Gmail Tips & Tricks (20-24)

20. Include or exclude Chat from search results

Chat conversations are automatically filed like emails with a Chat label, so to exclude Chat when searching, use the string -label:Chat. Conversely, to search only Chat conversations, use the string +label:Chat. The –label: and +label: syntax will work to exclude or include any label in Gmail search results. Another Jim Barr tip.

21. Use Gmail like an external hard drive

Use up any vegetating space in your Gmail account with this Windows drive shell extension. Your Gmail space appears in My Computer/Windows Explorer as an external drive, and when you drag and drop a file to the drive, it sends an email to your Gmail account with the file as an attachment. Note that this is a fairly old program but seems to have been updated for the latest Gmail version. Mac users can try gDisk and Linux users can check out GmailFS.




22. Spam counter hider

You’re browsing through your (overstuffed) inbox. You have many labels, filters and tricks that ensure that your email gets to you efficiently. Even so, you look at the number of messages in the spam folder and a small voice inside you says, “There could be something in the spam folder that doesn’t belong there!” Forget it. There never is. This Greasemonkey + Firefox script hides the spam count number, so the thought doesn’t even cross your mind.

23. Hack Gmail’s CSS

“Stylish is to CSS what Greasemonkey is to JavaScript,” says the Firefox extension page for Stylish. Cascade those style sheets yourself, or grab them from userstyles.org. For more web design tips and tricks, check out these web design and development resources.

24. Launch one-key composing with Launchy (Windows) or Quicksilver (Mac)

Launchy is a free, open source keyword launcher that runs in your system tray and opens apps with designated keystrokes. Launchy’s still “a far cry from Quicksilver for Mac” according to Gina Trapani at Lifehacker, but Adam Pash of Lifehacker says,
“I can't recommend it highly enough.” There’s a quick tutorial on one-key Gmail composing with Launchy—opening a browser logged into Gmail with a compose window with a single keystroke—here.