Clean your inbox

Update:  Following on the heels of Gmail’s update, I thought I would re-share this article as well that I posted nearly 4 years ago. To this day, I still follow these recommendations and email is no longer a thorn in my digital side. Give it a try! Email truly revolutionized communication. The ability to retrieve a message from anywhere in the world in a matter of seconds is mind boggling. However, judging by the size...

Google rolling out new Gmail look and functions &#...

UPDATE: I posted this tip in November of 2011, but many Gmail users didn’t have the new Gmail interface yet, so I’m bringing this back out of the archives since all new accounts and most exiting ones are now in the new format. Starting today, Google is rolling out the option for you to try out there new interface (look and function). You will see an option to try out the system in the lower right hand side of your...

All 45 of my Gmail tips

At today’s local computer users group, I discussed the basics and more of Google’s Gmail. All of the tips and tricks I discussed at the meeting and many more are here for you at HelpMeRick.com. Start by clicking here to see all my articles and tips regarding Gmail. Leave any Gmail related questions you have in the comments! Thanks.

Notes from a session with a MacBook user

These notes were created while sitting with a customer who uses a MacBook and was learning how to use his Gmail account. You can find all of these tips in my other Gmail tips, but here’s what I left for him. Here is a PDF Version of Gmail Notes pictured. ...

Printing from Gmail – Notes

Starting today, I have the capability to digitize notes and how-tos that I write up for my clients each and every day. My goal is to use this option extensively and build a large library of specific how-to’s that are much more focused than my general tips and how-tos here at HelpMeRick.com. I hope you enjoy and benefit from them. My first note to add to this new archive is how to get a proper print from Gmail. Hitting...

How to use multiple signatures in Gmail without ad...

This week I helped a client start the transition to Gmail from Microsoft Outlook. Turns out that although he used the same email address, he did have different signatures setup for various uses (personal, business, charity, etc). With Gmail, it is possible to setup a separate signature for different email addresses (which not many people do with Gmail), but not choose from different signatures. As I thought about his problem,...

Disable Gmail Web Clips and Important Markers R...

Frequent visitors to this site know that I’m a huge fan of Gmail and recommend it and its web interface. However, every now and then Google introduces some features that perplex me. Some people may like the features, but it is nice to be able to disable them if you don’t use or like the feature. In today’s tip, I explain how to disable the web clips advertising bar at the top of the list of messages and also...

Make your web based email the Windows Default emai...

More and more computer users choose to use web based email systems like Gmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL web based mail, and HotMail. I recently found this tool that will force Windows to recognize that you are a 21st century email user and thus recognize email links on web pages and send them to your web based email instead of a system installed on your computer that you do not use. The download is quick and free, and the installation...

Forwarding images in email with Gmail

I normally refrain from helping folks with their forwarding email problems because I believe the majority of forwards do not offer any value, but that’s just me. For those of you who enjoy forwarding and use Gmail and are having problems with the forwarded email not showing the images, try this simple tip: Before hitting send on the message  you are forwarding, alter the subject line a little…even just deleting...

How to make Gmail & other Google Apps even mo...

I highlighted a little about Google Labs enhancements of Gmail in my award winning 3 part introduction to Gmail, but I felt that the Google Labs needed a tip all its own. Google Labs lets users of their products experiment with Google’s own experiments. Their programmers and engineers work on literally hundreds of projects every day to enhance their online offering of applications. Some of these projects make it into...

Drag & Drop Attachments in Gmail – Vide...

Google rolled out a great new feature for Gmail this week that allows users to drag files from folders directly into an email. It only works with Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox at the moment, but it works extremely well and makes attaching files a lot easier. Take a look at the video below to see how it works.

Linux + Gmail = Computing Bliss

Last summer, I wrote an article about a senior citizen client of mine who constantly struggled with her older Windows XP machine. Updates would cause problems, the printer would stop working, security woes plagued her. She turned out to be my poster child for using Linux (in her case Ubuntu 8.10).  Check out the article (by the way, she is still doing fantastic with her computer and Ubuntu). Today, I visited another of my...

7 Google services you have never tried

Google started as a college project 12 years ago, then as a startup search engine just 10 years ago. Today, Google owns more than 60% of all web search traffic and employs close to 22,000 employees worldwide. You probably interact with Google via their search engine primarily. However, you are missing out on some truly great services that Google also provides in addition to their fast and accurate search engine. In this...

I don’t miss spam

I just emptied 536 spam from my email spam folder. Today, I ran across some clients who had problems with email spam, and I recanted the following story. Once upon a time, my email inbox was filled to the brim with spam every single day. Then one cool autumn day in Las Vegas, Nevada at the now defunct Comdex show in 2000 or 2001, I met some nice folks from a startup company called Cloudmark. They were discussing and...

Changing email addresses – It’s not th...

AOL made millions of dollars for years because computer users are afraid to change their email addresses. All week long, I hear, “Oh, it’s too hard to change email addresses now.” Or, “It will take forever to change my email address with everyone.” Come on folks…we’re using computers! You don’t have to fill out a change of address form and march it down to the postal office. You...