Gmail

Overview

In some ways, this is where it all began. Long before there was GSuite, even before there was Google Maps (2005), there was Gmail (2004). This is likely to have been most people's first introduction to subscribing to a Google service. It's allure was that it was free but also that it came with a significant amount of hard drive storage (1GB) which has grown even more since then (currently, free users receive 15GB of data with each account).

There really isn't any magic to Gmail - it's just an online email service that is integrated into other Google services. It can be as basic as you need it to be (send and receive emails) but it also has some more advanced features as well. In terms of privacy and security, Google has always been known to engage in the practice of using algorithms to scan email messages which are then used to determine what potential advertisements should be displayed surreptitiously on the page (although Google claims that it is phasing out this practice). Gmail can be accessed both through a web interface as well as through a mobile device using an app. It can also be configured to a device's email service (iOS and Android). This tutorial describes Gmail accessed through the web interface.

Opening Gmail

Like all Google applications, the easiest way to open the App is through the Google home page (www.google.com). In the top right hand corner, there will be an icon that I refer to as the Google waffle because it has three rows of three cubes resembling a waffle. This is a quick way to access any native Google app. It does not work for apps that are not created by Google.

Clicking on the Google waffle, opens up a list of Google Apps that are available on your user account. If the app that you are looking for does not show up, it is possible that it is on a secondary page. Click on More at the bottom of the selection. Additional apps will display.

It is possible to rearrange the order of the Apps in a fashion that is more convenient for your usage. Simply drag the icon (click and hold on it with your mouse/trackpad) and move it to the desired spot. It is possible to move apps from the lower section to the upper section.

Open Gmail by clicking on the icon. Another way to navigate to Gmail is by typing the website in directly (mail.google.com). It is also possible to bookmark the Gmail homepage as a shortcut.

The fastest way however, is simply by going again to the Google home page as stated above. Without navigating anywhere, there is a direct link on this page to gmail as shown in the screenshot below.

Startup Page

The splash page for Gmail is busy and loaded with options but most of that can be ignored. Front and centre is the email inbox summary which displays the sender, subject, and the beginning lines of the email and the date it was received.

Above that, at the top of the page is the search bar, a quick way to find information embedded within an email. Simply type the key word or phrase and any email containing a semblance of that will pop up. It is possible to do an advanced search to add parameters or to filter the search by clicking on the down arrow to the right of the search bar. Options for an advanced search include:

searching within a mailbox folder
searching for a sender or recipient
subject
contains specific words
doesn't have specific words
has an attachment (with an optional file size range)
a date range when it was sent or received

Specifying search parameters within one or more of the areas will likely reduce the results that are produced. Not filtering or performing an advanced search may produce numerous or too many results (depending on the email activity).

On the far left of the Gmail screen is the sidebar allowing quick access to all of the folders (default and created) as well as some shortcuts to related apps such as contacts and tasks. There is also a large Compose button in the top left hand corner to create a new email as well as a Hangouts shortcut at the bottom left hand corner.

Hangouts is a relatively new service from Google and is a communication tool. It is comprised of conversations (text chats), phone calls, or video conferencing. Gmail offers an easy way to engage with contacts by clicking on the + symbol. To learn more about these services, please see the Hangouts section.

Gmail Inbox

The inbox consists of various tabs that are used to separate types of emails based on Google's automatic scanning engine. By default there are five tab topics (Primary, Social,Promotions, Updates and Forum) with the first three being automatically selected by default. Incoming emails will automatically appear in one of those three tabs. To activate or deactivate topics, click the '+' symbol next to the right farmost tab.

Other Gmail folders

Aside from the inbox, users will likely wish to manually sort, flag, or organize their emails based on category or importance. There are a few mechanisms for doing this:

Emails can be starred - next to each email is a white star which can be clicked. Clicked stars turn yellow and indicate emails of importance. These emails can easily be referenced by clicking on the "Starred" folded in the sidebar.
Labels - labels are essentially folders/tags that can be assigned to emails in the inbox tray. Assigning a label allows emails to be quickly searched or retrieved. Additionally, emails can be stored inside the label folder.
Archiving - having an inbox full of emails (I've seen inboxes in the tens of thousands) can be daunting if not frustrating. Aside from deleting emails, another way to manage the volume is to archive them. Archiving emails stores them for referencing at a later time but does not cause the inbox tray to be unmanageable.

