Use Gmail

Gmail is one of the world's most popular email services, and there's a good reason for it. Gmail makes emailing, chatting, and archiving your mail and conversations very easy and convenient. But if you've just created a Gmail account, then you may be overwhelmed by all of the options in front of you. If you want to learn how to use Gmail and start chatting and emailing your friends and contacts, just follow these steps.

Steps

Sending an Email

  1. Click "Compose". You can find this option near the top left of your screen, above the "Inbox" option. This will open up a new email window.
  2. Type the email address of the person you'd like to email. Once you've sent one email to the person using Gmail, you'll be able to access the address just by typing the first few letters of the address or the person's name. If you'd like to email multiple people, just write their email addresses and separate them by commas.
  3. Enter a subject. Enter a subject in the subject box. Typing a subject of the email isn't mandatory, but if you don't type one in, then a box will pop up asking if you're okay with sending an email without a subject before you send the email.
  4. Write your message. Write your message below the subject line. If you don't enter a message, a pop up will come up asking you if you'd like to send this message without a body.
  5. Send an attachment (optional). To send an attachment, simply click on the paperclip on the bottom of the email and access your computer's hard drive to search for the file you'd like to send. Once you find the file, just click "Choose" and the file should be uploaded to your email. This may take a moment, depending on the size of the file and the speed of your Internet connection.
  6. Insert additional information to the email. There is a variety of other information that you can insert to the email in addition to an attachment. Here's what else you can do:
    • Insert a photo. Hover your mouse to the right of the paperclip on the bottom of the email and a camera will appear. Click on this icon and search for the photo you'd like to send. When you're done, just click "Choose file."
    • Insert a link. Click on the button to the right of the camera and type in the name of the link you'd like to send via email.
    • Insert an emoticon. Click on the smiley face to the right of the link button to search through a variety of emoticons. Just click on the emoticon you'd like to use and it will appear in the email box.
    • Insert an invitation. To insert an invitation into the email, click on the calendar button to the right of the smiley face and an invitation will pop up. Just type in the relevant information about the event, such as the name of the event, the time, the location, and the description, and click on "Insert Invitation" and you're done.
  7. Change the font and format of your text (optional). You can change the style of text by pressing the button that looks like a large "A" under the "Attach a File" link on the bottom of the email box. You can choose to have bold, italic, underlined, large, medium, or small font. You can also change the font. You can highlight the text you've written and select these options to change the text, or you can select the options and then begin typing. Here are the ways you can change your font and formatting:
    • Change the font. Your current font should be listed all the way on the bottom left. Click on the arrow to the right of the name of the font and search through the options until you find your desired font.
    • Change the size. To change the size of the words, just click on the "T" to the right of the font options, and select "small," "normal," "large," or "huge" for the size of your text.
    • Make your text bold. Click on the "B" to the right of the text size option.
    • Italicize your text. Click on the "I" to the right of the bold option.
    • Underline your words. Click on the "U" to the right of the italicize option.
    • Change your text color. Click on the "A" to the right of the underline option.
    • Add a List of Numbers or Bulletpoints. Click on the two buttons to the right of the "A".
    • Remove formatting. Click on the "Tx" button to remove the formatting for your text.

Chatting

  1. Click on "Sign into chat." You can find this option near the top of the chat box on the left side of your screen. This will sign you into G-chat, the Gmail chatting service. You can only chat with other people who are currently on Gmail if you sign into Gmail chat. Any person that you've exchanged emails with will automatically appear in your chat box.
  2. Change your status. Your status will let people know if you're available to chat or if you're away. To change your status, simply click on the icon that looks like a person's head and shoulders on the top left of the chat box. Here are the options you can select:
    • Available. This is the default option, which states that you're online and ready to chat.
    • Busy. This tells people that you're online, but that you may be too busy to chat.
    • Invisible. If you'd like to be on G-chat without people knowing that you're online while still being able to message whomever you'd like, select this option.
    • Custom message. Select this option if you'd like to write a customized message for your friends to see when you sign on.
  3. Chat with one of your contacts. Just click on the person's name and a little chat box will pop up on the bottom right of your screen. Type in whatever you'd like to say and press "Enter" and your contact will see the words. Here's what else you can do while you're chatting:
    • Click on the video camera on the top right of the screen to video chat with the person.
    • Click on the line on the top right to minimize the box, and the arrow next to the box to make it larger. Click on the "x" on the top right of the box to exit the chat.
    • Click on "More" below the "x" on the top right of the chat box to either take the chat off the record, so that it won't be archived, or to block the person you're chatting with.
  4. Add a contact to your chat box. If you don't want to wait to send an email to a contact in order for him or her to appear in your chat box, just click on the icon on the top left of the chat box and select "Add contact." Then, type in the email of the person you'd like to invite, and click on "Invite contact."
  5. Change your profile picture. To add or change your profile picture, just click on the person icon to the top left of your chat box and select "Change picture." Then, click on "Choose file" to search for the picture you'd like to use for your profile picture.
  6. Adjust your chat settings. To do this, simply click on the same gray icon with a person's face (or your profile picture) on the top left of your chat box, and select "Chat settings." Then, you will be brought to a new screen where you'll be able to turn your chat on or off, adjust your phone and video chat settings, and choose whether or not you'd like your chat experience to include emoticons and sounds.
  7. Search through your archived chats. Gmail will archive all of your chats automatically. If you'd like to access them to rehash a conversation you recently had, just click on the "More" button above your chat box to open up more option. Select "Chat" and you'll be brought to your archived chats. You can search for a person's name or key word in the search box to find the chat, or even delete the chats.
  8. Sign out of your chat. To sign out of chat on Gmail, simply click on the same button you used to sign into chat and select the "Sign out" option. You can also just close your Gmail window if you're done chatting and using Gmail -- though this will still keep you logged into your email account.

