gmail experts?

[Penguin]

Is there any way to make folders in gmail?


Every e-mail program and e-mail provider that I have ever used has let me create folders to organize my e-mails.


I can't figure out how to do it with gmail. The only option I see is by putting a single star by some e-mails. That ****ing sucks and is stupid.



I hate wading through every single e-mail that I ever received in order to find the one that I want. Can anyone tell me how to set up folders in gmail?

[SicEmBaylor]

I recently switched, and I've wondered the same thing. I think the way it works is that each e-mail is categorized based on who sends it. So instead of having a folder for "Bob" you just click on "Bob's" profile and it brings up all the emails he's sent you.

Problem is, I don't organize by person I organize by category. Like, "friends, family, etc."

[etouffee]

You use "labels" instead of folders in gmail. It's essentially the same thing, just different terminology.

Go into your settings, create a "label" for each folder you want. Then when you want to move something there, use the "apply label" option from the dropdown menu. Or you can create filters to automatically apply labels to messages meeting your criteria.

[LilSooner]

But why is it when you start a label it doesn't move the email to that label but it stays in your in box.

[etouffee]

You have to tell it to take it out of the inbox view. Use the "archive" button. (archive = save but remove from inbox )

You can also set up filters to automatically label certain mail and "skip the inbox", in which case it will show up as new mail in your labels list.

[skycat]

Labels kick the wholly hell out of folders. A file can only be placed in one folder, but you can have any number of labels applied to a message.

So for instance, let's say that your dad/mom/sibling sent you an hilarious joke. You can place a label on it for "family", and one for "hilarious jokes" so that looking in either category will find you the message.

If there's a limit for the number of labels you can place on a message, I have yet to find it. So feel free to go nuts.

The inbox is just another label, so you can have filters pre-apply labels (for instance, your dad's email immediately goes to "family"), and either go to the Inbox or not.

[critical_phil]

wow.

so your saying i could take those BEWARE... chain emails i get forwarded from my dear friend and label them under Dear Friends and People I'd Like To Stab With An Icepick??

[etouffee]

precisely.

[yermom]

the emails are also indexed i think, so searching should be really fast

that's idea, you can label stuff and never delete it and instead of folders you search or use labels

Apple does similar stuff with "smart folders"

[OCUDad]

Labels kick the wholly hell out of folders. A file can only be placed in one folder, but you can have any number of labels applied to a message.Not arguing the greatness of labels, but that statement is not strictly true for all mail programs. Outlook provides the ability to "copy to folder" for messages. The same message can be copied to numerous folders.

Just sayin...

[yermom]

yeah, but then you have multiple copies of the same message

[Norm In Norman]

Yes, but there are copies of the same message in several folders instead of one copy of the email with a bunch of labels attached it.

[Norm In Norman]

DAMN YOU!

[yermom]

heh

it took you two extra minutes to type that?

[skycat]

But then you have multiple copies of the same message!!

[Norm In Norman]

heh

it took you two extra minutes to type that?
No, it took me 2 minutes to read the whole thread then look at gmail then respond.

[Penguin]

Thanks, guys.


Create a label, apply the proper e-mails with the proper labels, then "archive" them. Excellent.

[Veritas]

gmail is weird at first, but after awhile you'll use nothing else. Plus the spam filtering is awesome. I hardly check my other accounts now, cuz they suck to use by comparison

[mdklatt]

Yes, but there are copies of the same message in several folders instead of one copy of the email with a bunch of labels attached it.

Or, one copy of each message with a pointer to that message in various folders, thus presenting the user the familiar folder interface without the overhead of copied messages.

[etouffee]

gmail is weird at first, but after awhile you'll use nothing else. I'll 2nd that.

[skycat]

Or, one copy of each message with a pointer to that message in various folders, thus presenting the user the familiar folder interface without the overhead of copied messages.

Is that what Outlook actually does though? It doesn't on my old version of Outlook here at work.

And then you can't do some of the interesting things that you can do with labels. For instance, just look at the messages that have both "family" and "hilarious joke" applied. Or those that have "dear friend" but not "stupid chain mail" (assuming that you keep stupid chain mail).

[Sooner_Bob]

I'll 2nd that.


3rd

[yermom]

gmail is weird at first, but after awhile you'll use nothing else. Plus the spam filtering is awesome. I hardly check my other accounts now, cuz they suck to use by comparison

i can't seem to make the switch... i just don't care for it that much

i still use Yahoo! for the majority of mine

[skycat]

i can't seem to make the switch... i just don't care for it that much

i still use Yahoo! for the majority of mine

I came from yahoo mail to gmail. I can't even look at the yahoo interface anymore without cringing.

[49r]

metadata ROCKS!

[mdklatt]

Is that what Outlook actually does though?

Microsoft optimizing something? Doubtful. There are some conecptual problems with that, too. The user expects each folder item to be unique, so if he modifies something in one folder he's not going to expect those changes to appear in the "copies" in every other folder. I guess you'd create a new unique copy that reflects those changes, and create pointers to that copy in other folders as necessary. Labels sound much, much better.

[NormanPride]

Where is jkm? We need a good MS-insider to enlighten us as to their optimizing procedures.