GmailGems

More hints below

2004-10-16T01:38:00.000-07:00

Gmail displays more hints and tricks at the bottom of the window:

Esc-a as a short cut to reply all.

2004-06-07T16:27:00.000-07:00

If you're replying to a mail and want to change to reply all from your keyboard, hit Esc then 'a'. This is a keyboard shortcut. Saves a mouse click.

Because Esc moves the focus out of the text box when you are composing a reply, it allows you to then type the normal keyboard shortcuts 'r' for reply-to-sender, 'a' for reply-to-all, or 'f' forward to change the recipients of your message. So if you're replying to a message, the combination Esc then 'a' will change it to "reply to all".

Sign out by clicking on Sign out.

2004-06-02T18:01:00.000-07:00

On Netscape/Mozilla/Firefox, if you close the Gmail *tab*, not the window, you're still siged in. Anybody can open a new tab and go to Gmail and automatically get logged into your account. It's just good habit to sign out from Gmail session by clicking on "Sign out" link on the top right corner.

More ways to open composer in a new window

2004-05-14T22:31:00.000-07:00

shift + 'c' or shift + click on 'Compose Mail'
shift + 'r' or shift + 'reply'
shift + 'a' or shift + 'reply all'
shift + 'f' or shift + 'forward'
Shift key is needed for keyboard shortcuts to work (caps lock is ignored).

Does Gmail ever ask for my username and password?

2004-05-11T23:34:00.000-07:00

"No. We feel strongly about your privacy and security. For your protection, we do not send unsolicited mass messages asking for passwords or personal information. We don't need this information to assist Gmail users.

If you've received a message that asks for private information, like your password, or directs you to a site that resembles Gmail, please note that the message did not originate with Gmail.

This practice is commonly called "spoofing." Spammers spoof by sending a fake email and then setting up a website, in an attempt to collect sensitive personal information and/or gain access to your Gmail account."

Search for "spoof" in the help page for more details.

Many ways to return to inbox

2004-05-08T01:03:00.000-07:00

To return to the inbox, you can of course click on the "Inbox" link on the left had side, or if you're in conversation view, clicking on the "Back to Inbox" link above the conversation. There is also green 'Inbox' label text next to the subject. But you can also click on the Gmail logo, a much larger target, to go back to the inbox.

Keyboard shortcut users can type "g i" to Go to the Inbox.

Clicking on the logo, the Inbox link, the Refresh link, or the keyboard shortcut "u" all will refresh the inbox with the latest messages received.

Open composer in a new window

2004-05-07T13:39:00.000-07:00

In a conversation there is an icon & link on the right hand side to open it in a new window. The same feature is available when you're composing a message. Need to look up some old message? Click on the icon on the upper right corner of the composer to bring it up in a new window.

Two ways to print messages

2004-05-04T23:56:00.000-07:00

Print Conversation: prints the whole conversation.
Print (under More options): prints the message.

Bang the spammers

2004-05-04T14:03:00.000-07:00

Keyboard shortcut for marking spams: '!'

https all the way

2004-04-28T23:32:00.000-07:00

Gmail lets you have a secure HTTPS session via https://gmail.google.com as well as its default SSL-enabled login page. Many other free webmails have non-SSL login as default and offer SSL login as an option and few offer HTTPS session. For more details see this page.

Selecting a sub-conversation out of a long, multi-person conversation.

2004-04-28T23:06:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have a long, multi-person conversation, and you want to concentrate on a particular sub-conversation with one person? For example, let's say you emailed three of your buddies Ada, Bob, and Cat, with the subject "Job okay?" and asked them all "How's it going at your job?". They all replied back and now you've gotten into three separate sub-conversations all within the same Gmail conversation. There is an easy way to concentrate on your sub-conversation with, say, Ada. Simply do the following search (without the square brackets):
[ subject:"job okay" (from:ada OR to:ada) ]
(Note that the "OR" must be all caps to be recognized as a special operator.) Then when you click on the conversation, it will open up with only the matching messages expanded! =)

Here's more detail than you probably want to know: The "to:" operator finds stuff in the to/cc/bcc fields. If you also cc-ed or bcc-ed Ada in other messages that you don't want to match the search (e.g. your messages to Bob and Cat), then do the search:
[ subject:"job okay" (from:ada OR (to:ada -cc:ada -bcc:ada)) ]
The "-cc:ada" and "-bcc:ada" terms eliminate the possibility of matching on messages cc-ed or bcc-ed to Ada.

