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Keep messages organized and get your email working for you.
Search this topicIn Gmail, click Compose and write your message. Select the paperclip attachment control, choose the file, and wait for it to upload before sending. You can attach multiple files, but personal Gmail accounts have a combined attachment limit of 25 MB per message. Work or school accounts may have different limits set by an administrator. Check that the intended files appear in the draft before clicking Send.
For a personal Gmail account, the total attachment limit is 25 MB. When an attachment exceeds the limit, Gmail automatically adds a Google Drive link instead of including the whole file inside the email. Compose the message, add the file, and review the resulting link before sending. Work or school accounts can have administrator-defined limits, so check with your organization if its behavior differs.
On a computer, compose your message, then click the arrow beside Send and choose Schedule send. Pick one of the suggested times or set your own. Gmail uses the time zone in effect when you schedule the message, and delivery can occur a few minutes after the selected time. To change it, open Scheduled, select the message, and cancel its send; edit the returned draft and schedule it again.
Immediately click Undo in the confirmation notice that appears after sending. You only have the cancellation window configured for your account. On a computer, open Settings, See all settings, and find Undo Send to choose 5, 10, 20, or 30 seconds, then save your changes. This gives you time to cancel a new send; it does not recall a message after that window has expired.
On a computer, open Gmail Settings and choose See all settings. In the General tab, find Signature, create or select a signature, and enter the text you want. Set the defaults for new messages and replies if those controls are shown, then save changes at the bottom of the page. When composing, the signature control lets you choose a different saved signature for an individual message.
Open Gmail on a computer, choose Settings, See all settings, and scroll through General to Vacation responder. Turn it on, choose the dates, and write a subject and message. You can limit replies to your contacts before saving changes. Gmail generally sends the reply when someone first contacts you during the period, rather than replying to every message. Use End now in the banner if you return early.
On a computer, open the search options in Gmail’s search box and enter criteria, such as a sender address. Run the search first to check which messages match. Reopen the options, choose Create filter, and select an action such as applying a label, then create the filter. Review existing rules under Settings, See all settings, Filters and Blocked Addresses. Choose deletion actions carefully because matching future messages may be removed from your inbox.
Open Gmail’s advanced search options and set the search area to Mail & Spam & Trash. Enter any sender, subject, or date details you remember and search. A message may be archived, labeled, filtered, or in Spam instead of the inbox. If messages repeatedly disappear, review Filters and Blocked Addresses in Settings for rules that skip the inbox or delete mail. For newly missing incoming mail, also check whether account storage is full.
Archiving removes a message from the inbox while keeping it in your account. Select a message and choose Archive when you want less inbox clutter without deleting it. Find it later through search or All Mail. To put it back, select the message and choose Move to Inbox. This differs from Trash, where messages are automatically removed after the retention period.
Open a message from that sender, click the More menu beside Reply, and choose the option to block the sender. Future messages from that address go to Spam. Blocking does not prevent the person from using another address, so repeat unwanted messages may need additional spam reporting or filtering. To reverse the decision, use the message’s unblock option or review blocked addresses in Gmail’s settings.
Open Trash in Gmail; you may need to expand More in the folder list. Select the message and use Move to to place it in Inbox or another destination. Messages normally remain in Trash for 30 days before automatic permanent deletion. Act before that period ends, and avoid Delete forever or emptying Trash while looking for the message, since permanently deleted messages cannot be restored through the normal Trash controls.
While composing, click Bcc and place the recipients there instead of putting the whole list in To or Cc. Bcc recipients cannot see the other Bcc addresses, although they can see any addresses in To and Cc. Check those fields before sending. Also remember that Reply all does not include the hidden Bcc recipients, so this layout changes how a group conversation continues.
In Gmail on a computer, point to the message and click the clock-shaped Snooze control. Choose tomorrow or set a specific date and time. The message leaves your inbox temporarily and returns at the scheduled time. To read it sooner, open Snoozed in the left menu or search in:snoozed; snoozing does not delete the email.
Select or open the message in desktop Gmail, open More in the toolbar and choose Add to Tasks. Gmail creates a task from the email, giving you a place to track the follow-up. If useful controls are missing, open More and switch to the advanced toolbar. Creating a task does not send a reply to the sender.
From your Gmail inbox on a computer, select the messages you want to include. Open the toolbar's More menu and choose Forward as attachment. Review the resulting draft and recipients before sending. This option starts from the inbox; forwarding an entire conversation from inside a thread uses the separate Forward all action.
Open Gmail Settings, choose See all settings and find Button labels. Select Text, then save changes at the bottom. Toolbar actions become easier to identify if similar icons are confusing. This changes how the controls are labeled; it does not change what actions such as Archive or Delete do to your messages.
Gmail uses labels instead of conventional folders. On a computer, click the plus beside Labels in the left sidebar, enter a name and choose Create. Select emails and use the Labels control to apply it. An email can have several labels, so organize by project or purpose without making separate copies of the message.
Removing a label removes that category, not the emails it organized. Hover over the label in Gmail's sidebar, open its menu and choose Remove label. Be careful to distinguish this from deleting a selected email: deleting the email removes it from the inbox and every label where it appeared.
With conversation view enabled, applying a label affects messages that already exist in the thread. New replies do not automatically inherit that manual action. Apply the label to the new messages, and check individual messages when the thread looks inconsistent. A conversation is a display grouping, not a folder that labels every future reply.
Open Gmail on a computer and click Settings. Under Inbox type, choose Unread first. Gmail separates unread messages from Everything else so you can find them without changing each message's labels. This is an inbox layout choice; reading a message changes its status and can move it into the other section.
Multiple inboxes divides one Gmail account's inbox into extra sections based on search criteria or labels. Choose Settings and select Multiple inboxes under Inbox type, then customize the sections. Use it to keep categories such as pending work visible together. It is not a way to create new email addresses or separate Google accounts.
Run your search in Gmail, then use the sorting control above the results to change Most relevant to Most recent. Add a sender or date search chip if too many messages remain. Relevance sorting can place an older matching conversation above a newer one, so check this control before assuming a recent email is missing.
Click Gmail's search box on a computer and look for the recent search. Use the Delete control beside it to remove that suggestion. This is different from deleting the emails found by the search. Gmail search history can be associated with your Google Account, so review My Activity when you want broader control over saved searches.
Enter date operators in Gmail's search box, such as after:2026/01/01 before:2026/02/01, then add a sender or subject if needed. Use older_than:1y for a relative age search instead. Review the resulting dates before applying bulk actions, particularly when messages near the boundary matter; searching itself does not modify the mail.
Source checks for these answers: September 21, 2026. Product instructions and local requirements can vary.