chrome Browser

1. Open a browser and go to the Google Workspace User Hub.

2. Enter your Google Workspace email address (such as you@example.com) and password.

Migrate your bookmarks, browsing history, and saved passwords from any other browsers to Chrome browser.

Import bookmarks

1. On your computer, open Chrome.

2. At the top right, select More ⋮  > Bookmarks and lists > Import bookmarks and settings.

3. Select Choose file.

4. Choose a file and select Open > Done.

Option 3: Open one or more specific pages

Or you can have Chrome open a set of pages you specify:

1. On your computer, open Chrome.

2. At the top right, click More ⋮ > Settings.

3. Under "On startup," select Open a specific page or set of pages.

   • Click Add a new page. Enter the web address and click Add.

   • Click Use current pages.

To update your pages, to the right of a page, click More ⋮ > Edit or Delete. 

1. On your computer, open Chrome.

2. At the top right, click Profile .

3. Click Add.

4. If you choose to Sync to your Google Account, your profile name will automatically be your Account name.

5. Choose a name, photo and color scheme.

If you choose to turn sync on in Chrome with a Google Account for the new profile, your bookmarks, history, passwords and other settings will sync automatically.

Tip: If you’re unsure which account you’re currently using, click your name and see which profile is at the top.

Learn more at the Google Chrome Help Center

1. In Chrome Browser, go to the site you want to visit again in the future. For example: 

   • mail.google.com for Gmail

   • calendar.google.com for Google Calendar

2. To the right of the address bar, click Star ☆ > Add Bookmark ☆.

3. Choose an option:

   • To exit, click Close ╳ .

   • To rename your bookmark or access it from a different folder, choose an option and click Done.

Learn more at the Google Chrome Help Center

1. Go to your desktop and right-click. 

2. Choose New > Shortcut. 

3. Type the web address as the location. For example:

   • https://mail.google.com for Gmail

   • https://calendar.google.com for Calendar

4. (Optional) Name your shortcut.

1. Open Gmail.

2. At the top right, click Settings ⚙ >  See all settings.

3. In the General tab, scroll to Signature and click Create new.

4. Name your signature, then click Create.
   This name is not your actual signature, but is a name for the signature template.

5. In the text box at the right, add your signature text.

6. Use the format bar to add text colors, links, and images.

7. At the bottom, click Save Changes.

Learn more at the Gmail Help Center

1. On your computer, go to Gmail.

2. In the top right, click Settings ⚙ >  See all settings.

3. Next to "Undo Send" select a Send cancellation period of 5, 10, 20, or 30 seconds.

4. At the bottom, click Save changes.

Learn more at the Gmail Help Center

You can add Chat to your Gmail inbox and get all the features of Chat directly in Gmail, so you can collaborate and stay connected from a central location.

1. On your computer, open Gmail.

2. At the top right, click Settings ⚙ >  See all settings.

3. At the top, click the Chat and Meet tab.

4. Next to “Chat,” to turn Chat on or off in Gmail, select Google Chat or Off.

5. Click Save Changes.

You can also mute Chat notifications so you can work uninterrupted.

You can get notifications for new emails you receive, or for messages marked important.

1. At the top right, click Settings ⚙ >  See all settings.

2. Scroll down to the Desktop notifications section.

3. Click Click here to enable desktop notifications for <your organization>.

4. Select New mail notifications on or Important mail notifications on.

5. At the bottom of the page, click Save Changes.

Learn more at the Gmail Help Center

1. On your computer, go to Gmail.

2. On the left, scroll down, then click More.

3. Click Create new label.

4. Name your label.

5. Click Create.

Learn more: Switch to labels from folders

1. Open Gmail.

2. In the search box at the top, click Show search options  .

3. Enter your search criteria. If you want to check that your search worked correctly, see what emails show up by clicking Search. 

4. At the bottom of the search window, click Create filter.

5. Choose what you’d like the filter to do.

6. Click Create filter.

Note: When you create a filter to forward messages, only new messages will be affected. ​Additionally, when someone replies to a message you've filtered, the reply will only be filtered if it meets the same search criteria. 

Tip: Try these Gmail filters for work or school.

Learn more at the Gmail Help Center

Tip: To open the Compose window with a keyboard shortcut, just type c.

1. On your computer, go to Gmail.

2. On the left, click Compose.

3. (Optional) Choose a window size with the buttons in the top right:

   • Full screen ⤢

   • Exit full screen 

   • Open in a new window Shift + ↗

4. Add a subject and recipients (To, Cc, or Bcc).

Learn more: Start sending mail

1. On your computer, open Gmail.

2. Open the message you want to archive.

3. At the top, click Archive.

Tips:

• To archive multiple messages, click the box next to each message > Archive .

• To archive a message with keyboard shortcuts, press E. Learn more about keyboard shortcuts.

Learn more at the Gmail Help Center

When you receive a file in Gmail, you can download it to your computer or save a copy of it to Google Drive. 

Download an attachment to your computer

1. On your computer, go to Gmail.

2. Open a message.

3. At the bottom of the message, hover over the attachment.

4. Click Download .

Tips:

• If you use Google Chrome, learn how to download a file on Chrome.

• Your browser saves attachments to a download folder. Check your browser’s settings to find your downloads.