Changing the Subject line in a reply.

2004-04-27T20:34:00.000-07:00

You can reply with a different subject. Just start a reply, and then find the "edit subject" link (between the recipients textarea and the message body textarea).

u for update

2004-04-26T23:22:00.000-07:00

Keyboard shortcut 'u' takes you back to your list of conversations from Conversation View. When you're in the list of conversations 'u' will refresh the list, in effect checking for the new mails.

Transfer Hotmail mails to Gmail

2004-04-26T23:19:00.000-07:00

Found in Orkut's Gmail Users community:
http://s89693428.onlinehome.us/blog/archives/000576.html

http://www.gmailforums.com

2004-04-24T08:35:00.000-07:00

http://www.gmailforums.com is a web board about all things Gmail.

" - " Searches

2004-04-22T21:14:00.000-07:00

Typing in "robin -robyn" in the search box will find mails mentioning robin but not those that mention robyn.

Search faster with operators

2004-04-21T22:08:00.000-07:00

Instead clicking on 'Show search options', you can type queries in the search box at the top like

to:robin@gmail.com -- for the mails sent to robin@gmail.com,

from:robin -- for the mails from robin,

subject:gems -- for mails with 'gems' in subject, etc.

You can do any "Search Options" search, and then look in the green header bar above the conversation list for the line that says "Search results for: ...". The bold text in that line is what you should type into the regular search box to get the same results.

Lots of tips from Adam Lasnik

2004-04-21T22:04:00.000-07:00

Check them out: http://www.bladam.com/archives/0404202120.htm

How To Import Contacts Into Gmail

2004-04-21T21:51:00.000-07:00

There is a super-easy way to add your existing address book from your old email account (Yahoo, Mail, MSN, whatever) to your spiffy new Gmail contacts list. Here's what to do:

1. Email everyone on your list including yourself at your new Gmail address. Say something like: "I'm going to be switching email addresses to my new Gmail account. Expect an email from that account soon!"

2. Reply All to that email from your Gmail account. Tell everybody "This is my spiffy new Gmail account! Please email me at this address from now on."

Then everybody you emailed should be in your Gmail contacts.

BTW, importing/exporting contacts is one of the future promised features of Gmail.

Use + to separate mails

2004-04-20T23:43:00.000-07:00

Gmail filters can separate mails sent to name+someword@gmail.com and
name+anotherword@gmail.com.

Two examples:
1.Give your Gmail address to Amazon and Ebay as name+amazon@gmail.com
and name+ebay@gmail.com respectively and filter the mails from Amazon
and Ebay.
2. Make special address like name+love+special+somebody@gmail.com for
that Special Somebody to write you.

In "Search Options" fields, you can use quotes, minus sign, OR, and parentheses.

2004-04-20T23:38:00.000-07:00

For example, in the From: field, you can put any of the following:

1. "Jane Doe"
Meaning: contains the phrase "Jane Doe".

2. Jane -John
Meaning: contains Jane, and does not contain John.

3. Jane OR John
Meaning: contains Jane or John.

4. (Jane OR John) Doe
Meaning: contains Jane or John, and contains Doe.

Selecting Many Mails at Once

2004-04-19T23:40:00.000-07:00

Suppose you have many mails to select (for say archiving them). In many web mail applications you will have to click on checkboxes one at a time repeatedly to select many mails. Not on Gmail. Select the first mail, press shift and select the last of the mails. All mails between the first and the last will be selected (just like in ordinary desktop applications).

Up and Atom!

2004-04-19T22:20:00.000-07:00

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Welcome to Gmail Gems

2004-04-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

You will find tips and tricks of Gmail here. Got tips and tricks of your own? Submit your tips and tricks to us for inclusion on this blog. tips.and.tricks@gmail.com