Friday, 10 August 2012 06:23

Creating Gmail Filters to Organize Your Email

Written by  Manage My IT

Whether using email for work or pleasure, it is important to ensure that we receive the messages we want while avoiding spam and other junk. Furthermore, it is extremely useful for your email to be presorted into the appropriate folder for review. Here's how to create filters for one of today's most popular email services, Gmail:

  • One thing to note offhand is that, instead of the traditional "folder" system, Gmail employs "labels", which are essentially the same thing.
  • To filter your email, click the "Settings" button, the one with a gear icon in the top right screen. Afterwards, click Filters, and any filters you have already created will appear.
  • Click "Create a New Filter" to proceed, where you can make filters based on the following categories: From, To, Subject, Has the words, Doesn't have and Has attachment. To ensure that your filter will work, you can click the "Test Search" button to see if it will catch the emails you want it to. Then all you have to do is click "next step", where you can choose the following options for your filter: Skip the Inbox, Mark as Read, Star It, Apply the label: (choose the folder the email goes to), Forward it to:, Delete it and Never send it to Spam.
  • If you wanted to create a filter for your Facebook emails, for example, you would put "Facebook" in the From box. Since not every Facebook email is from facebook.com, if you put "facebook.com" in the From box, you would still get emails from facebookmail.com in your Inbox. If you want your emails to end up in a specific label, like Facebook, all you have to do is click "Apply the Label" on the "Create the Filter" menu. This way, all of your Facebook emails would go straight into the Facebook Label.
  • In addition, you can also use individual emails to create a filter. To do so, simply select the message you would like to build a filter around from your message list. Next, click on the "More" button, then select "Filter messages like these." Afterwards, punch in your filter criteria in the appropriate data fields.
  • If you would like to edit or delete any particular filters, simply click the gear icon to select "Settings", then click the Filters tab. From there, locate the filter that you'd like to alter and click "edit" or "delete" to remove the filter. If you want to edit the filter, enter the revised specifics for the filter and click "Edit filter actions." To make changes permanent, just update any actions and select the "Update filter" button.

 

It is important to note when creating filters that, while you can create an unlimited amount of filters, you will only be able to create 20 filters that can forward items to other email addresses. You can also add stars and colored labels by using filters, which can be particularly useful for important and time-sensitive messages.

The system also allows you to create an Events filter using Google Calendar and Gmail, so that important date reminders are automatically starred, skip the inbox and go straight into your "Events" label.

How do you organize your email? Leave a message in the comments!

Manage My IT

Manage My IT

Steve Copeland- A small business owner like you, Copeland has been involved with startups since 1999 most famously Adforce and Winfire FreeDSL, prior to that he was an engineer at the now defunct Cabletron Systems. After being the Projects Practice Director at a large MSP Steve Copeland left and formed his own company Manage My IT.

E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Leave a comment

Make sure you enter the (*) required information where indicated.
Basic HTML code is allowed.

Mobile: Grab This Article

Login

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Latest Blog Entry

Latest News

Our Site Has Launched!

flag

Welcome to Our New Site!
We are proud to announce the unveiling of our new website at Manage My IT!

Read more...

Contact Us

Learn more about what Manage My IT can do for your business.

IT Support

Call us today    888-505-2880

3420 Bristol Street 6th Floor
Costa Mesa, California 92626

1100 Glendon Avenue 17th Floor
Los Angeles, California 90024

IT Support Los Angeles Network Services Los Angeles Tech Support Los Angeles Managed IT Services Los Angeles