Gmail FAQs

A: You can access Gmail and Calendar using a Chrome web browser or Android/iOS app. You log into your Google Account using your Fitchburg State email address and University Credentials (formerly Falcon Key) password. Visit the email page for detailed instructions.

A: No, Gmail doesn't include automatic spell-check. However, you can check your spelling at any time by clicking Check Spelling at the top of the message you're composing. Misspelled words are highlighted in yellow. Click a misspelled word to see suggestions for similar words.

Note that your web browser might provide automatic spell check for you as well.

A: Gmail automatically checks spelling in the default language selected in your Settings. To check spelling in another language, click the down arrow next to Check Spelling, and then select the language.

A: Yes. Open the conversation, and then click Forward all at the right of the message window.

A: Yes. To reply to or forward a single message in a conversation, open the conversation and select the message to forward. At the bottom of the message card, click Reply or Forward.

A: Yes, you can add a new message to the conversation, and even edit the text in the previous messages in the conversation.

A: Yes, you can delete one or more messages in a conversation as follows:

1. Open the conversation and select the message you want to delete.
2. Click the down arrow next to Reply in the upper-right corner of the message card.
3. Select Delete this message.

A: No, Gmail doesn't support sending flags in messages at this time.

A: Yes, Gmail adds your signature to the end of every message you reply to or forward. Note that if the message or conversation is long, you may not see your signature initially, because it's added to the very bottom of the original message or conversation.

A: Yes, you can attach one or more files to an email message.

A: No, to attach a file to a message, you must browse to it.

A: No. Because Gmail is a web-based system, you can't drag a file attachment from one message to another. As a workaround, you can do the following:

1. Open the message or conversation that contains the file attachment.
2. If the file is attached to a single message, click Forward (at the bottom of the message). If it's attached to a message in a conversation, click Forward all on the right.
3. Delete all the "forwarded" content from original messages, which appears at the bottom of your new message. Note that the file attachment remains with the forwarded message.
4. Then compose your new message and send it.

Alternatively, you can download the attachment and then upload it to another message.

A: No, you can't embed one message into another directly. As a workaround, you can do the following:

1. To attach a single message, open it and click Forward (at the bottom of the message). To attach a conversation, open it click Forward all on the right.
2. Compose your new message and send it. The earlier message will be included below your new message.

Alternatively, you can copy the text from the earlier message and paste it into a new message.

A: Instead of folders, Gmail has a "labels" feature. Labels are similar to folders, but are more powerful and flexible, because you can add multiple labels to a message to categorize it in several ways. For details, see the Google Help Center.

A: The message remains in your All Mail archive, but without the label. You can easily find it again later using Google search.

A: Yes, you can apply any number of labels to a message: Select the message in your Inbox, or open it, and select one or more labels in the Labels drop-down list at the top of your Mail window.

A: You can create up to about 200 labels.

A: If you've already created the label, select the message in you Inbox or open it, and then select a label in the Move to drop-down list at the top of your Mail window. If you haven't yet created the label you want, select Create new instead.

If you want to move a message to multiple labels at once, select the message in you Inbox or open it, and then select the labels in the Labels drop-down list at the top of your Mail window. Then click Archive.

A: After you create a label, find it in your Labels list at the left of your Mail window. Put your mouse pointer over it, and then click the down arrow that appears. Choose a color from the list.

A: Yes. To change a label on a single message, select the message, and then, in Labels drop-down list at the top your Mail window, uncheck the label currently applied to it. Then select another label and click Apply.

To change a label on all messages that have that label, click the label in your Labels list at the left of the Mail window. At the top of the list that appears, click Select all. Then, in Labels drop-down list, uncheck the label you want to remove, and select the new label you want to apply. Click Apply.

A: You can apply only one label per email filter. However, if you want to add multiple labels to a filtered message, you can do the following: Create multiple filters with the same criteria, except specify a different label for each filter. If you receive a message that meets the criteria for the filters, Gmail will apply the multiple labels to that message.

A: Yes. To delete a label from a single message, select the message, and then, in Labels drop-down list at the top your Mail window, uncheck the label. Click Apply. To delete a label from all messages that have that label, in the Labels drop-down list, select Manage labels. (You can also click Edit labels at the bottom of your Labels list at the left of the Mail window.) In the list that appears, find the label, and then click Remove.

