Intro to Gmail

The icon for :

Archives a message is a folder with a down arrow

Mark as spam is a circle with an exclamation mark

Move the message to is a solid folder

Delete is a trash can

Label the message with is a label tag

• Click the Compose button on the left side of your Gmail page.
• Type your recipient's email address in the 'To:' field.
• Enter a subject for your message in the 'Subject:' field.
• Write your message! Just click in the large field below and type away.
• When you're done composing, click the Send button (located just above the 'To:' field). You'll see a confirmation at the top of the window that your message was sent.

Extras

• You can change the formatting, font, and color of your message text using the tools located above the compose window.
• When you begin to type an address in the 'To:,' 'Cc:,' or 'Bcc:' fields, Gmail will suggest complete addresses from your Contacts list.

To attach a file to a message you're composing, follow these steps:

1. Click Attach a file under the subject field.
2. Browse through your files and click the name of the file you'd like to attach.
3. Click Open.

To attach multiple files, hold the command (Mac) or Ctrl (PC) key while selecting your files, or click Attach another file.

To reply to a message, just click in the box below the message and type away! Or, you can click the arrow icon in the top right corner of the message you received.

If there are multiple recipients of the message and you want to respond to all of them, click Reply to all in the box below the message and begin typing.

You can also click the down arrow next to the Reply button and select Reply to all.

To forward an individual message:

1. Open the appropriate conversation and select the message you want to forward.
2. Click the Forward link in the box below the message.
3. Enter the email address(es) to which the email should be forwarded, and add any additional text you want in the message field. If the message has attachments, you can choose not to forward them by deselecting the checkbox next to the filename below the Subject field.
4. Click Send.

Archiving lets you tidy up your inbox by moving messages from your inbox into your All Mail label, so you don't have to delete anything.

Any message you've archived can be found by clicking the "All Mail" label on the left side of your Gmail page. You can also find a message you've archived by clicking on any other labels you've applied to it, or by searching for it.

To archive messages:

1. In your inbox, select the message by checking the box next to the sender's name.
2. Archive button in the toolbar above your message list. (If you have a message open, you can also archive it by clicking the Archive button above the message. )

Labels help you organize your messages into any categories -- work, family, to do, read later, jokes, recipes, any category you want. Labels do all the work that folders do, but with an added bonus: you can add more than one to a message. Only you can see your labels, so whether you mark a message with "Best friend" or "Read later," the sender will never know.

Create a label

Here's how to create a label that you can add to any of your messages:

1. On the left side of the page, click More at the bottom of your labels list. (If you don't see "More," grab the gray dividing line with your cursor and drag it down to show more labels.)
2. Click Create new label.
3. Type the name of your new label and click Create.

You can also create a new label for a message in your Inbox by selecting the box next to the message, clicking the Label button above your message list, and then clicking Create new.

Apply your label

You can add a label to your messages in several ways:

• When viewing your Inbox, select the checkbox next to those messages, click the Labels button, and click the label you want. (Or check the boxes next to several labels and click Apply.)
• When viewing a message, click the Labels button to add a label to the message. You can also click and drag a label from the left side, and drop it on the message.
• When writing a new message, use that button to add a label before sending your message.

Editing labels

You can edit a label through both the Labels list.

To edit a label through your Labels list:

1. Click the square to the right of a label in your Labels list in your left sidebar. A color palette opens.
2. Select Rename at the bottom of the palette.
3. Enter the new label name, and click OK.

Gmail's filters allow you to manage the flow of incoming messages. Using filters, you can automatically label, archive, delete, star, or forward your mail, even keep it out of Spam.

To create a filter

1. Click the down arrow in your search box. A window that allows you to specify your search criteria will appear.
2. Enter your search criteria. If you want to check that your search worked correctly, click the search button.
3. Click Create filter with this search at the bottom of the search window. If you need to verify the search results, you can click the x to collapse the filter options. Clicking the down arrow again will bring the window back with the same search criteria you entered.
4. Choose the action(s) you want the filter to take.
5. Click the Create filter button.

To use a particular message to create a filter

1. Select the message in your message list.
2. Click the More button, then Filter messages like these.
3. Enter your filter criteria in the appropriate field(s).

