Getting Started with Gmail January 2012

Opening Gmail Go to www.google.com/a/wilkes.k12.nc.us Type your username Type your password Click Sign-In

Logging Out Click the drop down arrow beside your email address Click Sign Out You will likely need to reenter the URL (www.google.com/a/wilkes.k12.nc.us) to sign on again

Inbox Buttons Select Button Refresh – Updates your inbox to show new messages

Inbox Buttons More Button

Inbox Buttons Newer/Older Arrows Message Counter

Inbox Buttons Split Pane Button

Inbox Buttons Settings Button

Message Buttons (Available only when a message is selected) Archive Button Delete Button Report Spam

Message Buttons Move To Button

Message Buttons Labels Button (Similar to folders in Outlook)

Message Buttons More Button

Gmail Storage Space Maximum Storage is 25 GB for mail, tasks, calendars, and document. Check storage space from the main screen before selecting a message. You may also go to Settings >Choose Settings >Scroll to the bottom of the screen> Storage Space will be noted in the bottom left corner.

Deleted Messages Once messages have been deleted and emptied from the trash, the technology department will not be able to recover messages. Go to Settings >Choose Help.

Deleted Messages Choose Gmail Help Center

Deleted Messages Under Learn More >Popular articles >Choose “My messages have gone missing”

Deleted Messages Choose Recovering deleted messages..

Deleted Messages Follow the directions to attempt recovery. If the directions fail to restore your messages, choose Click here to start investigating.

Reading mail in Inbox Click on Inbox Click on a message to view or read.

Read and Unread Mail The number in parentheses indicates how many unread conversations/messages you have. Bold type indicates unread mail.

Opening Attachments Paperclip Icon indicates an attachment Image attachments may appear as a preview within the message.

Opening Attachments View opens a preview of the attachment on a new tab. Download allows you to save and open the file to your documents. The downloaded file appears in the lower left corner of the web browser. Attachments will show beneath the body of the message

Reporting Spam Select a spam message from your inbox. Click the Report Spam buttom.

Deleting Spam Spam will remain in the Spam box for 30 days before being automatically deleted. To empty Spam, Click the Spam link, select the message to delete, click Delete Forever

Deleting Spam You may also click on your Spam box, and choose Delete all Spam messages now.

Mislabeled Spam If you mistakenly mark a message as spam, click the Spam link. Select the message. Click the Not Spam button. Indecent messages can still be reported to the Technology Department to be blocked globally for all WCS users.

Composing a Message Click Compose. Enter email address in the To: field Click Cc: (Carbon Copy) Or Bcc: (Blind Carbon Copy) to enter email addresses.

Composing a Message Enter Message Text Enter Subject Click Send

Attaching a file Choose Attach a file

Attaching a file Browse to the file location and select it.

Attaching a file Allow time for the file to upload. Make sure the checkmark is toggled on for your file attachment.

Saving Drafts Drafts are automatically saved as you compose email messages. You may also click Save Now to save your draft message. Drafts may be reopened, finished, and sent later from the Drafts box. Scroll to the bottom of the draft to finish the message. Use the Send button to deliver the completed message.

Replying to Messages Choose the left arrow to reply to a message

Reply to All Click the drop down arrow to the right of the Reply button. Choose Reply to all

Forwarding Messages Click the drop down arrow to the right of the Reply button. Choose Forward.

Other ways to Reply, Reply to all, and Forward You may also choose Reply, Reply to all, or Forward from the bottom of the email message.

Sending to a Distribution List Click Compose Click the To: link Click the drop down arrow to the right of My Contacts Choose the Group

Sending to a Distribution List Click on a checkmark to deselect a recipient. Select the All link to choose all recipients in the group

Sending to a Distribution List Recipient names will populate in the To field Click Done to add recipients to the message

Spell Check Use the Check Spelling feature when composing messages. Right click on any highlighted word to find spelling suggestions.

Choosing Contacts Click the drop down arrow next to Mail Choose Contacts

Choosing Contacts Click on Directory to access individual users with wilkes.k12.nc.us email addresses Type names in the search box to find wilkes.k12.nc.us email users and click the search button. Use the forward and back arrows to navigate through the user listings.

Adding Contacts Click the drop down arrow next to Mail Choose Contacts

Adding Contacts Click New Contact. Enter the contact information in the appropriate fields. Click Add to add more fields. Changes are automatically saved.

