ThreadTrimMost people use about a tenth of what Gmail can do. These are the features that make the biggest difference day to day: they’re all built in or free, and most take less than a minute to set up.
has:attachment larger:10M, templates for emails you write often, Schedule send and Snooze, filters to sort mail automatically, and removing the quoted thread from your replies.
Sending
1. Give yourself 30 seconds to Undo Send
Gmail holds every email for a few seconds before it really goes. Make that window longer: Settings › See all settings › General › Undo Send, choose 30 seconds, and save. After sending, click Undo in the bottom-left corner.
2. Schedule emails for later
Click the small arrow next to Send and choose Schedule send. Write at 11pm, deliver at 8am.
3. Save replies you type over and over as templates
Turn on Settings › See all settings › Advanced › Templates. Then, in a new email, click the three dots › Templates to save the draft as a template or insert one.
4. Put your signature above the quoted text
By default your signature can end up below the quoted conversation in a reply. In Settings › General › Signature, tick Insert this signature before quoted text in replies.
5. Stop re-sending the whole conversation
Every Gmail reply quotes the earlier emails underneath it, hidden behind three dots, and sends them again. Delete that quoted text before you send (step-by-step guide) or use ThreadTrim to do it on every reply automatically.
Inbox
6. Snooze emails until you need them
Hover over an email and click the clock icon (or press b). It disappears and comes back to the top of your inbox at the time you pick.
7. Mute threads you don’t need to follow
Open the conversation and press m (or use More › Mute). New replies skip your inbox unless you’re addressed directly.
8. Turn on “Send & Archive”
In Settings › General, choose Show “Send & Archive” button in reply. Reply and file the email in one click.
9. Unsubscribe in one click
Open a newsletter and click Unsubscribe next to the sender’s name at the top, if Gmail shows it.
10. Get to the next email automatically
Turn on Settings › Advanced › Auto-advance. After you archive or delete an email, Gmail opens the next one instead of returning to the inbox.
11. Try Multiple inboxes
In Settings › Inbox, set Inbox type to Multiple inboxes and give each section a search, like is:starred or label:clients, to see them side by side.
Searching and sorting
12. Learn a handful of search operators
from:sam@example.comorto:for a personhas:attachment filename:pdffor attachmentslarger:10Mto find big emails eating your storageolder_than:1yornewer_than:7dfor datesis:unread,in:anywhere,"exact phrase", and-wordto exclude
13. Turn any search into a filter
Search, then click the sliders icon in the search bar and Create filter. Gmail can label, archive, star, forward or delete matching emails as they arrive.
14. Select every email that matches a search
Tick the select-all box above the list, then click Select all conversations that match this search. Handy for clearing out thousands of old newsletters.
15. Use nested, coloured labels
Labels can sit inside other labels (like folders) and have colours. Click the three dots next to a label in the sidebar to change its colour or put it under a parent label.
Your address
16. Make instant aliases with a plus sign
Mail sent to yourname+anything@gmail.com arrives in your normal inbox. Use +shopping or +newsletters when signing up, then filter on it.
17. Dots don’t matter
For gmail.com addresses, your.name@gmail.com and yourname@gmail.com are the same inbox.
18. Send from another address
Add a work or alias address in Settings › Accounts and Import › Send mail as, then choose it in the From field.
Speed
19. Turn on keyboard shortcuts
Settings › General › Keyboard shortcuts on. Then c composes, r replies, e archives and j/k move between emails. Full list: Gmail keyboard shortcuts cheat sheet.
20. Expand or collapse a whole thread
With shortcuts on, press ; to expand every message in a conversation and : to collapse them. More on taming threads: Gmail conversation view explained.
21. Set an out-of-office reply
Settings › General › Vacation responder: set the dates, subject and message, and choose whether only your contacts get it.
Add ThreadTrim to Gmail, free
ThreadTrim removes the old quoted emails from your Gmail replies before you hit Send, so every reply is just what you wrote.
Frequently asked questions
How long can Undo Send be in Gmail?
Up to 30 seconds. Set it in Settings › See all settings › General › Undo Send.
Can I schedule an email in Gmail?
Yes. Click the arrow next to Send and choose Schedule send, then pick a date and time.
How do I find large emails in Gmail?
Search for larger:10M (or any size) to list emails above that size, then delete the ones you don’t need.
Does Gmail ignore dots in email addresses?
Yes, for gmail.com addresses. your.name@gmail.com and yourname@gmail.com reach the same inbox.
How do I stop Gmail including previous emails in my reply?
Click the three dots at the bottom of your reply, select the quoted text, and delete it before sending. ThreadTrim, a free Chrome extension, does this automatically.
Stop sending the whole thread.
ThreadTrim removes the old quoted emails from your Gmail replies before you hit Send. Free for 100 replies a month.
Add to Gmail, it's free