Gmail offers a lot of flexibility when it comes to the way you manage your email. Innovative features like labels, a dedicated mobile phone client and rich script-ability via Firefox's Greasemonkey plugin create a unique appeal for users from nearly all walks of life.Since you can do so much with and to Gmail, I thought I would round up my favorite tips and hacks for users both old and new. Some of these are simple ideas for thinking about labels in a different way, while others add more powerful functionality for the most dedicated of Gmail ninjas. Of course, this list is by no means complete, so have at it in the comments with your own tips, scripts and workflows. For now, here are mine:
- Greasemonkey repository at Google Code: Started by Mihai Parparita, a Google employee (though unaffiliated with Gmail), this Google Code repository has some of the coolest and most functional Gmail scripts for Greasemonkey, an add-on for Firefox. Scripts for adding colors to labels, saving searches and even integrating Gmail + Google Reader can all be found here.
- The Macros script: Found at that Google Code repository, I firmly believe this is *the* essential Gmail trick to end all Gmail tricks. It adds a serious dose of productivity that can make Gmail more functional than any desktop email client on the block. This script has shortcuts for label navigation, simultaneously marking as read + archiving, labeling messages on the fly and much more - all from the keyboard. Once you get this script installed, pressing 'h' should display a slick overlay of all available shortcuts.
- Trick your labels: Using unique characters to prefix label names brings them to the top of the alphabetized list of labels. The @ symbol, numbers and even underscores are all useful for bringing important labels out of their standard organization, and they make labels more accessible to other hacks like the Macros script.
- Join the Power Users group: The Gmail Power Users Google Group attracts many users just like you, looking for ways to extend and bend Gmail to their will. If you find yourself getting as hooked on Greasemonkey scripts as I have, this is a great place to find other people who are customizing them to their specific interests.
- Quicker Contacts: Gmail includes a built-in chat feature with a clever pop-up window for easy access to some of the contacts with whom you communicate the most, but why limit this handy functionality to the tiny chat area? Quicker Contacts is another fantastic Greasemonkey script that adds this pop-up window to every message in Gmail. One catch, however, is that you need to be using Gmail's standard + chat mode in order for this script to work. If you don't like chatting inside of Gmail though, the good news is that you can simply sign out of chat and collapse the panel to avoid being bothered with it.
- Bookmark any label, folder or message type: Another apparently undocumented Gmail trick is the ability to bookmark a label, a standard folder or even a message type such as 'read' or 'unread.' It isn't quite as easy as bookmarking a website, but it's useful: simply copy and paste this link into your address bar: https://mail.google.com/mail/?view=cm&fs=1: and then add any label name, folder or message type after the colon (examples: fs=1:todo, fs=1:Drafts and fs=1:unread). Press enter, and then bookmark that page once Gmail loads.
- Backup Gmail offline: Some Gmail users can occasionally find themselves needing access to their email when they're offline somewhere, or - worst case scenario - their account might have accidentally disappeared. No matter what the reason is, it's always a good idea to have a backup of your data, and email from an online service is no exception. Gmail offers instructions for accessing and downloading your email to a desktop client, with a ton of customized instructions for nearly every client in the book. As an added bonus, it seems Gmail has recently introduced a "recent" mode just in case you want to download your email with more than one client.
- Manage multiple Gmail accounts: For one reason or another, many Gmail users find themselves opening multiple accounts. Throw the ability to run Gmail on your own domain with Google Apps for Your Domain, and things can get complicated. Gmail Manager is an add-on for Firefox that untangles your Gmail web by allowing you to manage, swap between and receive new message alerts from multiple Gmail accounts, including those run on Google Apps.
- Fetch your other mail: A recent and quietly introduced Gmail feature is Mail Fetcher, which can check up to five other email accounts and download all that mail into your Gmail. To help keep things organized, Mail Fetcher can automatically label and archive all this incoming mail.
- Bookmarklets: These are typically javascript-enabled bookmarks that do something instead of simply 'mark something. To make Gmail more functional, there are two bookmarklets which the Gmail community have cooked up to make the web service feel more like a desktop app. The first is Compose (drag that link to your browser's bookmark toolbar or 'mark as you see fit), which skips directly to opening a compose window in Gmail (sidenote: To save my life I can neither find nor hack this one to open a new window; if any readers were more successful, I would join many others in thanking you if you shared in the comments). The second bookmarklet is really handy for sharing whatever page you're viewing: Gmail This opens a new, smaller composition window with the title of the front-most webpage in the subject and a link to the page in the body of the email. If you selected any text on the page, this will be added to the message body as well.
[Update: Download Squad reader bcnewman hacked the Gmail This bookmarklet to create a new, blank compose window in a popup, just like the Gmail This 'marklet. Get the javascript from bcnewman's comment here, or simply drag this link to your toolbar to create the bookmarklet. Thanks a lot bcnewman!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
2-21-2007 @ 4:10PM
danmcg said...
javascript:popw='';Q='';x=document;y=window;if(x.selection) {Q=x.selection.createRange().text;} else if (y.getSelection) {Q=y.getSelection();} else if (x.getSelection) {Q=x.getSelection();}popw = y.open('https://mail.google.com/mail?view=cm&tf=0&to=&su=' + escape(document.title) + '&body=' + escape(Q) + escape('\n') + escape(location.href),'gmailForm','scrollbars=yes,width=680,height=510,top=175,left=75,status=no,resizable=yes');if (!document.all) T = setTimeout('popw.focus()',50);void(0);
That is the bookmarklet I use to email the page I am viewing to someone.
