by Lisa Oates

Created on: July 03, 2009   Last Updated: November 01, 2010

I've been using Gmail - the email client by Google - for quite some time now, and it never ceases to amaze me. Google is all over the place, in a good way. They have online applications for maps, email, news, documents (sort of like Microsoft Word and Excel), shopping (with checkouts you can personalize), calendar, blog reader, images, and so much more. If you use Google on a regular basis to search or use any of the previously mentioned applications, you should most definitely use Gmail.

Gmail is the smartest email application I've ever used. Here's why:

You can star specific messages that you would like quick access to, no matter where you file it away. Consider it a "favorite" function or a bookmark.

Label each email and file it away in the archives. This creates streamlined organization, and you can find any message you've ever archived quickly and easily.

If you did happen to file a message away and forgot where you put it, Gmail provides a fantastic search function that allows you to type any search terms and it will find the message you are looking for! For example, type "from Bob" in the search bar and it will find any email you've ever received from anyone named Bob. Or type in "sent from John" and Gmail will provide you with all messages in your sent mail that you received from John. Amazing!

All emails with the same subject line get grouped into one email, and you can see who sent each message and when. Why is this so special? It only takes up one line in my inbox. It doesn't show a new line for each reply! When a new message is received with that subject, it goes bold to show you that someone has sent a new message with that subject.

The spam function is intelligent. When I mark something as spam, it NEVER shows up in my inbox again.

Create a checklist of tasks. It is an easy way to get things done, stay organized, and saves paper... plus you'll be less likely to lose those little post-it notes!

Create contact groups. Once you designated specific contacts to a group, when you want to type a message to that group, just type the group name into the "To:" field and all the email addresses in that group will populate in that field.

When you compose a new email, you can send a calendar event or appointment request to the recipient, just like in Outlook. The event will be added to your Google Calendar.

Here is a little tidbit of information that I learned along the way (and had to search long and hard to find out how to do this) that should provide useful to other Gmail users as well:

To insert a photo into a Gmail message, go to Google Documents and open a new document. Type up your message and format as you like, and insert the photo where you want it. You don't even have to resize it before you insert the photo because in the advanced options, you can have it automatically resized to a thumbnail size, which is perfect for email messages. Once your message is how you want it, copy the content, then head back over to Gmail and paste it directly into your message. Ta-da! Send.

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