Let’s take a tour of the Gmail interface to help you navigate and use its features effectively.

The Gmail interface adapts to the choices you make.

If you select one or more messages you received by clicking the box next to the sender, you’ll see that additional options/buttons appear at the top of the message list.

Select Action: The first button is the “Select” action.  If you click on it, it will select all the messages in the current view of your email.

Dropdown Arrow Action: Clicking the dropdown arrow reveals a menu with additional selection options, including “Select All,” “Select None,” “Select Read,” “Select Unread,” “Select Starred,” and “Select Unstarred.”

Archive Action: Archiving a message removes the message from your inbox but retains it in Gmail. You can easily find archived messages by searching for them or selecting the “All Mail” label.

Move to Inbox Action: When viewing archived messages, the “Move to Inbox” action appears. It allows you to restore a message from the archive to your inbox.

Report Spam Action: The “Report Spam” action labels a message as spam, removing it from your inbox and notifying Google. This process improves Gmail’s ability to filter out spam and suspicious emails, ensuring your inbox stays clean.

Delete Action: The “Delete” action moves a message to the trash, which is also a label. While messages in the trash can be restored, be aware that Gmail automatically and permanently deletes them after 30 days. Your mail administrator may be able to recover permanently deleted messages.

Mark As Unread Action: This feature is handy for restoring a message’s unread status after you’ve already read it.

Snooze Action: “Snooze” temporarily removes a message from your inbox and schedules it to reappear at a time of your choice. You can pick from suggested times or set a specific date and time. To locate snoozed messages, select the “Snooze” label in the label list, where you can un-snooze or adjust the reappearance time as needed.

Add to Task Action: With the “Add to Task” action, you can create a new task linked to the message. The message’s subject becomes the task title, which we’ll explore in detail for improving productivity later in this course.

Move To Action: The “Move To” action shifts a message out of the inbox while assigning a label to it. This action effectively combines archiving and organizing, streamlining your email management.

Labels Action: By clicking the “Labels” action, you’ll open a menu displaying Gmail’s labels. Here, you can select one or more labels to apply to a message, making it easier to categorize and locate emails within Gmail.

More Button Action: This menu (three vertical dots) offers additional options:

• Mark as Not Important: Use this option to train Gmail’s Priority Inbox feature. It helps Gmail understand which emails are important to you.
• Add Star: Mark an email with a star to highlight or prioritize it.
• Filter Messages Like These: Create a filter to organize or manage similar emails.
• Mute: Muting an email thread prevents it from appearing in your inbox until someone mentions you or it’s directly addressed to you.
• Forward as Attachment: This option lets you send emails as attachments to others.