101 software tips, tweaks and tricks

Index

Gmail

086.

 Import from other mail accounts
You can consolidate all your email accounts into Gmail, so long as they support POP3. To do so:
  1. Click the Settings link in the top right
  2. Click the Accounts link
  3. Click the Add another mail account link and follow the steps. You will have to verify that the email account belongs to you
  4. Afterwards, you will be able to add the email address to your "from" field, so you can make it look as if you're responding from the imported account

087.

 Use the US version
Being US based, Google tends to roll out all its new features to the US English version first, leaving the UK English version to languish. If you can stand a few misspelled words in exchange for shiny features:
  1. Click the Settings link in the top right-hand corner
  2. Change the Mail display language to English (US), scroll down and click Save changes

088.

 Use labels
Adding labels can help you to isolate specific emails. To create a label:
  1. Click the Settings link in the top right-hand corner
  2. Click the Labels link
  3. In the Create a new label field, enter an appropriate name (for example, Mum), and then click the Create button
  4. Now you can apply the label to an email by clicking the check box next to it, clicking on the More Actions drop down box and selecting the new label. You can also remove labels the same way, and can apply multiple labels to the one email
  5. Labels are added to a box on the left-hand side. Click on a label's link to show only the emails marked with that label

089.

 Make labels act like folders
If you want to organise your mail even further, you can make your labels act like folders so marked emails never land in your inbox. This is a two-step process: first we have to create a filter that auto-applies labels, the next we want to archive the emails so it never appears in the inbox.
  1. Click the Settings link in the top right-hand corner
  2. Click the Filters link
  3. Click the Create a new filter link
  4. You'll now be given a number of fields in order to identify what email to apply the filter to. For example, if we wanted to auto apply the "Mum" filter we created in the earlier tip, we'd want to identify our mother's email address here. For the sake of example, say her email address is mum@mum.com — we'd enter that in the From field and click Next Step
  5. We can now choose what we want to do with those emails we've identified — for our example, we'd want to check Skip the inbox (Archive it) and set Apply the label to Mum
  6. If we wish to apply this rule to all existing mail as well as new mail, then the Also apply filter to x conversations below check box should be ticked
  7. When ready, click Create Filter
  8. Now those emails will never appear in your inbox — you'll have to click the label link on the left-hand side to access them, essentially turning labels into folders

090.

 Better Gmail 2
If you're using Firefox and the new Gmail interface, the Better Gmail 2 extension can make things a lot prettier, and customise the interface to your liking. Give it a go! If you're running on the "Older version" interface, you can always try the original extension. A walkthrough of some of the more complex features can be found at Lifehacker.

091.

 Upload emails and contacts from Outlook and Thunderbird
Importing your life into Gmail from older tools like Outlook can be frustrating. While the process still isn't 100 per cent perfect, Google Email Uploader can certainly ease the pain. Just be warned, it does require a Google Apps account, your normal Gmail account won't cut it.

Get your archived Outlook email into Gmail. (Credit: CNET.com.au)

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Talkback 9 comments

    Ignore "tip" #7 Dean -- 26/09/08

    I didn't bother reading them all, but "tip" #7 (turn off UAC) is totally irresponsible. DO NOT TURN OFF UAC! Demand that your vendor fix their application to work correctly with UAC.

    I am a software developer, and on a daily basis, I see maybe 1 or 2 UAC dialog prompts. For a non-developer, you should practically *never* see the UAC prompt in day-to-day activities.

    But they don't apply to my PC Anonymous -- 27/09/08

    "Our insider secrets will help you master your PC and its most important applications"

    Where are the tips and tricks for Apple and Linux users? Barely any of these 101 tips and tricks apply to MY PC or the applications I use on it.

    Craig and Luis, not everyone in the world uses a Windows PC. Most, but not all. I was more than a little disappointed not to see these facts acknowledged.

    Hamish

    Good Work Anonymous -- 29/09/08

    There's some handy tips in there. Good Stuff.

    A safer alternative to turning off UAC would be using TweakUAC and selecting silent mode.

    party Anonymous -- 29/09/08 (in reply to #320112953)

    Wuz up

    #1 tip for a windows PC Anonymous -- 29/09/08

    I suggest that the number one tip to turn your Win PC into a fast, secure, reliable and productive machine is to install any one of the Linux flavors and remove your buggy, virus ridden, DRM controlled Win partition.

    Re Anonymous -- 30/09/08 (in reply to #320112989)

    I did that. Now life is good

    Another PrintScreen Shortcut Joel Potgieter -- 03/10/08

    You can also get a printscreen of only the window that has current focus [nto the whole screen] by using ALT-PrintSCRN. Also works for dialog boxes.

    Tip 51: Outlook - get rid of the large [emails] Anonymous -- 03/10/08

    If you want to keep the email but delete its (large) attachment, Open the email then go to Edit then Edit Message. Delete the attachment and re-save the email.

    Tip 048 Lookout Anonymous -- 13/07/09

    Nice article, there are really some good tips in there!
    But with one point I am not do not really agree with you...I wouldn�´t recommend Lookout, because it is an old an undeveloped tool! I think it would make more sense to work in Outlook with an modern, supported and developed tool, for example Lookeen( www.lookeen.net)! In my opinion this search tool is the best of all!

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