This pops open a new window!
Reply
2-21-2007 @ 4:16PM
DanMcG said...
Woops. Maybe I should read the whole article first!
Reply
2-21-2007 @ 7:26PM
Brett said...
How about (for the LOVE OF GOD) a ONE click delete and the ability to delete all contents of a folder rather than field by agonizing field?
Reply
2-21-2007 @ 7:43PM
Steve Rubel said...
I can't get the bookmark trick to work. It automatically opens a compose window.
Reply
2-21-2007 @ 8:05PM
benh said...
along the same lines of the sort by char trick I build a small greasemonkey script that will auto_hide labels that you don't want to see all the time.
http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/4669
thanks for the biggie list of more things to play with on Gmail.
benh~
Reply
2-21-2007 @ 8:11PM
Larry said...
Found 5 tips for accessing blocked GMail
http://www.ministryoftech.com/2007/02/14/5-tips-for-accessing-your-blocked-gmail
Reply
2-21-2007 @ 8:47PM
TonyT said...
javascript:var ref = window.open('https://gmail.google.com/gmail?view=cm&cmid=0&fs=1&tearoff=1', 'blank');
That will open that page in a new window. Admittedly, I have only ever used it in Camino and Firefox on the Mac, so YMMV.
Reply
2-21-2007 @ 9:55PM
Mysterius said...
Well, I'm not sure what you're looking for, but if you're basically looking for a blank version of GmailThis!, then here it is:
javascript:popw='';Q='';x=document;y=window;if(x.selection) {Q=x.selection.createRange().text;} else if (y.getSelection) {Q=y.getSelection();} else if (x.getSelection) {Q=x.getSelection();}popw = y.open('https://mail.google.com/mail?view=cm&tf=0' + escape(document.title) + '&body=' + escape('\n') ,'gmailForm','scrollbars=yes,width=680,height=510,top=175,left=75,status=no,resizable=yes');if (!document.all) T = setTimeout('popw.focus()',50);void(0);
Hope it works for you, as I modified this with exactly *zero* knowledge of javascript.
Reply
2-21-2007 @ 10:22PM
lord2800 said...
You can force the compose to open in a new window with the following code:
(function(){g=open(('https://gmail.google.com/gmail?view=cm&cmid=0&fs=1&tearoff=1','g','location=no,status=yes,menubar=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes,width=500,height=400,modal=yes,dependent=yes');setTimeout('g.focus()',1000)})();
Reply
2-21-2007 @ 11:54PM
kj said...
I cant believe you forgot the "Mute" function! You should look into the mute function. I cant live without it.
You can mute conversations and never receive the same thread unless directed to you.
Reply
2-22-2007 @ 3:38AM
Eli said...
here's what worked for me in opening a new window for Gmail compose:
Gmail Compose
Reply
2-22-2007 @ 8:16AM
Dave Chartier said...
@7: TonyT you rock, thanks a ton!
@9: I don't believe so. The initial download has to snag all that email from the past 30 days, but subsequent downloads should be smart about which messages that 'recent:' client already has. I'm afraid I don't have a second machine on which to try this out on, but that seems the most logical to me.
Reply
2-22-2007 @ 11:08AM
gudinin said...
Hey, guys!
Is anyone familiar how to get GMail Marcos script working in Opera? I prefer to stick with Opera, and I guess the Opera built-in Javascript option should probably allow a work-around solution, but I couldn't get that far.
Any hints would be very-very much appreciated!
And I guess I'm not alone in searching for a workable solution of GMail Macros in Opera.
Many thanks in advance!
Reply
2-22-2007 @ 12:23PM
bcnewman said...
Hacked the Gmail This bookmarklet:
javascript:popw='';Q='';x=document;y=window;if(x.selection) {Q=x.selection.createRange().text;} else if (y.getSelection) {Q=y.getSelection();} else if (x.getSelection) {Q=x.getSelection();}popw = y.open (' https://mail.google.com/mail?view=cm&tf=0&to=&su=' ,'gmailForm','scrollbars=yes,width=680,height=510,top=175,left=75,status=no,resizable=yes');if (!document.all) T = setTimeout(' popw.focus()',50);void(0);
Reply
2-22-2007 @ 12:41PM
Jon said...
How to add JS (Includes Greasemonkey) to Opera:
http://www.opera.com/support/tutorials/userjs/using/#writingscripts
Reply
2-22-2007 @ 2:47PM
Adam said...
Nice article! You should add it to http://www.eioba.com !
Reply
2-22-2007 @ 4:06PM
graywave said...
#15 - bcnewman's worked for me!
Very nice list.
Reply
2-22-2007 @ 6:48PM
Kevin said...
I tried the Google: recent solution, but it began downloading ALL of the 4255 messages I've gotten in the past 30 days. Will it do that every time I dload my email?
Reply
2-22-2007 @ 7:57PM
Dave Chartier said...
@14: bcnewman, you rock! Works perfectly, and I've updated the post with a new draggable bookmarklet and credit for your excellent work.
@18: I don't believe so. Subsequent download should only grab the newest email, so *technically,* that feature is working perfectly since it downloaded your last 30 days worth of email.
Reply
2-22-2007 @ 10:30PM
Murray @ Midnight said...
Very interesting article! I was just wondering - when I use the script to pop up the Gmail compose window, it 'pops under' the current window, rather than above. Is there any way to control this in the script, so clicking on the bookmark will make sure that the compose window loads on top of the current one?
Thanks again!
Murray
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