Take a look at the Google help on searching (
http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=7190) Learning a
few search operators can yield almost anything you want. For example, if you
just want to see unread messages tagged with a label named "Advisees", use
the search *label:advisess is:unread*. The easiest way to do this is click
the label and then add *is:unread* to the search box. Or perhaps you want to
see all messages in the inbox with the label "Parents", use *label:inbox
label:parents*. I've found the following operators most useful: *label, is,
before, after*.
Google has two labs features that can also help a lot:
*Multiple Inboxes*
Multiple inboxes allows you to create multiple inboxes based on filters. I
have an inbox for internal mail to me personally, internal mail to me as
part of a group, and external mail. I've found separating mail like this
allows me to process my inbox far quicker and makes me much less prone to
missing an important email. You can create up to five inboxes. The only down
side is that manual refreshing of inboxes is sometimes necessary using the
"refresh" link next to the inbox.
*Quick Links*
Allows you to create pre-built filters like my examples above which appear
on the left under your labels.
Lastly, I don't understand how Gmail's label/archive/search paradigm is in
any way worse than the more common file/hunt paradigm.
"Archiving" and "Filing" are really not any different except with archiving
you have the flexibility of not specifying a label or specifying multiple
labels which to me is more flexible than being forced to select one and only
one folder. In most ways labeling/archiving/searching provide more
flexibility than file/hunt not less. The only significant downside of labels
vis-a-vis folders that we have come across is for people who rely on a
highly nested folder structure to organize email. Any more than a couple
dozen labels because unwieldy at best. While there are some situations when
using a highly nested folder structure is best, I've found that most people
are far more efficient once they get used to the label/archive/search
paradigm. By far the biggest hurdle convincing users to give the Google
paradigm a chance and get into the habit of searching rather than hunting.
As mentioned above, learning just 3 or 4 search operators can make a huge
difference and in general less is more when it comes to creating labels.
--
Tom Phelan
Director of Technology
Peddie School
On Sat, Oct 24, 2009 at 10:35 AM, Keith E Gatling <keith@gatling.us> wrote:
> I love Gmail, I really do. And their apps are good for the purposes they
> were designed for (which is for collaboration and editing, NOT for printing
> final, formatted copies of your work), but I've got one real problem with
> Gmail that may just be MY problem, but I'd love to know if anyone else here
> sees this as a problem, and knows of a workaround for it before I suggest
> to
> my school that we let Google take over our email function.
>
> It's the archiving. Not that it can save every embarrassing email message I
> ever wrote and the responses; but that it doesn't seem to know when to turn
> itself off. I know that their goal is to make it easy to find everything
> you've ever sent or received, but their methodology often makes it hard for
> me to get through the stuff I want to look through.
>
> For example, I have one Gmail account that everything goes to from all my
> other accounts. It also sends stuff as my other accounts. The message
> you're
> reading is coming from that account. As mail comes in from each of those
> accounts or somehow triggers a filter option, it gets its own particular
> label.
>
> Looking at all of this stuff in the inbox can be a little overwhelming, so
> I
> figure that switching to just looking at the items with one particular
> label
> would make life a little easier. No. Now I'm treated to all the messages
> I've archived that also fit under that label. The only way for me to just
> see the current messages seems to be to *delete* anything that I don't
> think
> I want anymore.
>
> Is there a better way to handle this?
>
> Thanks.
> --
>
> keg
>
> ========================================
> Keith E Gatling
> Email: keith@gatling.us
> Blog: http://wordfromg.blogspot.com
> Website: http://www.gatling.us/keith
> The fact that I'm open-minded doesn't mean that I have to agree with you.
> ========================================
>
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