GMail is my favorite mail client (online and offline) because of its clean, sleek, fast interface. Over the time, I have started to enjoy some of its little-appreciated features. This post tries to give proper credit to the oft-overlooked goodies that are buried among the many touted.
Keyboard Shortcuts
This feature allows to easily navigate through the web interface. By default, Keyboard Shortcuts are disabled in a GMail account. You can enable it from Settings -> General -> Keyboard Shortcuts on . Once the setting is saved, you can press “?” to see all the listed key accelerators.
Browser Connection
Since privacy concerns are taken seriously, it is better to turn on HTTPS option from Settings -> General -> Always use https
Undo Send
Oops, hit “Send” too soon? This stop messages from being sent for a few seconds after hitting the send button. A 10s delay would be enough for many but with option for more delay, if you prefer to. Enable this feature from GMail Labs [Settings -> Labs -> Undo Send]. To set delays, check General tab in Settings page.
Canned Responses
One of the GMail labs features that is described as the email for the truly lazy. It allows me to put stylized footer for my antzFx mails like shown below. Press enable to use this option in the compose menu.
Don’t Forget Bob
Once you pick some email recipients, Gmail suggests more people you might want to include based on the groups of people you email most often.
Got the wrong Bob?
Doh, have you ever addressed an email too quickly, and included Bob (your boss) instead of Bob (your friend) by accident? If you’re emailing more than two people at once, Gmail will check if you meant to include Bob Smith rather than Bob Jones based on the groups of people you email most often.
Inserting Images
Allows you to insert images into a message body. You can upload and insert image files in your computer, or insert images by URLs. This lab will not work if you have offline enabled.
Message Sneak Peek
Peek into a conversation without opening it by right-clicking on a message in your inbox. Very handy when you just want to check something.
Nested Labels
Manage your email by sorting it into a hierarchy of labels. Add slashes (/) to label names to express inheritance. For example, if you want a Home label with two child labels named Kids and Shopping, create the three following labels: Home, Home/Kids and Home/Shopping.
Just for the kicks!
Pictures in chat
See your friends’ profile pictures when you chat with them.