Gmail FAQ

Yes. Click the  gear icon in the upper-right corner of your mail window and click Settings. On the General tab, scroll down to Conversation View.

• • If Conversation View is off, new messages won't be grouped into conversations, and any existing conversations are ungrouped into separate messages.

  • If Conversation View is on, you can't separate the messages in a conversation. However, if you want to send a reply but don't want it to be added to the conversation, you can simply change the subject line in your reply.

How do I mark a message as "unread" in my Inbox after I open it?

Select the message. Then, in the More drop-down list, select Mark as unread.

Can I recall a message I already sent?

Yes, for a brief period of time, Gmail Labs’ Undo Send feature lets you recall a message after you send it. To enable the feature, open your Gmail Settings, go the Labs tab, enable the Undo Send lab, and Save Changes. You can then specify the send cancellation period, between 5 and 30 seconds, in the General tab of your Gmail settings.

Note that your Google Apps administrator must enable Labs for your domain for this feature to be available.

I've heard Gmail search is really powerful. How does it work?

To search for messages, type a word that the messages contain. Note, however, that Search matches "whole words" only—that is, it doesn't recognize partial or similar matches. For example, if you search for benefits, Search won't find benefit or benef. Also, Search doesn't recognize special search characters, such as square brackets, parentheses, currency symbols, ampersands, pound signs, and asterisks.

By default, Search doesn't look in your Trash or Spam folders. To search those folders also, click the down arrow on the right side of the search bar and, in the Search drop-down list, selectMail & Spam & Trash. Learn more about search at using keyword search to sort messages. Also print out this reference sheet of advanced search operators.

Can I make Gmail the default email program when I click email links?

Yes. To make Gmail the default email program when you click email links in Chrome:

• 1. Click the  Chrome menu on the browser toolbar.

  2. Select Settings > Show advanced settings.

  3. In the "Privacy" section, click Content settings.

  4. In the dialogue that appears, find the "Handlers section and select Allow sites to ask to become default handlers for protocols.

  5. Open Gmail in Chrome.

  6. Click the  protocol handler icon in the address bar next to the star bookmarks icon.

  7. Select Use (your organization) Mail and click Done.

You can also make Gmail your default email program in other browsers.

Conversations and Messages

Can I reply to or forward just a single message in a conversation?

Yes. Open the conversation and expand the individual message. From the drop-menu at the top-right of the message, click Reply or Forward.

Can I delete a messages from a conversation?

Yes, you can delete one or more messages in a conversation as follows:

• 1. Open the conversation and expand the message you want to delete.

  2. Open the drop-menu at the top-right of the message.

  3. Select Delete this message.

Can I open a message in a separate window from my main Mail window?

Yes, if your browser is set to display pop-ups in a new window, you can do the following:

Find the message in the Trash and select it. Then, in the  Move to drop-down list at the top of the Mail window, select Inbox.

Why does a message I archived or deleted show up again in my Inbox?

If someone replies to a message you archived or trashed, that message reappears in your Inbox as a conversation, bringing with it the message you archived or deleted. If the message has already been permanently deleted from the Trash, you'll see an option at the bottom of the message to view the deleted messages in the conversation.

Should I delete or archive messages in my Sent folder?

There's no need to delete or archive messages in the Sent folder. Messages remain in this folder forever, unless you delete them. But because you have at least 30 GB of storage space, you can keep messages in this folder to refer to them later if needed. Also, note that messages in the Sent folder are actually archived in All Mail, so even if you archive these messages, they stay in the Sent folder.

Email features

Does Gmail have an Out of Office feature?

Yes, in Gmail, you can set up your "vacation responder," which is similar to the Out of Office feature in Outlook or IBM Notes. For details, see the Gmail Help Center.

Can I share my email with another employee?

Shared mailboxes aren't supported. However, you can easily set up an email filter (rule) to forward specific types of messages to another employee.

Does Gmail have keyboard shortcuts?

Yes, Gmail includes a full set of keyboard shortcuts. First, you must enable keyboard shortcuts:

• 1. In the upper-right corner of the Mail window, click the  gear icon and select Settings.

  2. Under Keyboard shortcuts, select Keyboard shortcuts on.

  3. Click Save Settings.

Then, to see the shortcuts, press Shift+? while viewing your list of messages in the main Mail window. You can also print out this reference sheet of advanced search operators.

Does Gmail support shared mailboxes?

Yes. You can use Google Groups for Business to set up an email list for all the employees who want to share an email address, or to create a collaborative inbox so your team can receive and respond to email requests using a common address.

However, this requires that your administrator has enabled User-Managed groups for your domain. If User-Managed groups aren't available, then you should ask your Google Apps administrator to set up a mailing list (group) for all the employees who want to share an email address.

Does Gmail have a "tasks" feature that lets me add messages to a list for follow-up?

Yes, the Google Task gadget is available in Gmail and Calendar. For details, see Using the Task gadget.

Spam

How long do messages remain in my Spam folder?

Messages remain in the Spam folder for 30 days. After that, Gmail permanently deletes them.

How do I prevent messages from specific senders from being tagged as spam?

If messages from a sender outside your domain are being incorrectly tagged as spam, you can prevent this from happening by creating an email filter using the Never send it to Spamoption:

• 1. In Gmail, click the  gear icon  in the upper-right corner of your Mail window. Then clickSettings > Filters > Create a new filter.

  2. Enter the person's address in the From field, and then click Create filter with this search.

  3. Select Never send it to spam, and then click Create Filter.