Embedded Files
Open your email
Open your email
n Outlook: Open Outlook on your computer.
In Gmail: Go to gmail.com in any browser.
Open Gmail
Open Gmail from...
Any web browser—Go to mail.google.com.
Most Google pages—In the upper right, click the App Launcher and choose Gmail.
Android devices—Install and open the Android app.
Apple iOS devices—Install and open the iOS app.
Tip: Create a browser bookmark for Gmail
In Chrome Browser, go to the site you want to visit again in the future. For example:
mail.google.com for Gmail
calendar.google.com for Google Calendar
To the right of the address bar, click Star Add Bookmark .
Choose an option:
To exit, click Close .
To rename your bookmark or access it from a different folder, choose an option and click Done.
Tip: Add a Gmail shortcut to your desktop
Go to your desktop and right-click.
Choose NewShortcut.
Type the web address as the location. For example:
https://mail.google.com for Gmail
https://calendar.google.com for Calendar
(Optional) Name your shortcut.
Write & format email
Write & format email
Draft email
Draft email
In Outlook: Click HomeNew Email, then click Save.
In Gmail: Click Compose. Drafts are saved automatically. To find a draft, go to the label named Drafts.
Compose in a Gmail popup
On your computer, go to Gmail.
At the top left, click Compose.
In the "To" field, add recipients. You can also add recipients:
In the "Cc" and "Bcc" fields.
When you compose a message, with a "+ sign" or "@mention" and the contact's name in the text field.
Add a subject.
Write your message.
At the bottom of the page, click Send.
Tip: To add individual recipients and groups of contacts you created with labels, click To:.
Compose in a Gmail new window
On your computer, go to Gmail.
On the left, click Compose.
(Optional) Choose a window size with the buttons in the top right:
Full screen
Exit full screen
Open in a new window Shift +
Add a subject and recipients (To, Cc, or Bcc).
Learn more at the Gmail Help Center
Get writing suggestions
On your computer, open Gmail.
In the top right corner, click Settings See all settings.
Under “General,” scroll down to "Smart Compose."
Select Writing suggestions on or Writing suggestions off.
Note: Smart Compose is available in English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese. Smart Compose is not designed to provide answers and may not always predict factually correct information.
Get writing tips
Get writing tips
In Outlook: Use grammar and spelling checkers.
In Gmail: Get grammar, spelling, and personalized writing suggestions.
Turn grammar and spelling tools on or off
On your computer, open Google Gmail.
Click Settings Settings.
At the top, click General.
Turn the following tools on or off:
Grammar
Spelling
Autocorrect
Learn more at the Gmail Help Center
Turn writing suggestions on or off
On your computer, open Gmail.
In the top right corner, click Settings See all settings.
Under “General,” scroll down to "Smart Compose."
Select Writing suggestions on or Writing suggestions off.
Note: Smart Compose is available in English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese. Smart Compose is not designed to provide answers and may not always predict factually correct information.
Format email
Format email
In Outlook: Apply text formats in the message window.
In Gmail: Apply commonly used text formats in the message window. For advanced formatting options or tables, edit and send email from Google Docs.
Format your email
Format your email
On your computer, open Gmail.
Click Compose.
At the bottom of the message, click Formatting options .
Change your default text style
Change your default text style
You can create a text style that will be applied to all new emails you write.
On your computer, open Gmail.
In the top right, click Settings See all settings.
Scroll down to the "Default text style" section.
Change the text in the box to be the style you want for your emails.
At the bottom of the page, click Save Changes.
Draft email in Google Docs
Draft email in Google Docs
On your computer, open a Google Doc.
At the top left, click Insert > Building blocks > Email draft.
You can also type "@email" in the doc and press Enter.
To add recipients in the "To" field, type "@" and search your contacts, or type out email addresses.
You can add a subject line, write text in the email body, and format your draft.
Tip: You can collaborate with others in your doc to write an email draft. Learn more about how to share access to your doc.
Set up email signatures
Set up email signatures
In Outlook: In the message window, click MessageSignature.
In Gmail: In the message window, click Insert signature .
Create a signature
Open Gmail.
At the top right, click Settings See all settings.
In the General tab, scroll to Signature and click Create new.
Name your signature, then click Create.
This name is not your actual signature, but is a name for the signature template.In the text box at the right, add your signature text.
(Optional) To add text colors, links, and images, use the format bar.
At the bottom, click Save Changes.
Make your logo and signature appear side-by-side
On your computer, open a Google Doc.
Click InsertTable and create a 2x1 table.
In the left cell, insert your logo.
In the right cell, enter your signature.
Right-click the table and select Table properties.
Click Color and change the table border to white.
Click EditSelect all.
