Gmail for business

The business user’s guide to Gmail

Whether you're new to Gmail or just want to make the most of its many layers, this in-depth guide will turn you into a Google email pro in no time.

Contributing Editor, Computerworld |

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Gmail shortcuts and time-savers

You could devote an entire separate article to Gmail shortcuts and time-savers — and, in fact, I have! — but here are a few quick possibilities worth considering as part of your Gmail basics orientation:

Gmail has a huge set of helpful shortcuts that'll let you zip around the interface without ever moving your hands off your keyboard. To enable them, go back into Gmail's settings and scroll down the screen until you see the "Keyboard shortcuts" option. Change its setting to "Keyboard shortcuts on," then scroll down all the way to the bottom of the screen and click the Save Changes button. Once you're back in your main inbox view, hit the question mark key on your keyboard to see a list of available options.
Gmail's built-in snoozing function is a fantastic way to get messages out of your hair and then have 'em come back when they'll be most relevant — or even to change the order of emails in your inbox, if you want to put the system to creative use. To snooze an email, click the clock-shaped icon in the toolbar at the top of the screen while you're viewing a message or after you've selected any number of messages in your inbox view.
In addition to selecting messages and then using the commands at the top of the screen in your inbox, you can right-click on any message in that same list to pull up a menu of options for functions such as archiving, labeling, forwarding, and yes, even snoozing.

Whew! Almost done. Before we call it a day, though, there's one more critical area of the Gmail experience you'll want to think through.

The Gmail mobile differences

By and large, using Gmail from your Android or iOS phone is fairly similar to using the service on a computer — but you'll notice a handful of significant differences.

First, to be clear, you'll almost certainly want to use the Gmail Android app or Gmail iOS app to manage your email on the go. The Gmail mobile website is a weirdly dated mess, and the apps provide the superior experience (by an almost laughably large margin).

The only asterisk is that the Gmail phone apps won't allow you to create or edit labels, work with filters, or modify any of the service's more advanced settings. Any changes you make on those fronts will still apply in the mobile environment, but in order to configure them, you'll have to access Gmail via the desktop website.

That aside:

To find text formatting commands while composing a message in the Gmail mobile apps, press and hold your finger onto the text area. On Android, you'll see a "Format" option right then and there that'll reveal a full text-formatting panel; on iOS, you'll first have to select a specific section of text, after which you'll see basic options for bolding, italicizing, or underlining within the system-level pop-up menu.

07a gmail for business android text formatting — Text formatting options are available in the Gmail mobile apps — including on Android, shown here — but you have to poke around a little to find them.

To switch between multiple Gmail accounts connected to your phone — if, for instance, you have both a work and a personal address associated with the device — tap your profile picture or icon in the upper-right corner of the main inbox interface to see a list of options or swipe up or down on that picture or icon to move quickly from one account to the next.
To configure custom swipe actions for your inbox — commands that'll let you quickly archive, delete, or snooze a message as well as mark it as read or unread and move it to another label or inbox category — tap the three-line menu icon in the app's upper-left corner and then find and tap "Settings" in the menu that comes up. On Android, tap "General settings" followed by "Swipe actions"; on iOS, tap "Mail swipe actions" within the main settings menu.

And with that, your Gmail orientation is complete! Next comes the fun part: fine-tuning the Gmail interface, teaching yourself smarter shortcuts, and ingesting other advanced Gmail knowledge.

Choose your own adventure, and before you know it, you'll be a full-fledged email efficiency master:

Gmail account basics

Having issues with your actual Google account as it relates to Gmail? Here are some fast 'n' simple solutions to common questions:

How to sign out of Gmail: If you want to sign out of Gmail entirely — which will also sign you out of all other Google apps and services — click the circular profile picture or icon in the upper-right corner of the Gmail website, then look for the Sign Out (or Sign Out of All Accounts) button in the panel that appears.
How to change your Gmail password: Google account security is important, and using a strong, complex password that isn't used anywhere else is the smartest way to keep your data safe. Your Gmail password is the same as your general Google account password, so if you ever need to change it, go to the Google Account Password page. You can also manually sign out specific devices and add two-factor authentication onto your account for extra protection on the Google Account Security page.
How to recover a Gmail account: If you've forgotten your Google password and you're unable to sign into Gmail at all, visit the Google Account Recovery site to explore your options. Proactively, it's also worth looking at the "Ways we can verify it's you" area of the Google Account Security page to make sure your recovery phone number, recovery email address, and security question are all up to date and accurate.
How to change your Gmail name: Need to switch your name in Gmail to something different? Hey, it happens. You can change your Gmail name by clicking the gear-shaped icon in the Gmail website's upper-right corner, selecting "See all settings," and then clicking the "Accounts and Import" header and clicking the "Edit info" link within the "Send mail as" section.
How to delete Gmail or remove your Gmail account: If you're done with a Gmail account and want to deactivate, delete, and remove it forever, you'll find the option to do so within the Google Account website. If you want to delete your entire Google account — including Gmail and all other Google apps and services — this page is the one you want. Just be sure you've exported and downloaded any data you want to save before taking either step.
How to create a Gmail account: If you're just getting started with Gmail or need to establish a new address for any reason, you can create a Gmail account by filling out the form on this general Google account creation page.

Contributing Editor JR Raphael serves up tasty morsels about the human side of technology. Hungry for more? Sign up for his weekly newsletter to get fresh tips and insight in your inbox every Friday.