How to Create/Manage/Assign Labels

When emails in the inbox tray are selected, additional actions can be taken by clicking on either the folder icon or the label icon in the toolbar. The folder icon moves the selected email(s) to a specific folder. The label icon, tags the email with a specific label. It is possible to attach a label and move an email to a specific folder.

To create/manage new folders and/or labels, click on the two options at the bottom of the pull down list (Create New or Manage Labels). Creating new folders/labels results in the addition of a corresponding item in the sidebar with the name of the newly created label where emails tagged with that label can be found. Labels can also be hidden in the settings menu (see below).

Gmail Settings

The Settings menu is perhaps the most complicated part of the Gmail app. Enter the Settings menu by clicking on the gear symbol in the top right hand corner of the app.

The top part of the settings menu adjusts the density of the emails. The default is set for comfortable but to view a greater number of emails on the screen, select cozy or compact.

There are five default categories, three of which are shown (Primary, Social and Promotions). These five categories can be hidden or shown in the Configure inbox section.

The Gmail display can be changed from the default to a themed display. Theme changes include the background image, colour and font of messages.

As with other Google tools, a variety of third-party add-ons can be installed which will change the functionality of the Gmail program.

The greatest number of settings however, is contained within the Settings section itself in which there are at least 11 different sections as listed below.

General - this section deals with the following configurable areas:

language - change the display language of the program
- enable text input tools - provides additional supports for other languages that may require special characters using a special keyboard
- right to left editing support - provides supports for languages where the direction of writing is reversed
set the default country telephone code (Hangouts integration)
set the maximum page size (number of conversations/contacts per page)
display images by default (ability to turn off displaying external images)
undo send - ability to prevent an email from being sent after a specified time (customize between 5 to 30 seconds)
default reply behaviour - replying is either to the sender or to all
customize the default font appearance (font type, size, and colour)
send and archive - determine whether the option to send and archive is visible in the reply box
email notifications - provides notifications alerting for new email receipts if turned on (can be configured for important emails only)
stars - stars are used to highlight the importance of certain emails. The appearance of stars can be modified in this section.
keyboard shortcuts - toggles shortcuts on/off. A list of shortcuts can be found here.
button labels - toolbar buttons can be represented as either text or as an icon
my picture - upload a picture that will be visible whenever an email is sent
create contacts for auto-complete - whenever email is sent to someone who is not in your contacts list, they will be added so that they can be found the next time you email them
ad settings - configure ad topics based on likes or dislikes
signature - inserts a custom signature displayed at the end of each email
personal level indicators - icons that show if an email was sent to you as part of a larger group or just to you
snippets - the beginning part of the email message is shown on the main screen; if turned off only the subject is shown
vacation responder - an automated message is sent to senders alerting them to an absence (message can be customized)

Labels and Inbox

Both of these areas are similar to the configuration listed in the sections above.

Accounts and Import

This section deals with all things related to the current email account as well as any external accounts that might be integrated with Gmail:

change account settings - change password, password recovery, and other larger Google settings (sign-in and security, personal info and privacy, and account preferences)
import mail - this section allows users to import mail from other sources including other webmail providers (e.g. yahoo, AOL) or ISP providers
send mail as - change the appearance of the name recipients will see when they receive emails from you and/or the email address that they reply to
check email from other accounts
grant access to your account - provides behaviour when others read and send email on your behalf
add additional storage - options of purchasing additional memory above the 15gb granted

Filters and Blocked Addresses

This section fiters or blocks emails from specified sources.

Forwarding and POP/IMAP

Email accounts that are not used frequently can be forwarded to other more active addresses. POP and IMAP are mail protocols used with non-web based mail.

Add-Ons

Configure the actions of third party add-on solutions.

Chat

Configure how Chat works (turning on/off and chat history).

Labs

Google labs is an area where experimental features are tested prior to being released. Many features never get released completely and operate in continual beta mode. Due to the inconsistency and changing nature of this area, it is hard to provide a definitive guide on it.

Themes

Customize and spruce up your gmail desktop with colourful themes.

Google Sites

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