• If your computer supports it, you can also drag photos and attachments to your desktop.

Save a copy of Gmail attachments to Drive 

Important: You can’t add certain attachments to Google Drive. Learn about files you can store in Drive.

1. On your computer, go to Gmail.

2. Open a message.

3. At the bottom of the message, hover over the attachment.

4. Click Add to Drive .

At the top of your inbox, search for one or more keywords that appear anywhere in the email—in the subject, body, or sender name. 

If you’re looking for something specific, click Show search options  to use advanced search.

Example: Search for:

• Senders—Example: From:(sam@your-company.com)

• Date ranges—Example: after:2019/3/29 before:2019/4/5

• Keywords—Example: Company confidential

• Message attributes, such as attachments—Example: has:attachment

Learn more at the Gmail Help Center

Star an email 

1. On your computer, open Gmail.

2. From your inbox, go to the left of the message, then click Star . If the message is open, click More  Add Star.

3. If you have multiple stars, keep clicking the star icon until you see the one you want to use.

See your starred messages

1. On your computer, open Gmail.

2. On the left side of the page, click Starred. You may need to click More first.

You can also use shortcuts to find starred messages by searching is:starred or has: with the star's name, like has:yellow-star.

Learn more at the Gmail Help Center

Use importance markers

You can also click a message's importance marker to mark the message as important yourself.

Next to emails that Gmail thinks is important, you'll see a yellow Importance marker . If an email hasn't been marked as important, the marker will be empty.

To see all your emails that are marked as important, search Gmail for is:important.

Learn more at the Gmail Help Center

Print a single email

If there are multiple emails within the same conversation, you can print just one of those emails.

1. On your computer, go to Gmail.

2. Open the email you want to print.

3. At the top right of the email, click More .

4. Click Print.

Learn more at the Gmail Help Center

Set preferences for all your calendars

1. In Calendar, click Settings ⚙ >  See all settings.

2. On the left under General, click Event settings.

3. Click Notifications and select an option:

   • Off

   • Desktop notifications

   • Alerts

4. (Optional) To set up a sound for your incoming notifications, check the Play notification sounds box.

5. (Optional) To manage your notifications, on the left, click your calendar > General notifications.

6. Next to each option, click the Down arrow ▼ and select None or Email.

Learn more at the Google Calendar Help Center

If you’d prefer not to be invited to events outside of your working hours, you can adjust your Google Calendar settings so organizers know to reschedule an event to a better time.

1.  On your computer, open Google Calendar.

2. At the top right, click Settings ⚙ >  Settings.

3. On the left, under "General," click Working hours.

   • Tip: If your admin has turned on working location, click Working hours & location. Learn more about your administrator.

4. In the "Working hours" section, click Enable working hours.

5. Select the days you work > the times you work.

6. You can split the hours you work based on when you're available.

   • To add more than one time period to your workday, next to a day of the week, click Add +.

   • To remove a time period, click Remove ―.

Tip: When you add work hours, the start time must be before the end time.

Calendar may suggest working hours based on your time zone, the work patterns in your country, and your schedule. You can accept, decline, or edit these suggestions. 

Learn more about Calendar in different time zones.

1. On your computer, open Google Calendar.

2. On the left, next to “Other calendars,” click Add + >  Subscribe to calendar. If the calendar has been shared with you, you’ll get an email.

3. In the “Add calendar” box, enter the person's email address, or select one from the list.

4. Press Enter.

5. Depending on whether their calendar is shared, one of the following happens:

   • If the calendar isn't shared with you, we'll prompt you to request access.

   • If the calendar is already shared with you, their calendar will be added on the left side under "Other calendars."

   • If the other person doesn't have a Google Calendar, we'll prompt you to invite them to use Google Calendar.

Learn more at the Google Calendar Help Center

1. On your computer, open Google Calendar.

2. Optional: If you want to add guests to your event, on the left click Search for people and start typing the names of your guests.

3. Click any time on the calendar that doesn't already have an event scheduled.

4. Add a title to the event, and any event details.

5. Click Save.

Tip: To create a longer event, drag your mouse down the page while you're selecting the time.

Learn more at the Calendar Help Center

If someone has shared their calendar with you, or is part of your work, school, or other organization, you can check if they're free or busy when adding them to an event.

1. On your computer, open Google Calendar.

2. On the left, click Search for people.

3. Start typing someone’s name and choose the person you want to meet with.

4. At the top left, click Create +.

5. Click Suggested times. If the guest you invited has shared their calendar with you, you'll see when they can attend.

Learn more at the Google Calendar Help Center

Note: If you don’t see resources, room details, or automatic room suggestions, your administrator might not have set them up for your organization.

1. On your computer, open Google Calendar.

2. Create a new event or open an existing one.

3. If you are editing an existing event, click Edit event.

4. If your account is part of an organization with Rooms, click Rooms. Based on who you invite, you can choose from suggested rooms or search for a new one. Click the rooms or resources you want to add.

   • Important: If you can't add a room to an event, Google Calendar may suggest a shortcut to create a duplicate event where you can book a room. This shortcut creates a single event, without any guests.

5. Click Save.

Tip: Account administrators can add new rooms and resources for users to book by using the Admin console.

Learn more at the Google Calendar Help Center