Adding Contacts through the Inbox Choose a message from the recipient in your mailbox. Place the mouse on top of the image icon to the left of the recipient's name. Choose Add to Contacts

Adding Contacts through the Inbox You can also add contacts by clicking on the arrow beside the reply button. Choose Add to Contacts list

Choosing a Recipient through My Contacts Click the drop down arrow next to Mail Choose Contacts

Choosing a Recipient through My Contacts Choose your recipient in the Contact List by double clicking on the contact or by placing a checkmark next to the contact’s name. Click on the envelope icon to send an email to the recipient.

Deleting a Contact Click the drop down arrow next to Mail Choose Contacts

Deleting a Contact Place a check beside the contact to be deleted. Click on the drop down arrow next to More Choose Delete Contacts

Creating a Group in My Contacts Click the drop down arrow next to Mail Choose Contacts

Creating a Group in My Contacts Choose New Group Name the group Click OK

Creating a Group in My Contacts The new group name will appear Click My Contacts

Creating a Group in My Contacts Place a check next to each contact to be added to the group. Click the drop down arrow next to the Groups icon.

Creating a Group in My Contacts Place a check beside the group name Click Apply

Deleting a Group Click the drop down arrow next to Mail Choose Contacts

Deleting a Group Select the group name.

Deleting a Group Click on the drop down arrow next to More Choose Delete group

Adding a member to an existing group Click the drop down arrow next to Mail Choose Contacts

Adding a member to an existing group Choose the group Click on the Add Members icon

Adding a member to an existing group Type the contact name in the field

Adding a member to an existing group Click Add

Removing a member from an existing group Click the drop down arrow next to Mail Choose Contacts

Removing a member from an existing group Click on the group name Click on the recipient to be removed.

Removing a member from an existing group Click on the drop down arrow beside the group name to be removed Choose Remove from this group

Starring a message Choose the message from your inbox Click the Star icon next to the message

Starring a message You can also star a message by clicking the drop down arrow beside the More button Choose Add star

Starring a message Starred items can be sorted using the Starred link Star colors can be set and changed in the Settings menu.

Setting an email as important Choose the message from the inbox. Click the tag icon.

Setting an email as important Click the drop down arrow beside the More button Choose Mark as important Messages marked as important can easily be sorted using the Important link. Google “learns” important messages based on user statistics. Marking messages as important or not important helps Google’s accuracy when automatically classifying your messages.

Creating Labels (i.e. folders) Choose More from the list of mailboxes

Creating Labels Click Create new label

Creating Labels Enter the name of your new label Click Create Add a sub-level folder if desired

Creating Labels Labels can also be created by selecting a message. Select the Move To or Label button

Creating Labels Choose Create new

Editing Labels Click Manage Labels. The manage labels link will not appear until you have created a label.

Editing Labels Click Remove or Edit under Actions to change existing labels.

Editing Labels You may also click the drop down arrow to the right of the label to make changes

Editing Labels A menu of editing options will appear.

Editing Labels You can also edit labels by the Move To or Labels Menu Choose the Manage labels menu for editing options

Labeling Messages in the Inbox (i.e. placing messages in folders) Select the message to be labeled Select the Label button Choose the label you would like to choose from the menu. Click Apply.

Removing labels from messages Choose the labeled message Find the labels tags Click the X next to each label you wish to remove.

Moving Messages Select the message to be moved or select multiple messages using the checkmark field Choose the Move To button Choose the label you would like. Click Apply.

Moving messages The label tag will appear. This will remove the message from your Inbox Moved messages are archived and can only be seen by opening the label (folder) or by clicking More from the menu on the left and choosing All Mail.

Archiving messages in the Inbox Select the message to be archived or use the check boxes to select multiple messages Click the Archive button Click Inbox Archived messages will no longer appear in the Inbox, but they are not deleted.

Archiving messages from labels Click the label (folder) Click the More button Choose Archive Select the message or messages to be archived. Messages can only be archived if they are tagged as being in the Inbox.

Retrieving archived messages Archived messages may be retrieved from the All Mail label (folder). You will need to choose More from the left menu to access the All Mail label.

Changing the Inbox type Click the drop down arrow next to Inbox Choose the view you wish to use. Priority Inbox – Messages classified as important and unread are in the top section, then starred messages, then everything else. Each section can be customized further. If you want more control over your inbox, Priority Inbox is for you.

Finding messages in migrated folders Locate, click on, and expand your .pst file from Outlook. Open folders to view saved emails.

Renaming migrated folders Click the drop down arrow next to your migrated .pst file Choose Edit

Renaming migrated folders Type a new label for your personal folders Click Save

Searching for specific messages Click inside the search bar at the top of the page. Type whatever term or field you remember from the message (i.e. text from the subject or message body, the recipient, etc.) Click the Search icon or press enter.

