Gmail Hacks, Tips & Tricks
You
already know that Gmail beats all other email providers with its endless
customization capabilities, Google product integration and fantastic
spam filter. Take it to the next level with these Gmail power user tips
and Greasemonkey extensions for Firefox. We haven’t forgotten the Mac
users, either. For more great resources, check out the official Gmail
blog and the Gmail Power Users group on Google Groups.
1.
Master the Gmail keyboard shortcuts
If you haven’t already,
master the shortcut keys. Compose, mark as read, archive and much more
with the press of a button. Sure, you know c for compose and ! for
report spam, but do you know g + t for the sent mail folder? You can
find a complete list at the official Gmail shortcut page.
http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=6594
2.
Google Code Macros
The Greasemonkey extension for Firefox,
familiar to many power users, allows javascript functionality on any web
page. Piggybacking off of this capability, the generically-named Macros
script (http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=6594)
enables a number of keyboard shortcuts. Google apparently integrated
some of Macros shortcuts when revamping Gmail, but there are still
functions that the Macros programmers believe Gmail needs. "
3.
Create bookmarklets for frequent searches
This form
generates a bookmarklet for searches in Gmail. (By the way, a
bookmarklet is a baby bookmark that acts a single click tool for a
webpage or browser—thanks, Wikipedia). Take Rubel’s form further by
dragging the bookmarklets to your bookmarks bar.
http://eclectic-mayhem.com/stuff/gmail-search-bookmarks.html
4.
Resize your compose box
The aptly-named Resizeable Textarea
Firefox extension allows you to click and drag the edge of your compose
box without resizing your browser window. Note that any browser built
with the newest Opensource.org webkit—Safari, for example—will already
have this capability.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3818/
5.
View unread messages first
Search on the string
"label:unread label:inbox” to force all of your unread messages to the
top of the list. (Note: you don’t have to create any labels for this to
work.) Try bookmarking Cutts’s search and dragging it to your bookmarks
bar to view all unread messages first.
6. Streamline adding
attachments
Wouldn’t it be great if you could drop
attachments directly into the attachment box? Check out the Firefox
extension Dragdropupload.
7.
Quickly switch between Google accounts
If you have multiple
Google accounts—a Gmail with Google Apps account and a regular Gmail
account, for example—streamline them with this script for Firefox with
Greasemonkey. The script adds a "change user” drop-down bar in place of
the "sign out” link.
http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/16341
You
can also try Gmail Manager (also a Firefox extension), which
adds a Gmail menu bar to the Firefox window. Juggle multiple accounts,
sign in and out.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1320
8.
Bookmark a single email
As of November 2007, all Gmail
messages have dedicated URLs. Rather than killing a tree by printing the
message or laboriously copying down the info, you can CTRL-D (or ?-D)
an important email and refer to it at your leisure.
9.
Automate frequently repeated text
Signature functionality is
built into Gmail, but frequently typed phrases can be automated with
Firefox extension Signature, which allows you to insert designated text
with a keystroke. Also try a Windows app called AutoHotKey or Mac app
TypeIt4Me. Both apps allow you to create keystrokes to automate text in
virtually any application.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/578
10.
POP3 & IMAP forwarding
"I recommend using IMAP (where
the mail is both on the server and on your local machine(s)/device(s))
and uploading all your email onto Gmail,” writes Mark Wheeler, a Gmail
power user. "You can keep copies on the Google servers and your
desktop/laptop/phone so that they are all efficiently accessible and
available anytime anywhere. Don't have to worry about backups, or disk
space...I have 25,000 emails and have only used 9% of my space!”
To
upload old email like my friend did, set up a Gmail IMAP account in
your desktop email client. In the client, establish folders that
correspond to your Gmail labels, and drag and drop your non-Gmail into
the folders. If you're using Outlook with .PST format or Outlook
Express, you will have to convert or export the emails to mBox data file
format before the messages will translate. The process may take some
time, and your client may hang. Also, the original dates and times
attached to the messages will appear in Gmail as the dates and times
that the messages were imported into Gmail. But it's worth the trouble
to utilize your tricked-out Gmail, right?