To edit or delete existing filters

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right, then select Settings.
2. Click the Filters tab.
3. Find the filter you'd like to change and click edit or delete to remove the filter.
4. If you're editing the filter, enter the updated criteria for the filter in the appropriate fields, and click Edit filter actions.
5. Update any actions and click the Update filter button.

To create a contact group:

1. Click Gmail at the top-left corner of your Gmail page, then choose Contacts.
2. Then select New Group in the left sidebar.
3. Enter the name of the group.
4. Click OK.

To add contacts to a contact group:

1. Click on the Directory and select the contacts in the Contacts list. You can you the search box at the top to quickly find people.
2. Click the Groups button.
3. Select the group you'd like to add the contact to, or select Create new to create a new group.
4. If you have multiple addresses saved for a contact, you can choose which address should belong to the contact group by opening the contact and clicking the small arrow next to the group you'd like to modify.

Personalize your Gmail by choosing a background theme, which adds some additional flair to your inbox. To choose a theme, click the gear icon, then Themes.

To change your preferences in Gmail:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right, then select Settings.

From there, navigate to one of the appropriate tabs:

• On the General tab, you can change your language preferences, select display pictures for you and your contacts, or set up a vacation response. This tab is also where you'll find general display and navigation settings for your inbox.
• Managing labels and filters is easy with the Labels and Filters tabs.

You can mark a conversation or message with a star that appears next to the message in your Inbox.

Stars will only appear to you.

How to add a star

To star a message from your Inbox, just click the star icon next to the sender's name. You can also add a star when reading a message by clicking the icon on the right above the message.

Get more star designs

You can also choose to use multiple types of stars to indicate different types of messages. For example, you might use a green star for messages you want to read again and a red exclamation mark for messages that you need to follow up on. How to choose more star options

Search for starred messages

Search using "has:" with the star's name (like "has:yellow-star") to find messages with a particular star. Find a star's name on your Settings' General tab by hovering your mouse over the star icon.

A signature is a bit of personalized text (such as your contact information or a favorite quote) that is automatically inserted at the bottom of every message you send. Here's a sample signature:

How to create a signature

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right, then select Settings.
2. Enter your new signature text in the box at the bottom of the General page next to the Signature option.
3. Click Save Changes.

Signatures are separated from the rest of your message by two dashes. To see a signature in Gmail, click the Show trimmed content button at the bottom of the message or enable signature tweaks in the Labs.

You can set up a vacation response in your Gmail settings that will automatically reply to anyone who emails you. While the vacation responder is enabled, Gmail will send a response to anyone who contacts you.*

If that person contacts you again after four days and your vacation responder is still enabled, Gmail will send another vacation response to remind the person that you're away from your email.

Here's how to set up a vacation response:

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right, then select Settings.
2. From the General tab, select Vacation responder on in the Vacation responder: section.
3. Enter the subject and body of your message in the Subject: and Message: fields.
   • If you've enabled a personalized signature in your settings, Gmail will automatically append it to the bottom of your vacation response.
4. Check the box next to Only send a response to people in my Contacts if you don't want everyone who emails you to know that you're away from your mail. If you use Google Apps, you'll also see an option to only send a response to people your domain. If you check both of these boxes, only people who are in your contacts and your domain1 will receive the automatic response.
5. Click Save Changes.

While the vacation responder is enabled, you'll see a banner across the top of any Gmail page, displaying the subject of your vacation response. To stop Gmail from automatically sending the response, click end now within the banner. Or, if you'd like to edit the response, click vacation settings.

Labs are additional feature within gmail.

You can search for and enable labs in your Settings.

Want to get started with Labs? You can do this in a few quick clicks.

1. Click the gear icon in the upper right, then select Settings.
2. Select the 'Labs' tab and identify the labs you want to enable. Click the 'Enable' radio button to turn on a lab and click 'Save Changes' at the bottom of the page. Your page may refresh but after the refresh, the lab you just turned on will be available in Gmail.

Signature Tweak – enable this lab to eliminate extra lines in the signature.

Personalize your Gmail by choosing a background theme, which adds some additional flair to your inbox. To choose a theme, click the gear icon, then Themes.