Searching for specific messages Searching can also be refined by using operators or the advanced search option (the drop down arrow next to the search field.) Search operators include from:, to:, OR, label:, has:attachment, after, before, or use quotes “ “ to locate messages containing an exact phrase, etc. Dates in the search field require the following format: YYYY/MM/DD (example: 2013/01/03)

Applying filters to incoming messages Click the drop down menu beside the search field. Complete any relevant information to your filter. Click Create filter with this search.

Applying filters to incoming messages Choose options for your filter using checkmarks Choose Also apply filter to matching messages, if desired. Click Create filter

Applying filters to incoming messages If you choose to Skip the Inbox, new messages will only appear within the labels (folders) that you have applied.

Applying filters to incoming messages Labels will appear bold if there are new messages there. The number of new messages will appear in parentheses to the right of the label.

Applying filters to incoming messages You may also create filters by choosing Settings. Choose settings from the drop down menu. Click the Filters tab. Set filter options of your choosing. Click Create a new filter

Editing or deleting custom filters Choose Settings. Choose settings from the drop down menu. Click the Filters tab. Click Edit or Delete to make changes to the filter You may also choose the check mark field to select the filter and click on the Delete button.

Deleting unwanted mail Select the message you want to delete or select multiple messages using the check mark field. Click the Delete button.

Emptying the trash Items in the trash will remain there for 30 days before being automatically deleted. Items emptied from the trash can not be retrieved by you or anyone in the technology department. To empty trash, Click the Trash link. Select the messages you wish to delete. Click Delete forever or Choose Empty Trash now.

Creating a Signature Click the Settings button. Choose Settings from the drop down menu

Creating a Signature Choose the General Tab and scroll down to Signature. Toggle off the radio button for No Signature. Create your Signature. Scroll to the bottom of the window. Click Save Changes. Only one signature can be created for your account.

Setting a vacation responder Click the Settings button. Choose Settings from the drop down menu

Setting a vacation responder Choose the General tab. Scroll down to Vacation Responder Toggle radio button to Vacation Responder On. Set the start and end date. Add your subject and message.

Setting a vacation responder Choose who will receive the message while you are away. Click Save Changes. Vacation Responder will send an automated reply to incoming messages.

Setting a vacation responder While the vacation responder is enabled, you will see a banner across the top of any Gmail page. You can disable the vacation responder by clicking End Now within the banner or by going back to Setting and toggling Vacation Responder Off.

Display Density Click the Settings button. Choose the preferred Display Density.

Changing Settings Click the Settings button. Choose Settings from the drop down menu

Changing Settings From the General Tab, Set the Maximum page size. Set the Default Reply Behavior to Reply only. Set the Conversation View to Conversation View to Off.

Changing Settings Make changes to the Stars Settings if desired. Set Desktop Notifications to ON for New Mail. Change Create contacts for auto-complete if desired.

Changing Settings Set Snippets preferences. Choose Save Changes

Web Clip Settings Choose the Web Clips Tab Remove the check beside “Show my web clips above the Inbox”

Labs Settings From the Labs tab, enable any experimental features you want to try. These features are sometime withdraw from availability by Google. Canned Responses – for messages or text that you need to send often.

Labs Settings Default Text Styling allows you to change email text style to better suit your preferences. Google Calendar Gadget adds a box in the left column of your Gmail window to show your Calendar to see upcoming events, locations, and details. Google Docs Gadget adds a box in the left column which displays your Google docs.

Labs Settings Google Docs Preview in Mail shows preview of documents, spreadsheets, and presentations directly in the email when you receive any link to a Google doc.

Labs Settiings Inserting Images allows you to insert images into a message body. Mark as Read enables a button to mark a message as read Preview Pane provides a preview pane to read mail to the right of your message list.

Labs Settings Undo Send stops messages from being sent for a few seconds after pressing the send button. After enabling this lab, the number of seconds can be edited from the General tab. The default setting is 10 seconds. Unread message icon allows you to see how many unread messages are in your inbox with a quick glance at the tab’s icon.

Lab Settings Click Save Changes when you are finished enabling labs.

Changing Inbox View Click the drop down arrow to the right of the Toggle Split Pane Mode button. Select No Split, Vertical Split, or Horizontal Split based on your preference. If No Split is selected, you must click on each email to view and read the message.

Changing Themes and Backgrounds Click Settings. Choose Themes

Changing Themes and Backgrounds Select your desired theme.

Changing Themes and Backgrounds Custom Themes allow you to choose a photograph as your theme or background.