9/20/16 - How do you know if you've replied in Gmail?

Post date: Sep 19, 2016 3:03:59 PM

There have been many great questions by WPS staff as we all work to become acclimated to using Gmail for our email. One of the consistent questions has been, "How do I know if I've replied to an email in Gmail?"

This question is most commonly raised by staff that have chosen "Conversation view off", in their Settings. Turning "Conversation view on" groups emails and replies of the same Subject/Topic together in one conversation in your Gmail inbox. Your replies are listed as part of the conversation in your Gmail inbox. Turning "Conversation view off" allows you to view each individual email separately, no matter if it is part of the same Subject/Topic as other emails. Since the emails appear separate in your Gmail inbox your replies are not included because they are no longer being viewed as an ongoing conversation.

While the "Conversation view on" setting makes it easier to view your replies it is understandable that it is not for everyone. If you are more comfortable with the setting "Conversation view off", here are ways to determine if you've replied to an email.

  1. Via Hovercard
  • From the inbox, hold your mouse over a sender's name (but don't click)
  • In the hovercard that appears, click on Email
image shows hovercard that appears when holding mouse over sender's name in inbox
  • The resulting screen will show all messages to or from the email address on the hovercard. If you replied to the original message, you will see the message from the original sender as well as a message from me both with the same subject.
  • In this example, I received an email from Gmail Team and replied, and these two emails with the same subject show that I did reply:
image shows search results after clicking on emails in hovercard
  • Stony Brook Division of IT, https://it.stonybrook.edu/help/kb/knowing-if-you-replied-to-a-message.

2. Via Sent Items

  • Click on Sent Mail.
  • Scroll through your sent mail to find the sent item you are looking for.
  • Or Click in the Search box at the top of the Sent Mail screen and type the name or email address of the person you sent an email.

3. Create a Reply Label. Here are two useful links (a video and written directions) that can help with creating Labels.