There is a allotment of Gmail that you may not be accustomed with. It’s ambuscade in your settings, in a tab you may not accept noticed alleged “Labs”. Gmail Labs are basically add-ons that you can use in Gmail which accord the actual accepted email applicant a bit of added functionality. There are Labs for a abundant abounding things – some life-changing, and others aloof convenient. Overall, it’s a array of “playground” area Google can analysis out new appearance for its webmail client. That’s an important point – Gmail Labs is alone for the webmail client.
There’s addition admonition too. Gmail Labs are beginning appearance which can, according to the Labs page, “change, break, or abandon at any time.” Remember: this is Google, a aggregation acclaimed for killing off accepted apps and features. Should you accept to apparatus any of these Labs, do not abatement in adulation with them. They will acceptable alone breach your heart. That said, the accepted “Send and Archive” button had its breakable ancestry as a Gmail Lab.
To accredit Labs, log into Gmail, and bang the accessory in the high appropriate bend of the site, appropriate beneath your picture. Go to Settings, again bang on Labs in the top row of tabs. Once central Labs, you’ll get a account of the accessible Labs, with a abrupt account of what they do. Select “Enable” on any of the Labs you appetite to try, and save your settings. Voila, you accept Labs.
Most of them are appealing beeline forward. You’ll apparently acquisition some functionality you’ve been wanting, and maybe alike some you didn’t apperceive you wanted, too. Personally, the best life-changing for me was the Preview Pane, which allows you to bound go through your email and not accept to accessible them one at a time. There are added enhancements that can advice accumulate your workflow too, so let’s dive appropriate in.
Some of the Labs are appealing accessible to understand, but others crave a bit added instruction. The accessible ones and their functions are obvious:
Auto-advance
Auto-advance is a Lab that automatically advances you to the abutting bulletin afterwards archiving or deleting an email.
Google Agenda Widget
This Lab adds a Google Agenda accoutrement to the larboard ancillary of Gmail, acceptance you to see accessible agenda contest at a glance.
Mark as Apprehend Button
This is a button added at the top of an accessible email that allows you to mark a bulletin as Read. It’s a adjustment advantage instead of accepting to go into Added accomplishments > Mark as read.
Preview Pane
This lets you appearance an email after accepting to bang to accessible it, and again about-face aback your inbox. Users of old-school email audience like Outlook will acknowledge this setting.
Right-side chat
This moves your babble area to the appropriate ancillary of Gmail, acceptance added allowance on the larboard for labels, or alike added Labs.
Smartlabels
Smartlabels are agnate to the accepted Social and Promotions tabs you can see in your Gmail inbox. They acquiesce you to automatically clarify out Bulk emails, Notification emails, and Forum messages.
Unread bulletin icon
The Benighted bulletin figure puts the cardinal of benighted letters in the email figure on your Gmail Tab.
Gmail comes arranged with a cardinal of keyboard shortcuts that advice you get things done, but this lab allows you to change those keyboard shortcuts to whatever makes the best faculty to you. Afterwards you accredit custom keyboard shortcuts, go aback into settings and bang on “Keyboard Shortcuts”. In there, you can set any of the predefined shortcuts to your preference. If you accomplish a mistake, there is a “Restore Defaults” button at the basal of the list.
Canned responses are pre-written argument blurbs such as “Thanks!” or “I’m on it” and so on. But they’re best advantageous for often-repeated continued responses. For example: “Thanks for autograph abstruse support. That is a abundant advancement for a affection to add to our app and we will be abiding to accede it.”
Suddenly, you’re beneath assured about the responses to your suggestions to tech support, aren’t you?
Once enabled, you can actualize custom canned letters in your compose window. Type out the bulletin you appetite to save in your compose window. Then, bang the arrow in the basal appropriate bend of the compose screen. Go to “Canned responses” and in the abutting card you can accept to actualize a new canned bulletin with the argument in your compose window, save over an old response, or admit a adored acknowledgment over what you accept typed.
This Lab allows you to appearance assorted filters you can configure as a abstracted “inbox” in gmail. This can be accessible if you accept to about-face amid filters generally as allotment of your workflow. Bear in apperception this isn’t actual affable with the Preview Pane.
To accredit assorted Inboxes, aboriginal accredit the Lab as declared above. Then, you attenuate the social/promotion/any added tabs you use in your inbox. To do so, bang the accessory figure > Configure Inbox and uncheck any tabs you accept enabled.
Go aback into Settings and bang Assorted Inboxes. In there, you can set the filters you appetite to display, as able-bodied as the cardinal of conversations in anniversary inbox. Again set the accession of the added panels. That’s it. Once you’re done, you should see all of your called inboxes.
Not aggregate in the apple of Gmail Labs is aflush and perfect. Remember the “experimental” allotment of the description. There may appear a time area a lab aloof artlessly break and stops email from activity normally. If that anytime happens, Google has a assurance net for you. You can go here.
This will amount up Gmail with all Labs disabled, accepting you aback to a “stock” Gmail experience.
Google believes in the adherence of Labs so much, it puts this banish button on the aforementioned folio area you accredit them.
Gmail Labs includes a cardinal of appearance you apparently won’t apprehend you appetite until you see them. Go in there and comedy around. See if there’s annihilation abrupt for you.
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