Our District has been using GMail for about a year and a half now. Don't be afraid to experiment with settings and labs in GMail - you can always change things back if you decide you don't like the way things look.
LABS:
There are a number of ways to make GMail work a little bit differently for your personal preferences. Some of these features can be found under Labs in the Settings Menu. Here's how to find them:
- Open GMail
- Click the Gear icon, upper right
- Click Settings
- Click Labs
Labs are simply experimental features that Google makes available to the masses. Feel free to poke around and try out any of the Labs you find interesting - just click Enable and Save Changes to start using them. If you don't like the Lab, click Disable and Save Changes to get rid of it.
Here are a few of my favorite labs that will help make GMail a little more friendly for some users.
Here are a few of my favorite labs that will help make GMail a little more friendly for some users.
Preview Pane
Preview Pane splits your screen to show the entire contents of your Inbox in one column and the readable message in another column, which is handy for smaller screens. Alternately, if you're on a larger screen or desktop computer, click the button at the top of the screen to split your screen horizontally, showing the most recent items in your Inbox at the top with a readable view of the selected message below.
Google Calendar Gadget
I used to live in Outlook - having my email, calendar, contacts all in one virtual place life a lot easier. Google separates things out a bit more than liked at first. The Google Calendar Gadget added a daily agenda on the left side of my screen to help me see my next appointment(s) at a glance.
Unread Messages Icon
This little gadget simply places the number of unread emails in your Inbox over the GMail logo in the browser tab. Handy, and especially appreciated on those rare occasions when that number reads "0"!
Remember to Save Changes when you make changes to this screen. You can always come back and Disable these labs if you decide you don't like the changes!