Gmail Tips & Tricks: Boost Your Email Experience

Since Gmail’s debut on April 1, 2004, it has come a long way. Today, Google’s free email service is one of the most popular and boasts 1.8 billion active users. While it is a simple service to learn and use, Gmail has a few hidden settings and features that can help perform tasks much more efficiently, manage the inbox better and cut through the clutter for an enhanced email experience. 

Are you using Gmail to its full potential? Let’s find out. 

Undo Send setting

It is not uncommon to make mistakes while sending an email to someone on Gmail. There might be typo errors, or you may have forgotten the attachment. Luckily, there’s no need to panic. If you suddenly remember you forgot to add some details or made any error, Gmail allows you to undo the sent email. 

The timer is set to five seconds by default, but you can click on the Settings icon in Gmail > head to the General Tab > select Undo Send setting > increase the timer to ten, twenty, or thirty seconds. 

Keep in mind setting a high value will delay sending your email by the specified time. 

Save email as PDF

When it comes to saving backup copies of emails or accessing them offline, a PDF conversion mode would be handy. The PDF file format is the most convenient and safest way to save your emails because it is widely accepted and works across every device. If you’re thinking about how to turn email into PDF, Gmail makes it easier for you. Open any email, and you’ll find a print option in the top-right corner. You have to click the print icon and select Save as PDF from the dropdown menu. It’s that simple!

Email aliases for improved privacy 

It can be painful to sign up for services on the Internet. Wondering why? Because you are bombarded with promotional emails the moment, you enter your email address. 

Fortunately, Gmail allows you to offer an alternative email address to a different service, and this is one of Gmail’s best-kept secrets. All you have to do is add a “+” sign to your email address. 

For example, a user with the email address amypoh@gmail.com can sign up for a service like Netflix with the address amypoh+netflix@gmail.com. All the emails sent to this address will be automatically delivered to your inbox. Moreover, you can find out which services have leaked your personal information and filter them out from your inbox. 

Send self-destructing emails 

Do you need to send highly sensitive and confidential information? Ensure that the email doesn’t fall in the wrong hands by sending out emails that will erase themselves automatically after some time. It’ll be as if the email never existed. 

Such emails don’t let recipients forward the email to anyone else. They’re only for the eyes of the recipient. 

To send self-destructing emails, compose a new message > look at the row of icons near the Send button and find the icon that looks like a padlock with a clock on it and select it. The padlock icon toggles confidentiality mode on or off. 

Sign out Gmail remotely 

You can access Gmail from multiple devices at once. At times, you may stay signed on even when you don’t mean to. On the desktop, you can scroll down to your inbox’s bottom and look for Last Account Activity (it’ll be written in fine print) > click the Details link beneath it to see the activity for your account > if you suspect something fishy, carry out a Google Security Check-up and deactivate open sessions on other devices.

No need to break the chain 

Do you want to copy a colleague on an email chain? There’s no need to break the chain and draft a new email because you can type “+(their name)” into the email body itself and choose their email address. The email will loop them into the conversation automatically. 

Stop typing so much, respond in a can

Why type the same message over and over again when you can respond in a can? Previously called canned responses, you can create Templates for redundant, repeated, and repetitive emails. To turn it on, go to See All Settings > Advanced > Templates > click Enable. After that, scroll down to Save changes and reload Gmail. Then, compose a new email and type up canned responses. You can click the ellipsis menu and select Templates. Here, the message you just typed will be saved for future references. You can even re-write the canned reply and re-save them for future use. 

Personalize your inbox display 

If you don’t like your incoming messages being divided into different tabs like Promotions, Primary and Social, you can customize it. Gmail allows users to revamp the inbox display according to their preferences. All you need to do is click on the Settings icon > choose Inbox Type > select Customize. 

So, keep these tricks and tips mentioned above in mind when you are using Gmail next. These will help you get the most of the free email service.