While Gmail is generally a nice experience, there is potential for improvement, particularly on mobile.
In typical Google fashion, what you see isn’t always what you get. The Gmail Android app offers some super-useful hidden features that can make your mobile email experience more powerful, productive, and effective.
Here are six such options worth unravelling:
- Swipe gestures
- A quick account switch
- The contact panel
- Step-saver contact
- Recipient summoning
- Personalized alerts
Swipe gestures
Ever wished you could snooze emails or just mark them as unread without a convoluted finger-tap dance?
Go to the Gmail Android settings (by tapping the three-line menu icon in the upper-left corner and scrolling down until you see the “Settings” option). Tap “General” and then “Swipe actions.”
You may configure what happens when you swipe an email left or right from your inbox or any other message list view. Set up your preferences — utilizing the old Inbox-style right swipe for archiving and left swipe for snoozing — and then swipe away to your heart’s content (and with the optional occasional cackle).
A quick account switch
In the spirit of hidden swipes, if you’ve got multiple Google accounts set up on your phone say, one for work and one for personal use, or one for work and one for secret chinchilla chattake note of this. You can quickly switch between your accounts by swiping up or down on your profile picture in the upper-right area of the Gmail interface.
The contact panel
While we’re on the subject of face-based actions, here’s another underrated Gmail Android gem: Tap the sender’s profile image in the upper-left corner of the screen while viewing an email in your inbox.
For example, you can send an email to someone, schedule a calendar event for them, or call their phone number directly from the control panel.
You may also add someone to your contacts straight from that panel by hitting the little + sign in the upper right corner if they aren’t already there.
Step-saver contact
Let’s keep the contact-related fun going. In Gmail, holding down a sender’s name reveals useful hidden options.
But, certainly, you can. Try it and see: When you do that, you’ll see commands to copy that person’s email address to your clipboard and to start a new email thread for them.
Recipient summoning
Regarding adding another recipient to an email on your phone, save yourself the hassle of halting your workflow to move up to the recipient field and instead do this:
Type @ followed by the initial letter or two of the person’s name in the email’s body. (You can also use the + sign instead of @ if you choose.)
You’ll see a special selector box right next to your cursor: With one more tap, they’re in the email.
Personalized alerts
Email notifications can be useful at times, but they can also be annoying. Try the Gmail Android app’s high-priority notification option to filter out the noise and only receive emails that are truly important to you
To test it, go back to the Gmail app’s settings, choose your Google account, hit “Notifications,” and choose “High priority only.” Give it a day and see.
If you know exactly what emails you want to be notified about — instance, those from a specific person or domain, or those with a specific word in the subject or body — you can skip the A.I. and create your own personalized Gmail notifications. That’s what I do, and it works great as long as you have a consistent formula for what emails to notify
Either way, you’ll have less noise and more energy to deal with the important stuff.
Summary
Businesses employing SMS and email together may contact customers more effectively and personalize their experience. Combined with SMS, email is a great tool for business communication. Email and SMS communications work together to support each other.
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