11. Mute a
conversation
Ever found yourself subscribed to a mailing list
and the current conversation has nothing to do with you? If you don’t
want to unsubscribe, you can easily stop the friendly spam with the
Gmail mute function. Select a message in the thread and hit the m key to
auto-archive all incoming messages in the conversation. The thread will
stay muted until you unmute it; it will also un-mute itself if your
address appears in the To or CC box.
http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=47787
12.
Get it all in one place
Gmail’s built-in Mail Fetcher allows
you to receive and send from up to five different accounts via POP3.
Unlike a simple forwarding feature, Mail Fetcher allows synchronizing of
your Gmail actions with the home server. Go to your Gmail Settings ?
Accounts, then Add another mail account. One caveat of sending from
non-Gmail accounts: the recipients may see FROM you@Gmail.com on behalf
of you@otherdomain.com, especially if the recipients are using a client
like Outlook.
13.
Get it all in one place
With the Google Toolbar and Gmail
combined, power user Steve Rubel has made his Gmail account into a
massive archive of his interests. Steal his trick by adding the Google
toolbar to your browser. When you happen across text or images you want
to save, highlight them and click the send to Gmail link. Rubel has also
tons of other great hints.
http://www.micropersuasion.com/2007/02/transform_gmail.html
14.
Secure your email
Work that requires maximum security—or
run-of-the-mill paranoia—is made easier with this script with
Greasemonkey + Firefox. It'll force a secure connection when accessing
Gmail. To make sure you're as secure as you can be.
http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/1404
15.
Don't forget that attachment
If your sent folder is full of
"Oops, here's the attachment" messages, this handy reminder Greasemonkey
script will scan your messages--including replies and forwards--for
references to attachments. (The release notes say that it searches for
"attached," "attachment" or certain unknown variations.) If you mention
an attachment and forget to add it, a prompt will pop up.
http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/2419
16.
Gmail Notifier for Windows / Google Notifier for Mac
Rather
than keeping a browser window open and hitting CTRL-R like you've got
OCD, install a widget like Gmail Notifier for Windows
http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=9429&topic=13383
or
Google Notifier for Macs.
http://toolbar.google.com/gmail-helper/notifier_mac.html
It'll
check your email (and Google Calendar, if you're a Mac user) as
compulsively as you do. And as with almost everything else under the
sun, there's a Firefox extension
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/173/
that will serve the same function (it's not released by Google).
17.
Google Desktop Plug-In for Google Notifier
Some users have
reported compatibility issues between Google Toolbar, Google Apps and
Google Desktop. Everyone's configuration is different, blah blah blah,
so it's impossible to know, but Maxim Alexeyev created this Google
Desktop Plug-In which purports to replace Google Notifier for Google
Desktop and Google Toolbar users. The plug-in also offers multi-username
functions and Google Apps support.
http://sites.google.com/site/malexeyev/gmailnotifier
18.
Read your Google Reader RSS feeds in Gmail
Treat your Google
Reader RSS feeds the same way you treat old friends with this
Greasemonkey + Firefox script. Feeds invading your Gmail will offer
more-efficient time-wasting than ever before. Note that Google Reader
and Gmail seem to be moving closer together in functionality and
interface and it's likely that they'll soon be officially integrated.
http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/14030
19.
Include or exclude Chat from search results
Chat
conversations are automatically filed like emails with a Chat label, so
to exclude Chat when searching, use the string -label:Chat. Conversely,
to search only Chat conversations, use the string +label:Chat. The
–label: and +label: syntax will work to exclude or include any label in
Gmail search results.
20. Use Gmail like an external hard
drive
Use up any vegetating space in your Gmail account with
this Windows drive shell extension.
