Are You Using Gmail All WRONG?

Are You Using Gmail All WRONG?

If you only use Gmail to send and receive email, you're barely scratching the surface of what it actually does. Hitesh Raj Bhagat & Karan Bajaj show you how to start: by integrating multiple cloud storage providers, enabling the experimental `labs' options and adding super-cool features by third-party developers (such as self-destructing email and finding out when someone has read your email)

When was your email read?

You're probably using WhatsApp ­ you get two little tick marks on your message once it's been delivered and they turn blue once your message has been read. Wouldn't it be great if you could find out when your email has been read in the same way? You can do this with a free Chrome extension called MailTrack.Once you install it, you'll get free email tracking, desktop and email notifications and a history (data is stored for 6 months). The only catch is that there's a `Sent with MailTrack' signature added to all your email. If you'd rather not have that, you can upgrade to the pro account for $3.50 per month. This also gives you unlimited history and the ability to track if links in your email were clicked. 

Self Destructing Email

It's the stuff of science fiction and action movies ­ send your message (which is encrypted, by the way) to the recipient and you can choose when it `self destructs'. After the message destructs, the recipient will no longer be able to read it ­ it will just read like garbled text. Get the free Dmail (Delicious Mail) Chrome extension.The service is currently in beta stage and completely free. In every message compose window, you'll see the toggle for Dmail.You can revoke access to any mail, you've sent, at any time. It's important to note that the recipient does not need to have Dmail installed. Once it goes out of beta, there will likely be some paid plans with extra features ­ a basic service should remain free though.

Schedule Mail 

The free Mail2Cloud extension on Chrome adds a small button to your compose window ­ right next to the send button. Just compose an email like you normally do. You can then choose a datetime when to automatically send it. The Save & Share feature can make a PDF of any email and save it to your cloud storage box. Third, you get features like email tracking and self destruct.And for anyone who's using Gmail for work, you can do stuff like set reminders for follow up email and set a timeout (be notified if an actionable email hasn't elicited a response). This is free for 10 users while plans start at $2.50 per month. 

Get More Info on Your Contacts

Not everyone uses a detailed signature. Rapportive is a free add-on for Firefox and Chrome that gets information like a photograph, alternate email, twitter ID and so on (basically whatever information they add to their public LinkedIn profile) ­ and it adds this information in a box where the ads normally appear. That's a double advantage: the ads are removed and you get useful information right alongside the email. 

Enable all the Cloud Providers 

What if the files you want to attach are saved on cloud storage?

What if you want to attach multiple files from different cloud service providers -all in the same mail? A free Chrome extension called Cloudy can help -it integrates with SkyDrive, Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, SkyDrive, Github and Gmail itself. If you like, you can also attach photos from Facebook, Instagram, Flickr or Picasa (these will be real attachments -not just links to those photos. This means your recipient will instantly see the attachments). If you use Evernote, you can also attach notes and if you need to attach images from the web, you can search and attach right within Gmail ­ rather than search, download and attach individually .

Make a Signature That Stands Out 

There are limitations to what you can do with your email signature. With WiseStamp, you can create a custom signature: add details from your visiting card, plus your social profiles (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn), a photograph and many extras. Extras include buttons or widgets with your latest tweet or a random quote. You will need to create an account and download the free add-on (Firefox and Chrome). Once you do that, the signature will automatically be added to every mail ­ all the features you added. The free version puts branding under the signature ­ `Free email signature by WiseStamp' ­ and a link. If you want to remove that, it's $4 per month (though at the time of writing, there's a special offer of $2 per month).

Too Much Spam?

You get subscribed to many services and newsletters without your consent. Head to http:unroll.me and grant the service access to your Gmail inbox. It will scan through your inbox and list all your subscriptions ­ you can choose to keep the ones you want and it only takes a few minutes.

Too Many Emails at All Times?

If you're constantly distracted by new email throughout the day , try BatchedInbox (http:www.batchedinbox.com). It's completely free and delivers new email in batches, at a time and frequency of your choosing. It works by diverting all your email to a new label called BatchedInbox.These will be moved to the inbox when you choose. You can peek at the undelivered email at any time. 

CUSTOM KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS 

Once you enable this, you will see a tab in settings page for keyboard shortcuts.You can view and change keyboard shortcuts for various Gmail functions here including search, move to spam, delete, move to next message and so on.AUTO ADVANCE By default, when you delete or mute a mail, you are taken back to the inbox (and that too on the first page). With the auto advance feature enabled, you will be taken to the next mail in the queue.This saves a lot of time when you are going through a bunch of mails. 

UNREAD COUNTS ON BROWSER TAB 

Gmail shows unread mail counts next to the Inbox button on the left bar.However, if you have multiple tabs open in the browser, coming back to the Gmail window to see if you have a new mail is a waste of time. Just enable this to see unread counts right on the tab.

MULTIPLE INBOXES 

With this, your mail can sorted in individual mailboxes, labeled with your choice of title. After enabling this feature, you have to go to settings 

multiple inboxes and there set up a search query along with the panel title for your mails. You can set up to 5 additional inboxes and enable where these inboxes will be visible ­ handy for finding and sorting important mails.

CANNED RESPONSES 

Some emails require a standard reply every time. Canned Responses gives you shortcut buttons for common replies. You need to type out your responses once and then on, just use the buttons. This saves you from the hassle of typing the same thing over and over.You can even choose an automatic reply to be sent for certain emails (this means you will need to create a filter for them). 

Source | Economic Times | 25 November 2015

Regards

Pralhad Jadhav

Khaitan & Co