How to … in Gmail ? (Gmail’s most common issues)
When you work for an email management solution for Gmail, you think about emails, work with them and help clients manage their issues with them. Which is how you get a sense of the most common issues people run into when using their Gmail inbox.
Here is a list of some of the ones we run into and how to fix them.
Can I “unsend” an email?
Yes, but you need to have previously enabled the Undo functionality and it can only be done for up to 30 seconds after you clicked on send.
To enable Undo you need to access your Gmail’s settings (by clicking on the gear button on the top right corner when on your inbox and selecting Settings). You will land on the General tab and will find the Undo option where you will be able to activate it and chose the length of your cancellation period.
Don’t forget to click on Save Changes at the bottom of the page once you are done.
How do I add a signature to my emails?
Same as for the option to “unsend” an email you need to access your Gmail’s Settings >General , towards the end of the page you will find the Signature section where you will be able to set your email signature which will be added automatically to your outgoing messages.
Don’t forget to click on Save Changes at the bottom of the page once you are done.
How do I create folders in Gmail?
This is a recurring question especially for people who switch from Outlook to Gmail or use both. We all agree that folders are great to organise your inbox and it may seem that Gmail doesn’t have them but actually you have something very similar: Labels.
If you have been using labels only to tag emails straight inside your inbox, you haven’t been using them to their full potential. Once created a label category appears on the left side menu of your inbox and it can be used as a folder, you can select emails from your inbox and drag them inside the label. Emails will then be removed from your inbox and saved inside the label/folder. An added advantage is that an email can have multiple labels and it will be included in each label/folder.
For more details take a look at our article on How to create and use labels!
How do I search for an email more quickly?
To search for an email you have probably been using the Search bar at the top of your inbox which is efficient but not the quickest if you are looking for something broad or a keyword you often use. What you can do to accelerate the search process is used the advanced search mode. To do so: click on the down arrow at the end of the Search bar the window that appears will give you the option to look for emails from a specific sender, in a set time frame and even to include or disregard certain words.
So you could look for images from the last conference you organised, from your colleague while disregarding “holidays” to avoid getting picture of his trip to Spain in the middle of it all.
How to avoid getting different formatting when copy pasting in an email?
It’s happened to us all, you are typing away then need to include some text from a file or a website and when you copy paste you get the various formatting all mixed up and it doesn’t look nice. If it happens you can select everything and click on Tx in the formatting bar which will remove all formatting. Or, if you use Chrome, you can prevent it from happening in the first place use the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + V or Cmd + Shift + V which allows you to paste text without any formatting.
How do I create an out of office message?
Once again, you need to access your Gmail’s Settings >General (see undo),towards the end of the page you will find the Out of Office section where you will be able to set your out of office message which will be send automatically during the period of your choosing.
Don’t forget to click on Save Changes at the bottom of the page once you are done.
One last piece of advice
We sometimes get queries from clients thinking they may have been hacked or are afraid they received a phishing email. As a general rule always check who send you this email (not only their name but their email address, to make sure they really are who they say they are), and do not click on links or attachments which have been sent to you without context regardless of the sender. Finally, as a general precaution always trust your guts if something seems off to you don’t open it and if you are asked any sort of personal information double check with the sender if they truly are requesting this info.
If you wanna take some extra security precautions make sure to read our article on Gmail security — steps to protect your account.
I hope this Q&A helps you out with all the little issues that can raise when using Gmail, if your problem isn’t listed above make sure to check out Gmail Help Center.
If you are looking for tips and tricks to use Gmail like a pro, take a look at our How to become a Gmail power user series.
This article was created by Gmelius, the email management solution. It helps professionals save time and get organised with features including email scheduling and snooze emails.