Managing Your Emails

  1. Click on the email. If you'd like to sort, delete, or to archive your emails, you'll need to click on it first. Then, a list of options will pop up above the email. You can also just click on the little box to the left of the email to check it.
  2. Archive the email. Archiving the email will still store it under the "All Mail" option to the left side of your emails, but it won't be visible in your main inbox anymore. This is a good option if you like to keep your inbox tidy. To archive the email, just click on the button that looks like a file with a downward-pointing arrow on the top left of the email.
    • To undo an archive, drag the archived message into the trash. If not deleted manually, the message will be deleted automatically within thirty days.
  3. Mark the email as Spam. To mark the selected email as spam, just click on the stop sign with an exclamation mark in the task bar above the email. This will send it to your Spam folder.
  4. Delete the email. To delete your email, simply click on the trashcan above it.
  5. Move the email to a different folder. Just click on the folder to the right of the trashcan and select the folder where you'd like to send the email.
  6. Sort through the emails in other ways. Click on the "More" option all the way on the top right of the email, and decide whether you'd like to mark the email as unread, mark the email as important, add it to your tasks, or do a variety of other things to the email.
  7. Search through your emails. If you'd like to retrieve an old email but don't remember exactly where it is or when it was sent, just type into the search bar on the top of your email account and click "Enter" or the search icon to the right of the search bar.
  8. Create a new folder. Folders will allow you to have different locations to sort your emails, such as separating work emails from personal emails, or placing emails from a certain friend or family member in one folder. To do this, simply click on an email, then select "More" and click on "Create new folder." Then, type in the name of the folder and decide where on the left side of the screen the folder will go. Then, click "Create."
  9. Manage your Spam folder. Click on "More" to the left of your emails and select "Spam." Then, search through the emails there to see if there are any you'd like to save. If not, just click on the check box on the top right of the screen, above the individual checkboxes next to the emails, and click "Delete forever."
    • If you've found an email that has been marked as spam by mistake, then click on the box next to it and click on the "Not spam" button above the email. This will send the email to your inbox.

Managing Contacts

  1. Click "Contacts" on the lower left of the screen. This will allow you to view your contacts list. You can either add contacts while at the list or simply send a message to the person. The email will automatically be saved as a contact if you send a message to him/her.
  2. Add a group for your contacts. This will help you sort your contacts by groups of people, whether it's friends, coworkers, or people on your softball team. Click the plus sign with two people, next to the plus sign with one person. A pop up will come up asking you what you'd like to name the group.
  3. Once you have added a group, populate it with contacts. You may add a contact manually by clicking the plus sign with one person behind it. Gmail will ask for information on your contact as soon as you do this.
    • If necessary, you may edit a contact by selecting one, and clicking the edit button to the right.
    • Delete one by clicking the "Delete" button with a trash can while the contact is selected.
    • To delete a group, select the group, and click the "Delete Group" button.

Other Gmail Features

  1. Access the news. Gmail automatically gives you links to the latest news. To view the news, look to the right of the "Compose Mail" button.
    • Click the ">" button to go through the provided stories. It should say "Web Clip" next to the arrow. You can also view previous news by pressing the "<" button.
    • When you've found a news story that interests you, click on the heading to read more about it.
  2. Change the look of your email. Just click on the gear on the top right of your email and select whether you'd like your email to look "comfortable, "cozy," or "compact."
  3. Adjust your settings. Click on the same gray gear on the top right of your email and select "Settings" on the drop-down menu to adjust your email settings. This will bring you to the "General" window, which this will allow you to do a number of things, such as changing the default language and adding a signature to your email. Click through the other Settings categories, like "Chat" or "Filters" to manage those settings.
  4. Make phone calls. Click on the phone on the top of your chat box and type in the number of the person you'd like to call. Then, press "Call." Make sure that you and the other person are signed into chat when you do this.

Tips

  • Gmail allows you to undo many things, and you can set it to undo emails (a few seconds after you send them).
  • Don't feel a need to send all of your Gmail invitations, because you don't have to.
  • Remember that you can go through the news stories Gmail provides you with.

Things You'll Need

  • Gmail
  • Computer
  • Internet

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Sources and Citations

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