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If you want to spend less time on email, knowing the keyboard shortcuts for Gmail is a great way to do that. Like most of us, you probably waste a few minutes each week just managing your email, whether you’re looking for old files, formatting emails, or making sure you’re not about to Cc the whole office on your weekend plans. Throw all that away! These keyboard tools for Gmail will make your daily work easier and give you more time to do more useful things. First, we’ll talk about how to turn on keyboard shortcuts in Gmail.
Using a mouse to drag and drop can be a good way to manage and organize your email. But if you get a lot of email, learning the keyboard shortcuts for Gmail and a few tricks and tips can save you hours. Here are top choices. Oh, don’t feel scared. Just pick one and give it a try for a little while. Come back to find out more.
Importance Of Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts for Gmail are a great way to speed up your email work and make your process more efficient. Here are a few things that show how important Gmail keyboard keys are:
- Quick Navigation: Shortcuts on your keyboard make it easy to move quickly through the Gmail layout. You only need to press a few keys to move between emails, files, and different parts of the interface.
- Multitasking: Shortcuts in Gmail can help you do more than one thing at once. For example, you can use shortcuts to start emails in new tabs, switch between tabs, and do things in each tab.
- Consistency: Once you know how to use keyboard shortcuts, you can keep your process the same no matter what device you use. This is especially helpful if you switch between computers or gadgets often.
Best Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts
Your email management activities can be completed noticeably more quickly if you make use of keyboard shortcuts. You can eliminate the need to grab the mouse and click your way through menus by performing activities with a single keyboard rather than doing so. This can help you shave off a significant amount of time, particularly when dealing with a large number of emails.
General Shortcuts:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| C | Compose a new email |
| R | Reply to the selected email |
| F | Forward the selected email |
| / | Search your emails |
| N | Move to the next message |
| P | Move to the previous message |
| E | Archive the selected email |
| # | Delete the selected email |
| ! | Mark the selected email as spam |
| Shift + U | Mark the selected email as unread |
| Ctrl + S | Save the draft of the composed email |
| Ctrl + Enter | Send the composed email |
| Ctrl + . | Open more options |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| G + I | Go to the inbox |
| G + T | Go to the sent emails |
| G + D | Go to the drafts |
| G + S | Go to the starred emails |
| G + C | Go to the contacts |
| G + K | Go to the tasks |
| G + H | Go to the Hangouts chat |
| G + P | Go to the previous conversation |
Formatting Shortcuts:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + B | Bold text |
| Ctrl + I | Italicize text |
| Ctrl + U | Underline text |
| Ctrl + Shift + 7 | Numbered list |
| Ctrl + Shift + 8 | Bulleted list |
| Ctrl + Shift + 9 | Quote selected text |
| Ctrl + [ | Decrease text indent |
| Ctrl + ] | Increase text indent |
| Ctrl + Shift + L | Align left |
| Ctrl + Shift + E | Align center |
| Ctrl + Shift + R | Align right |
Shortcut to Open Labs:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| L | Open Gmail Labs settings |
Best Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts for Different Platforms
When executing bulk activities like archiving, tagging, or deleting several emails, keyboard shortcuts are quite helpful. Other examples include moving multiple emails to a different folder. By utilizing shortcuts, you are able to pick emails and rapidly apply actions, so saving you time and effort. You may personalize the keyboard shortcuts that are available to you in Gmail to suit your needs. You have the ability to make the necessary adjustments if a certain keyboard shortcut causes a conflict with another program that you use or if you have a different key combination that you prefer to utilize.
iPhone:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| C | Compose new email |
| R | Reply to email |
| A | Reply all to email |
| F | Forward email |
| S | Star email |
| I | Mark email as important |
| U | Mark email as unread |
| # | Delete email |
| G + I | Go to Inbox |
| G + S | Go to Starred emails |
| G + T | Go to Sent emails |
| G + D | Go to Drafts |
| G + A | Go to All mail |
| G + C | Go to Contacts |
| G + P | Go to Previous message |
| G + N | Go to Next message |
| / | Search |
| Shift + I | Select/unselect email |
| Shift + N | Select next email |
| Shift + P | Select previous email |
| Shift + X | Select conversation |
| Shift + U | Mark selected email as unread |
| Shift + T | Mark selected email as read |
| Shift + S | Add or remove star from selected email |
| Shift + A | Reply all to selected email |
| Shift + R | Reply to selected email |
| Shift + F | Forward selected email |
| Cmd/Ctrl + Enter | Send email |
| Cmd/Ctrl + / | Search within email |
Android:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| C | Compose new email |
| R | Reply to email |
| A | Reply all to email |
| F | Forward email |
| S | Star email |
| I | Mark email as important |
| U | Mark email as unread |
| # | Delete email |
| G + I | Go to Inbox |
| G + S | Go to Starred emails |
| G + T | Go to Sent emails |
| G + D | Go to Drafts |
| G + A | Go to All mail |
| G + C | Go to Contacts |
| G + P | Go to Previous message |
| G + N | Go to Next message |
| / | Search |
| Shift + I | Select/unselect email |
| Shift + N | Select next email |
| Shift + P | Select previous email |
| Shift + X | Select conversation |
| Shift + U | Mark selected email as unread |
| Shift + T | Mark selected email as read |
| Shift + S | Add or remove star from selected email |
| Shift + A | Reply all to selected email |
| Shift + R | Reply to selected email |
| Shift + F | Forward selected email |
| Enter | Send email |
| / | Search within email |
Windows/Linux:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| C | Compose new email |
| / | Search emails |
| R | Reply to email |
| A | Reply all to email |
| F | Forward email |
| N | Next email |
| P | Previous email |
| E | Archive email |
| # | Delete email |
| ! | Mark email as spam |
| Ctrl + S | Save draft |
| Ctrl + Enter | Send email |
| Ctrl + Shift + C | Add CC recipients |
| Ctrl + Shift + B | Add BCC recipients |
| Ctrl + Shift + U | Mark email as unread |
| Ctrl + Shift + A | Mark email as read |
| Ctrl + Shift + F | Forward email as attachment |
| Ctrl + ] | Indent text in compose window |
| Ctrl + | Open different tabs in the inbox |
| Tab + S | Save the composed email as a draft |
| Tab + A | Select all emails in the current view |
| Tab + X | Select multiple emails |
How to Use Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts effectively?
If you know how to use Gmail’s keyboard shortcuts well, you can handle your emails much faster and get more out of Gmail as a whole. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to make the most of the best Gmail keyboard shortcuts:
- Do it on a regular basis: Practice is the key to being good at using computer shortcuts. Start by using a few of the tools you find most helpful, and add more as you get used to them.
- Use the Cheat Sheet: You can print or save a list of computer shortcuts for Gmail until you can remember the ones you use most often. This can help you keep track of them while you get used to them.
- Shortcuts can be changed (optional): You can change how tools work in Gmail settings if you want to make them fit your needs. Keep in mind that you might need to know a bit more about Gmail and computer shortcuts to do this.
Question and Answers
Just add +1 after your normal email address (before @gmail.com or your company domain), and presto, the service provider sees it as a new address, even though it still goes to the same Gmail inbox. Filters can also be set up.
Gmail has a magical tool that finds emails that you might be interested in for you.
To turn on keyboard shortcuts in Gmail, click on the gear icon in the top right corner, select “See all settings,” go to the “General” tab, and make sure the “Keyboard shortcuts” choice is set to “Keyboard shortcuts on.”