New from Gmail

Here’s what’s new after Google refined its email service features

GOOGLE has finally delivered an updated web version of Gmail. With a sleek redesigned interface, nifty new features and improved offline support, it promises to make managing your overflowing inbox a lot easier. We look at what’s different.

1. SNOOZE

For those emails that are too important to archive but not important enough to be dealt with right away, Gmail now offers “Snooze”.

Snoozing a message basically means it vanishes from your inbox, only to reappear again at a time you choose. To use the feature, select the checkbox to the left of the mail in your inbox view, select the clock icon at the top of the screen and choose when you 58 | 6 SEPTEMBER 2018 you.co.za want the message to show again.

You can also hover your mouse over emails in your inbox to bring up icons to the right of each message (also a new feature) where you’ll also find the Snooze icon. This is a great way to set aside mails so you can deal with them later.

This function is available only if you have Conversation View enabled. To turn it on, tap on the gear icon in the top right corner > Settings > General > Conversation View On.

2. NUDGING

Ever received a message and completely forgotten to respond to it? Gmail’s new Nudge feature is for you! This alerts you to important emails you might have overlooked or opened without reading.

The new functionality notices when you’ve been slow to respond and flags the message for you in orange text to the right of your inbox, with prompts such as “Received 5 days ago. Reply?” or “Sent 3 days ago. Follow up?”

This is useful if you’re an email scatterbrain, but if you’re usually on the ball you can turn Nudges off under gear icon > Settings > General > Nudges then untick the boxes.

3. OFFLINE SUPPORT

One of the most common complaints from Gmail users was the inability to open old emails or draft new ones without an internet connection – but with the updates you can.

You still can’t send or receive new emails without an internet connection though.

4. OPENING ATTACHMENTS WITH ONE CLICK

You’ll now be able to see email file attachments before you even open the mail, with little clickable buttons underneath the mail in your inbox list. Clicking them opens your spreadsheets, word documents and PDFs in a window that pops up over your inbox.

5. CONFIDENTIAL MODE

If you’ve ever sent a sensitive email and wished it had a self-destruct button, you’ll love Confidential Mode. To activate it, hit the lock button underneath your reply window.

There you can set an expiry date for the mail, so it’ll effectively disappear from the recipient’s inbox within a certain time.

If that’s a bit drastic for you, Confidential Mode has another useful function – the recipient won’t be able to forward or print the mail, or copy and paste its contents.

6. AN EXTENDABLE SIDEBAR

If you’re a fan of Google’s tie-in products such as Calendar, Tasks and Keep, they’re now available within Gmail on a handy sidebar on the right-hand side of your screen.

You’ll also be able to customise your sidebar with other add-ons (such as Trello and Dropbox) simply by hitting the plus icon below the other icons.