Click EditCopy.
Open Gmail and go to the signature you created.
Right-click and paste your logo and signature.
Scroll to the bottom and click Save Changes.
Mark email you send as important
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.
Open Gmail.
Click Compose.
Add recipients.
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 before the descriptor to mark email you send as important.
Compose your message and click Send.
Forward or attach email messages to other messages
Forward or attach email messages to other messages
In Outlook: In the message window, insert an Outlook item, or drag an item into a message.
In Gmail: Forward a message as an attachment, or drag a message into another message.
Forward one email as an attachment
On your computer, go to Gmail.
Select the emails that you want.
Click More Forward as attachment.
In the “To” field, add recipients. You can also add recipients in the “Cc” and “Bcc” fields.
Add a subject.
Write your message.
At the bottom, click Send.
Note: To forward as an attachment, you can also right-click on a message or drag and drop the file into the body of your message.
Forward multiple emails as attachments
Open Gmail.
Click Compose.
Check the boxes next to the messages that you want to attach and drag them to the new message window.
Enter a recipient, subject, and any message text.
Click Send.
Reply to an email with an attached mail
On your computer, go to Gmail.
Open the email click Reply.
At the top right of the email, click the Pop out icon .
From your inbox, select the email you want to attach.
Drag the email into your message.
At the bottom, click Send.
Choose delivery options
Choose delivery options
Send now
Send now
In Outlook: In the message window, click Send. Then click Send/ReceiveSend All.
In Gmail: In the message window, click Send.
On your computer, go to Gmail.
At the top left, click Compose.
In the "To" field, add recipients. You can also add recipients:
In the "Cc" and "Bcc" fields.
When you compose a message, with a "+ sign" or "@mention" and the contact's name in the text field.
Add a subject.
Write your message.
At the bottom of the page, click Send.
Tip: To add individual recipients and groups of contacts you created with labels, click To:.
Learn more at the Gmail Help Center
Send later
Send later
In Outlook: In the message window, select OptionsDelay Delivery.
In Gmail: In the message window, click the Down arrow next to the Send, then click Schedule send.
On your computer, go to Gmail .
At the top left, click Compose.
Create your email.
At the bottom left next to "Send," click the Down arrow .
Click Schedule send.
Note: You can have up to 100 scheduled emails.
Send email to a group
Send email to a group
In Outlook: Use contact lists or mail merge.
In Gmail: Use contact lists, groups, or mail merge.
Email a contact or contact group from Gmail
In Gmail, click Compose.
In the To field, start typing the address of the person or contact group. A list of matching addresses appears as you type.
Note: To see a group mailing list address in the auto-complete list, you might have to send a mail to the list once.Click the address you want. For contact groups, each group member is added to the To list. If you don’t want to send the message to everyone in the contact group, click Remove next to their name.
Use mail merge to send personalized emails
On your computer, open Gmail.
At the top left, click Compose.
You can also open an existing draft.
In the "To:" line, add recipients.
On the right of the "To:" line, click Use mail merge .
Turn on Mail Merge.
In your message, enter @.
Select a merge tag:
@firstname
@lastname
@fullname
@email
To insert the merge tag, press Enter.
Enhance message security
Enhance message security
In Outlook: In the message window, select OptionsEncrypt.
In Gmail: In the message window, turn on confidential mode.
On your computer, go to Gmail.
Click Compose.
In the bottom right of the window, click Turn on confidential mode .
Tip: If you've already turned on confidential mode for an email, go to the bottom of the email, then click Edit.Set an expiration date and passcode. These settings impact both the message text and any attachments.
If you choose "No SMS passcode," recipients using the Gmail app will be able to open it directly. Recipients who don't use Gmail will get emailed a passcode.
If you choose "SMS passcode," recipients will get a passcode by text message. Make sure you enter the recipient's phone number, not your own.
Click Save.
Know when someone opens your email
Know when someone opens your email
In Outlook: In the message window, click OptionsDelivery receipt.
In Gmail: At the bottom of the message window, request a read receipt.
On your computer, open Gmail.
Click Compose.
Compose your email as you normally would.
At the bottom right, click More options Request read receipt.
Click Send.
Undo send
Undo send
In Outlook: In the message window, go to FileMessage Resend and Recall.
In Gmail: In the Message sent notification, click Undo within the cancellation period.
Recall an email with Undo Send
In the bottom left, you'll see "Message sent" and the option to "Undo" or "View message".
Click Undo.
Choose an amount of time to recall a message
On your computer, go to Gmail.
In the top right, click Settings See all settings.
Next to "Undo Send," select a Send cancellation period of 5, 10, 20, or 30 seconds.
At the bottom, click Save changes.
Page updated
Report abuse