Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (2024)

Switch from Microsoft Outlook to Gmail

Next: Personalize your inbox

Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (1)

In Gmail, use labels and filters to organize your email. You can also star, snooze, archive, and delete messages to keep your inbox clear.

On this page

  • Group email by topic
  • Mark email you send as important
  • Mark email you receive for followup
  • Get rid of unimportant email

Note: The instructions in this guide are primarily web only.Get switching information for mobile devices.

Expand all|Collapseall

Group email by topic

  • In Outlook:Use folders, rules, and categories.
  • In Gmail:Use labels and search filters (Gmail doesn't use folders). You can drag messages into labels, similar to the way you drag items into folders.You can apply multiple labels to a message, and find messages byclicking any of their labels in the left panel.

Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (2)

Learn how

Create a filter

  1. Open Gmail.
  2. In the search box at the top, click Show search options Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (3).
  3. Enter your search criteria. If you want to check that your search worked correctly, see what emails show up by clicking Search.
  4. At the bottom of the search window, click Create filter.
  5. Choose what you'd like the filter to do.
  6. Click Create filter.

Note:When you create a filter to forward messages, only new messages will be affected.​In addition, when someone replies to a message that you've filtered, the reply will only be filtered if it meets the same search criteria.

Learn more about filters

Create a label

  1. On your computer, go to Gmail.
  2. On the left, scroll down, then click More.
  3. Click Create new label.
  4. Name your label.
  5. Click Create.

Label messages in your inbox

  1. On your computer, go toGmail.
  2. Select the messages.
  3. At the top, click Labels.
  4. Select a label, or create a new one.

Learn more at the Gmail Help Center

Mark email you send as important

  • In Outlook:Select the high importance marker.Importance markers don't appear in messages sent to Gmail accounts.
  • In Gmail:Highlight the message's importance in the subject field.

Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (4)

Learn how

  1. Open Gmail.
  2. Click Compose.
  3. Add recipients.
  4. In the Subject field, add a descriptor, such as:
    • [URGENT]
    • [REPLY BY DEC 1]
    • [APPROVAL NEEDED]
      Note: You can paste in a red exclamation mark Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (5) before the descriptor to mark email you send as important.
  5. Compose your message and click Send.

Mark email you receive for follow up

  • In Outlook:Use flags to track important messages you receive.
  • In Gmail:Star, snooze, or mark messages you receive as important.

Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (6)

Learn how

Star an email to make it stand out

  1. On your computer, open Gmail.
  2. From your inbox, go to the left of the message, then click Star Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (7). If the message is open, click More Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (8) Add Star.
  3. If you have multiple stars, keep clicking the Star icon until you see the one that you want to use.

View email you've starred

  1. On your computer, open Gmail.
  2. On the left side of the page, clickStarred. You may need to clickMorefirst.

Tip: To find starred messages, you can alsouse search operators in Gmail.

  • To find all starred messages, enteris:starred.
  • To find messages with aspecific star, enter has: followed by the star's name. The namesare based on your current star options in use:
    • has:yellow-star
    • has:orange-star
    • has:red-star
    • has:purple-star
    • has:blue-star
    • has:green-star
    • has:red-exclamation mark
    • has:orange-guillemet
    • has:yellow-exclamation mark
    • has:green-tick
    • has:blue-info
    • has:purple-question

Snooze an email until later

  1. On your computer, go to Gmail.
  2. Point to the email.
  3. On the right, click Snooze Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (9).
  4. Choose a later day and time to receive the email.

Tip: To snooze multiple messages:

  1. Select the messages.
  2. At the top, click Snooze Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (10).
    • If you can't find 'Snooze', click More Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (11) Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (12) Snooze.

Learn more at the Gmail Help Center

Save attachments

  • In Outlook:Save attachments to your computer.
  • In Gmail:Upload attachments to Google Drive.

Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (13)

Learn how

Save attachments

Important: You can't add certain attachments to Google Drive. Learn about files that you can store in Drive.

  1. On your computer, go to Gmail.
  2. Open a message.
  3. At the bottom of the message, hover over the attachment.
  4. Click Add to Drive Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (14).

Learn more at the Gmail Help Center

Get rid of unimportant email

Hide unimportant threads

Sometimes you might receive an email and decide you don't want to see any more messages in the conversation. You can mute the conversation to have replies automatically skip the inbox and go directly to the archive.

  • In Outlook:Ignore conversations.
  • In Gmail:Mute conversations.

Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (15)

Learn how

Mute email threads

  1. On your computer, go toGmail.
  2. Open or select the conversation.
  3. At the top, click More Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (16)Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (17) Mute.

Tip: To mute more quickly, learn how to turn on keyboard shortcuts.

Learn more at the Gmail Help Center

Get rid of spam

  • In Outlook:Mark as email junk and choose settings for junk email.
  • In Gmail:Report messages as spam, move messages to the spam folder, and block senders.

Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (18)

Learn how

Report spam

  1. On your computer, open Gmail.
  2. Select one or more emails.
  3. Click Report spam Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (19).

Block senders

When you block a sender, messages that they send you go to Spam.

    1. On your computer, go to Gmail.
    2. Open the message.
    3. At the top right, click More Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (20).
    4. Click Block [sender].

    Tip: If you blocked someone by mistake, you can unblock them using the same steps.

    Learn more at the Gmail Help Center

    Archive email

    • In Outlook: Set up rules to periodically move messages from your inbox to the Outlook Archive file.
    • In Gmail: Archive messages, or set up filters to automatically move messages to the archive. No need to schedule rules to run at regular intervals. After you archive messages, you can still find them under the label, All Mail.

    Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (21)

    Learn how

    Archive email

    1. On your computer, open Gmail.
    2. Open the message that you want to archive.
    3. At the top, click Archive Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (22).

    Tips:

    • To archive multiple messages, click the box next to each message Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (23) Archive Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (24).
    • To archive a message with keyboard shortcuts, press E. Learn more about keyboard shortcuts.

    Find archived email

    Important: When you search in Gmail, your results include archived messages. Learn more about search in Gmail.

    1. On your computer, open Gmail.
    2. On the left, click More.
    3. Click All mail.

    Note:If you don’t see All Mail or Trash, scroll to the bottom of the left sidebar and click More.

    Learn more at the Gmail Help Center

    Delete email

    • In Outlook:Move messages to the deleted items folder and use mailbox cleanup.
    • In Gmail:Move messages to the trash. Trashed messages are automatically deleted after 30 days.

    Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (25)

    Learn how

    1. On your computer, go to Gmail.
    2. On the left of each message that you want to delete, tick the box.
    3. At the top, click Delete Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (26).

    Note:If you don’t see All Mail or Trash, scroll to the bottom of the left sidebar and click More.

    Learn more at the Gmail Help Center

    Back to top


    Google, Google Workspace and related marks and logos are trademarks of Google LLC. All other company and product names are trademarks of the companieswith which they are associated.

    Next: Personalize your inbox

    Need more help?

    Try these next steps:

    Post to the Help Community Get answers from community members
    Organize & archive email - Gmail Help (2024)

    FAQs

    Organize & archive email - Gmail Help? ›

    In Gmail: Use labels and search filters (Gmail doesn't use folders). You can drag messages into labels, similar to the way you drag items into folders. Also, you can apply multiple labels to a message, and find messages by clicking any of their labels in the left panel.

    How do I organize my Gmail effectively? ›

    In Gmail, use labels and filters to organize your email. You can also star, snooze, archive, and delete messages to keep your inbox clear.

    Is it better to delete or archive emails? ›

    In most cases, archiving emails will be a better option as all the data contained within them will remain accessible. This allows you to have a cleaner database and find old emails when they are needed.

    What happens when I archive an email in Gmail? ›

    If you archive an email, it will be removed from your inbox, but you will always have it under All Mail. Archinging is a useful feature that allows you to unclutter your inbox but keep emails for future access. The archived email can be located under All Mail and any labels assigned to the email.

    What's the point of archiving emails? ›

    Email archiving is the process of securely storing emails, making it easy to search for and retrieve them. It's a fast, reliable, and scalable solution to storing essential emails while reducing the load on mail servers. It helps store old emails that you don't need immediate access to, but don't want to delete.

    What is a great tool for organizing Gmail? ›

    Filters & Labels

    By and large, the best organization tool you will find in Gmail is Labels. Labels are sort of a hybrid between tags and folders. They help you categorize all new messages hitting your inbox. As new messages come in, you simply check them and drag and drop into the proper label.

    Does archiving free up space in Gmail? ›

    While archived messages don't have a special folder or home within Gmail, they still take up space.

    Does putting emails in archive free up space? ›

    Archived emails will still use storage space. Depending on how much storage space your email service provider gives you, you may want to consider downloading your emails to your local machine or portable drive, or even sending them to a new account, and then deleting the emails.

