5 Little Known Gmail Tips

Gmail is by far the most popular free email service by Google. Now power users can check out these 5 little known GMail tips and learn some more ways to get a better Gmail experience.

1. Custom From

Redirecting mails from another email is a pretty common service that most email service providers provide. Gmail takes it a step further. Not only can you redirect your mails from Gmail to another address but also send mails from your Gmail account as if they were appearing from another account!

No, we are not spoofing. It’s a legal way that Gmail provides.

As an example, take two email ids like google@gmail.com and yahoo@yahoo.com. Our task is to configure Gmail account such that mails could be sent with From: as either of the two ids.

  1. Go to google@gmail.com > Settings > Accounts tab.
  2. Under Send mail as: option, click on Add another email address.
  3. Follow the instructions on the screen.
  4. An email will be sent to yahoo@yahoo.com with a pass code. Enter that pass code in the specified location.
  5. Done. As shown in the image alongside, you can use either google@gmail.com or yahoo@yahoo.com as the From address to send mails, and can configure either as the default.

I really like this and has made my life much easier

2. Gmail signature in reply-to exactly where you want it

This is something new from the Gmail’s super creative team. With this option enabled, you need not cut-paste your signature from the bottom to just after your message. As soon as you click on reply, your signature will automatically appear on the very top. This is especially useful in long mail exchanges.

3. Shoo away spammers

Gmail considers r.o.w@gmail.com the same as row@gmail.com. This can be an excellent way to find out your spam mail source. Bloggers submit their email ids to many places. With each submission there is a potential for email abuse. The way to get around this is: Instead of submitting your mail id like row@gmail.com, submit it as r.ow@gmail.com to one, as ro.w@gmail.com to another, and so on. Set up filters in Gmail corresponding to each of the mail ids submitted by you. Now when you receive spam, you can identify its source based on the unique filter that has been set up for it.

4. I forgot to attach that doc

No more fret about it. With this option enabled, Gmail will detect that you wanted to attach a doc but forgot to and it will prompt you to do so. Go to your Gmail account > labs and enable this feature as shown.
It seems that this feature scans for words like attachment, find attached etc. to detect missing attachment. Simple but a lovely idea.

5. Secure your Gmail account

Worried that someone else might be reading your emails from the cyber cafe you went to and forgot to log out from? No more. Gmail now provides Sign out all other sessions facility. Scroll down to the bottom of Gmail page after login. Click on Details. You will get this pop up. You know what to do with this button now. Rest in peace.

Author of ReviewOfWeb.com is a software engineer by profession and loves coding, finding Web2.0ish sites and exploring new ways to enhance productivity. If you have some tips to share, why not write a guest article on QOT.

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About the Author: P Chandra is editor of QOT, one of India's earliest tech bloggers since 2004. A tech enthusiast with expertise in coding, WordPress, web tools, SEO and DIY hacks.