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/E-mail/Mail-Utilities/GMail-Drive-shell-extension.shtml
Your
Gmail space appears in My Computer/Windows Explorer as an external
drive, and when you drag and drop a file to the drive, it sends an email
to your Gmail account with the file as an attachment. Note that this is
a fairly old program but seems to have been updated for the latest
Gmail version. Mac users can try gDisk and Linux users can check out
GmailFS.
21.
Spam counter hider
You’re browsing through your
(overstuffed) inbox. You have many labels, filters and tricks that
ensure that your email gets to you efficiently. Even so, you look at the
number of messages in the spam folder and a small voice inside you
says, "There could be something in the spam folder that doesn’t belong
there!” Forget it. There never is. This Greasemonkey + Firefox script
hides the spam count number, so the thought doesn’t even cross your
mind.
http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/2210
22.
Hack Gmail’s CSS
"Stylish is to CSS what Greasemonkey is to
javascript,” says the Firefox extension page for Stylish.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2108/
Cascade
those style sheets yourself, or grab them from userstyles.org.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2108/
23.
Launch one-key composing with Launchy (Windows) or Quicksilver (Mac)
Launchy
is a free, open source keyword launcher that runs in your system tray
and opens apps with designated keystrokes. Launchy’s still "a far cry
from Quicksilver for Mac” according to Gina Trapani at Lifehacker, but
Adam Pash of Lifehacker says,
"I can't recommend it highly enough.”
There’s a quick tutorial on one-key Gmail composing with Launchy—opening
a browser logged into Gmail with a compose window with a single
keystroke
24.
Better Gmail 2 with all-in-one Greasemonkey script
For a
one-size-fits-all solution that combines several Greasemonkey scripts
into one package, check out Better Gmail 2, which combines dozens of
Greasemonkey scripts into one package. Allow HTML use in signatures,
force a secure connection, convert labels into folders and make the spam
folder invisible. There’s also a Better Gmail 2 extension for those
using Firefox. Cnet strongly recommends the extension in their review.
http://download.cnet.com/Better-Gmail-2/3000-11745_4-10786782.html?tag=lst-1
25.
Create a podcast of your Gmail
Without an iPhone or
Blackberry, the morning subway ride can get pretty boring. And you can’t
navigate a smartphone while driving—or at least, you shouldn’t. Create
an RSS feed from your Gmail account with this syntax:
https://username:password@gmail.google.com/gmail/feed/atom
26.
Force mailto: to open with Gmail
The annoyance of prompts
from Outlook or Apple Mail with every mailto: link you click can be
ended. This Greasemonkey script forces mailto: scripts to open Gmail.
(Note: it’s unclear whether this script is compliant with the newest
version of Gmail.)
http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/11290
27.
Emulate a mail client
For those who can’t decide between a
full-fledged mail client and browser-based Gmail, SimpleMail straddles
the divide with a three-paned mail view.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5593
28.
Pre-label and sort your mail
Many email providers, including
Gmail, allow you to append your address with +something—for example,
you can give all of your OS/2 user group buddies your address as
you+OS2@gmail.com. (Note that Gmail addresses are not case sensitive).
The incoming emails that wax nostalgic about IBM’s late great OS will be
pre-labeled, and you can establish filters to sort them. The +something
system also allows you to stop spam before it starts. If inappropriate
emails with a designated +something address, you can kill off the
address. You’ll also have an inkling how the spam got started.
29.
Add address-specific signatures with HTML
If you use
multiple Gmail accounts, the Gmail HTML Signatures extension for Firefox
+ Greasemonkey automates the signature process. Based on the address
you’re sending from, this extension will automatically insert
HTML-formatted signatures.
30.
Backup your Gmail
If you’re using a desktop or smartphone
mail client, you’ve already got some backups of your email. But what if
you’re all web-based? What if Gmail servers were hit by a nuclear bomb?
Stop the paranoia and check the Gmail backup tutorial here.
http://www.googletutor.com/2007/03/29/using-google-groups-to-backup-gmail/
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