    How long do archived emails stay in Gmail? ›

    Messages you archived aren't deleted, and you can access them at any time. Gmail keeps your archived emails indefinitely or until you delete them. Only messages that are deleted are removed from the Trash after 30 days.

    How do I keep Gmail emails forever? ›

    Scroll to the Email and chat auto-deletion setting and choose an option: Do not delete email and chat messages automatically.

    How many years does Gmail keep emails? ›

    Gmail doesn't have a specific timeframe for permanently deleting emails. Generally, emails are kept indefinitely until the user decides to delete them or until they're automatically deleted by the user or by Gmail's automated processes, such as spam filtering or trash emptying.

    Where do Gmail emails go when archived? ›

    Archived emails disappear from your Gmail Inbox and stay forever in All Mails label until you manually delete them. These archived emails can be easily found under "All Mails" label in Gmail.

    Does deleting old emails free up space? ›

    This action permanently deletes your emails and frees up their storage space. If you delete many emails at once, it can take some time for the space to be freed up.

    What is the best way to store emails long-term? ›

    Email archiving is the process of securely storing email messages and attachments in a central location for long-term retention and easy retrieval. It is an effective solution for organizations that need to store and manage large volumes of emails, while also meeting regulatory and compliance requirements.

    Why you should delete emails instead of archiving them? ›

    Delete Instead of Archive, and Only Keep What You Care About

    You'll free up space, and you won't have to pay to store useless emails. If an email is important, archive that one---or consider placing it into a folder or label that will make it easier to find in the future.

    What is the best way to manage Gmail storage? ›

    Free up space with Gmail. With the Google One Storage Management Tool, you can review and free up storage space by deleting emails in your trash, spam emails, or emails with large attachments. info Features are subject to availability. The steps may look different depending on your device.

    Top Articles
    We are in Our Late 60s, in Debt, and Afraid. - George
    What is a Credit Score?
    The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India, Volume 3
    Chs.mywork
    Ups Stores Near
    Here's how eating according to your blood type could help you keep healthy
    Carter Joseph Hopf
    Bbc 5Live Schedule
    Florida (FL) Powerball - Winning Numbers & Results
    Oscar Nominated Brings Winning Profile to the Kentucky Turf Cup
    George The Animal Steele Gif
    Otterbrook Goldens
    Jenn Pellegrino Photos
    Bend Pets Craigslist
    Cambridge Assessor Database
    How pharmacies can help
    Air Force Chief Results
    The Menu Showtimes Near Regal Edwards Ontario Mountain Village
    Aris Rachevsky Harvard
    Where Is George The Pet Collector
    Pecos Valley Sunland Park Menu
    Gazette Obituary Colorado Springs
    Understanding Gestalt Principles: Definition and Examples
    Jordan Poyer Wiki
    Timeline of the September 11 Attacks
    Wat is een hickmann?
    Rek Funerals
    1979 Ford F350 For Sale Craigslist
    11526 Lake Ave Cleveland Oh 44102
    Southtown 101 Menu
    5 Star Rated Nail Salons Near Me
    Rubmaps H
    Martin Village Stm 16 & Imax
    Garrison Blacksmith's Bench
    Police Academy Butler Tech
    Space Marine 2 Error Code 4: Connection Lost [Solved]
    That1Iggirl Mega
    Culver's of Whitewater, WI - W Main St
    Fapello.clm
    Craigslist Farm And Garden Reading Pa
    Costco Gas Foster City
    Panolian Batesville Ms Obituaries 2022
    Flappy Bird Cool Math Games
    Blow Dry Bar Boynton Beach
    Menu Forest Lake – The Grillium Restaurant
    Gt500 Forums
    Greatpeople.me Login Schedule
    Coleman Funeral Home Olive Branch Ms Obituaries
    Jesus Calling Oct 6
    Ok-Selection9999
    Latest Posts
    Article information

    Author: Sen. Emmett Berge

    Last Updated:

    Views: 6301

    Rating: 5 / 5 (80 voted)

    Reviews: 87% of readers found this page helpful

    Author information

    Name: Sen. Emmett Berge

    Birthday: 1993-06-17

    Address: 787 Elvis Divide, Port Brice, OH 24507-6802

    Phone: +9779049645255

    Job: Senior Healthcare Specialist

    Hobby: Cycling, Model building, Kitesurfing, Origami, Lapidary, Dance, Basketball

    Introduction: My name is Sen. Emmett Berge, I am a funny, vast, charming, courageous, enthusiastic, jolly, famous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.