More things you might not know about Gmail

By | March 12, 2011
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1. Did you know that attachments sent in formats that Google Documents can read can be opened directly in your browser when you’re using a Gmail address? They can. And the list includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, and RTF files. No additional software needed, Gmail can open them automatically.

2. When you receive or send attached image files (JPEG, GIF or PNG) formats, Gmail users get the option to download the attached file or view it in their browser. You can also download or playback MP3 files directly in Gmail.

3. If you’re using Outlook what do you do with your old inbox? Google’s Migration tool has a solution for that. The migration tool enables you to transfer all the old emails stored in your Outlook email accounts to your Gmail account. Gmail will even create labels from your folder names and preserve the folder structure from Outlook. It’s really a great way to backup those important folders and messages.

And if you’re not using Outlook? If you’re using Thunderbird, Outlook Express, or Windows Mail, you can set up your accounts as IMAP accounts (Outlook users can also choose this method too). When you choose IMAP your mail is stored both on Gmail’s secure server as well as on your local computer – even after you’ve “downloaded” your email. So your mail is always backed up automatically every time you check your email. And no, you won’t get the same messages over and over again. Once you check your email, the messages on the server are marked as “read” – so only unread mail headers are downloaded when you check your email. If you want to know more about IMAP read our article about IMAP.

4. Press Shift while clicking on “Compose Mail” and it will open the new message in a different window. This is especially useful when you want to review several emails while composing an email or answering email.

If you still don’t have a Gmail account, you can get one free at http://gmail.com/

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