Official Gmail Blog
News, tips and tricks from Google's Gmail team and friends.
A new inbox that puts you back in control
May 29, 2013
Posted by Itamar Gilad, Product Manager
We get a lot of different types of email: messages from friends, social notifications, deals and offers, confirmations and receipts, and more. All of these emails can compete for our attention and make it harder to focus on the things we need to get done. Sometimes it feels like our inboxes are controlling us, rather than the other way around.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Today, Gmail is getting a brand new inbox on desktop and mobile that puts you back in control using simple, easy organization.
On the desktop, the new inbox groups your mail into categories which appear as different tabs. You simply choose which categories you want and voilà! Your inbox is organized in a way that lets you see what’s new at a glance and decide which emails you want to read when.
You can easily customize the new inbox - select the tabs you want from all five to none, drag-and-drop to move messages between tabs, set certain senders to always appear in a particular tab and star messages so that they also appear in the Primary tab.
In the
Gmail for Android 4.0
+ and
Gmail for iPhone and iPad
apps, you'll see your Primary mail when you open the app and you can easily navigate to the other tabs.
If the new inbox isn't quite your style, you can simply switch off all optional tabs to go back to classic view, or switch to any of your
other favorite inbox types
.
The new inbox is rolling out gradually. The desktop, Android and iOS versions will become available within the next few weeks. If you'd like to try out the new inbox on Desktop sooner, keep an eye on the gear menu and select
Configure inbox
when it appears in the Settings options.
Search emails, Google Drive, Calendar and more as you type
May 23, 2013
Posted by Balazs Racz, Software Engineer
As part of field trial we opened in
October
, it became possible to instantly see your relevant emails, Google Drive files, Calendar events, and more when you search in Gmail. Those of you who participated in the field trial told us that you like the time-saving convenience of searching for all your stuff from one place, and over the coming week, we'll be rolling out this feature in English to all U.S. users. Now you can find what you're looking for faster right in Gmail.
Take action right from the inbox
May 15, 2013
Posted by Shalini Agarwal, Product Manager
Email is an important part of how we get things done -- from planning an event with friends to organizing that family vacation to Costa Rica. And today, getting those things done is getting a little easier with new quick action buttons in Gmail, designed to help you tackle your digital to-do’s as quickly as possible.
These buttons appear next to certain types of messages in your inbox and let you take action on an email without ever having to open it. For example, you can RSVP to your friend's party invitation or rate that restaurant you went to last night all right from the inbox. You’ll be checking things off that to-do list in no time.
Flight confirmation emails are also becoming a bit more useful. Whether you’re frequently up in the air or just the occasional traveler, when you open a flight confirmation email in Gmail, all the important information about your flight will be displayed right at the top. You’ll be able to see whether your flight is on time, when your connection is and more -- no scrolling required.
These quick actions will roll out over the next few weeks, and we hope to add even more useful actions moving forward. If you are a developer and want to add actions to your emails, check out
developers.google.com/gmail/schemas
to learn more.
Send money to friends with Gmail and Google Wallet
May 15, 2013
Posted by Travis Green, Product Manager, Google Wallet
Paying back your friends is now as simple as sending an email, whether you’re chipping in for lunch or reimbursing your roommate for your share of the rent.
Google Wallet is now integrated with Gmail, so you can quickly and securely send money to friends and family directly within Gmail -- even if they don’t have a Gmail address. It's free to send money if your bank account is linked to Google Wallet or using your Google Wallet Balance, and
low fees
apply to send money using your linked credit or debit card.
To send money in Gmail, hover over the attachment paperclip, click the $ icon to attach money to your message, enter the amount you wish to send, and press send.
While sending money in Gmail is currently only available on desktop, you can send money from Google Wallet at
wallet.google.com
from your phone or laptop. You will need to have set up
Google Wallet
to send and receive money, and Google Wallet Purchase Protection covers you 100% against
eligible
unauthorized payments.
We’re rolling out this feature over the coming months to all U.S. Gmail users over 18 years old, so keep an eye out for the $ icon in the attachment options. You can also get earlier access if your friends have the feature and send money to you.
To learn more, visit our
website
.
Try out the new Hangouts experience in Gmail
May 15, 2013
Posted by Thijs van As, Product Manager
Today we announced Hangouts, a
big improvement
to Google’s real-time communication services. Instead of different versions of chat, video chat and calling across Google products, Hangouts gives you one consistent way to connect with the people you care about.
What does this mean for your Gmail? You now have the option to switch from the current version of chat to Hangouts. Simply click “Try it out” next to your chat list to switch to Hangouts and give your chat an instant facelift (literally!). You’ll now see the profile photos in the order of your most recent conversations. With Hangouts, you’ll also be able to quickly send messages, have video calls with up to ten people at once, and share photos. You can start a conversation with just one friend or even a whole group.
Hangouts transition effortlessly between desktop and mobile -- in fact, Hangouts will be available in Gmail, Google+,
Android phones and tablets
,
iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch
and as a Windows, Mac or Linux desktop application using the
Chrome extension
. You can start a Hangout on your phone, and pick it up in Gmail right where you left off!
The new Hangouts experience in Gmail is rolling out as an optional switch starting today. Click the “Try it out” button when it appears next to your chat list to switch right away, or you can
switch later
. Learn more about the new Hangouts
here
.
Bringing it all together: 15 GB now shared between Drive, Gmail, and Google+ Photos
May 13, 2013
Cross-posted from the
Google Drive blog
Life gets a bit easier when your Google products work well together—whether that’s inserting a Drive file into an email or sharing a photo from Drive on Google+. As this experience becomes more seamless, separate storage doesn’t make as much sense anymore. So instead of having 10 GB for Gmail and another 5 GB for Drive and Google+ Photos, you’ll now get 15 GB of unified storage for free to use as you like between Drive, Gmail, and Google+ Photos.
With this new combined storage space, you won’t have to worry about how much you’re storing and where. For example, maybe you’re a heavy Gmail user but light on photos, or perhaps you were bumping up against your Drive storage limit but were only using 2 GB in Gmail. Now it doesn’t matter, because you can use your storage the way you want.
We’ll also be making updates to the
Google Drive storage page
, so you can better understand how you’re using storage space. Simply hover over the pie chart to see a breakdown of your storage use across Drive, Gmail, and Google+ Photos. And if you need more storage, this is your place to upgrade, with plans starting at $4.99/month for 100 GB.
Pro tip: This change means you’re no longer limited to a 25 GB upgrade in Gmail—any additional storage you purchase now applies there, too.
These changes to Google Drive storage will roll out over the next couple of weeks. Google Apps users will also be getting shared storage, so visit the enterprise blog to learn more.
Posted by Clay Bavor, Director of Product Management
Add events to Google Calendar from Gmail
May 2, 2013
Posted by Boris Khvostichenko, Product Manager
If you do a lot of scheduling over email, it's now a little bit easier to create events directly from your Gmail. Starting today, dates and times within emails are lightly underlined: click them to schedule that conference call or lunch date without ever leaving Gmail.
When you click on one of these underlined dates, you’ll be able to preview your schedule for the day and change the title, date or time of the event. Clicking “Add to Calendar” will do exactly that -- add the event to your calendar, and for extra convenience, the calendar event will include a link back to the original email.
This new feature is rolling out over the next week to everyone with the English (US) language. We'll be adding other languages soon, so stay tuned.
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