A: No, even if applying the label was the only action for the filter, your filter is not deleted. You can edit the filter to specify a different label or another action.

A: Stars are a way to highlight messages. Assign stars to special conversations or messages in your Inbox, or use them as a visual reminder that you need to follow up on a message or conversation later. To quickly see all messages with a star, click Starred at the left of your Mail window.

A: Yes, you can use labels and stars to highlight messages in your Inbox. For example, you might create a label named "Action" and apply the color red to it, so you can easily see it in your Inbox.

A: Yes, in your Inbox, select the message. Then, in the More actions drop-down list, select Mark as unread.

A: No, you can't sort messages in your Inbox.

A: If you're subscribed to a mailing list, you might receive messages in a very long, ongoing conversation. If you'd rather not receive anymore messages in that conversation, you can "mute" the conversation to keep all future additions out of your Inbox. To mute a conversation, select it in your Inbox or open it, and then click Mute under More Actions at the top of your Mail window.

Note: The mute feature works only for messages you received as part of a mailing list. If the message was sent directly to your email address (your address appears in the To or CC field), you can't use the mute feature.

A: Yes. First, find the conversation. An quick way to find it is to type is:muted in the Search field. Then select the conversation and select Inbox in the Move to drop-down list at the top of your Mail window.

A: No, quoted text is always hidden by default.

A: Both archiving and deleting a message remove the message from your Inbox.

Deleting a message places the email in the Trash. Email in Trash will be automatically and permanently deleted after 30 days.

Archiving a message moves the email to All Mail (i.e. your Archive), where you can find it in the future using Google's search feature.

A: Messages remain in your archive forever, unless you choose to delete them.

A: Messages remain in the Trash for 30 days. After that, Gmail permanently deletes them.

A: Find the message in the Trash and select it. In the Move to drop-down list at the top of the Mail window, select Inbox.

A: No. Deleting or archiving a meeting invitation does not affect the invitation on your calendar.

A: Yes, if someone replies to a message you archived or trashed, that message appears in your Inbox as a conversation, with all previous content. If you applied a label to the archived message, the label will appear in your Inbox. If the message was permanently deleted from the Trash, you'll see an option at the bottom of the message to view the deleted messages in the conversation. However, the message won't have the original label you applied to it.

A: There's no need to delete or archive messages in the Sent folder. Messages remain in this folder forever, unless you delete them. Note that messages in the Sent folder are actually archived in All Mail, so even if you archive these messages, they stay in the Sent folder.

A: To search for messages, type a word that the messages contain. Note, however, that Search matches "whole words" only—that is, it doesn't recognize partial or similar matches. For example, if you search for benefits, Search won't find benefit or benef. Also, Search doesn't recognize special search characters, such as square brackets, parentheses, currency symbols, the ampersand, the pound sign, and asterisks.

By default, Search doesn't look in your Trash or Spam folders. To search those folders also, click Show search options next to the Search field, and then, in the Search drop-down list, select Mail and Spam and Trash. You can find more information about using Search in the Google Apps Help Center.

A: No, you can't search specifically for all messages that don't have a label.

A: A list of the advanced search operators is available in the Google Apps Help Center.

A: Messages remain in the Spam folder for 30 days. After that, Gmail permanently deletes them.

A: To make sure that any messages you receive from a specific person outside our domain pass through the spam filter, create an email filter using the Never send it to Spam option:

1. In Gmail, click Settings > Filters > Create a new filter.
2. Enter the person's address in the From field, and then click Next Step.
3. Select Never send it to spam, and then click Create Filter.

A: Yes, you can choose from a number of different color schemes, or even create your own! To change the colors, click Settings in the upper-right corner of your Mail window. Then select Themes.

A: Your signature can contain up to 2000 characters.

A: Yes. To set up your signature, go to Settings > General tab. You can format your signature with different colors and styles, and even add links and images, such as your company logo.

A: Yes, in Gmail, you can set up your "vacation responder." For details, refer to the Google Help Center.

A: Yes, Gmail includes a full set of keyboard shortcuts. First, you must enable keyboard shortcuts:

1. In the upper-right corner of the Mail window, click Settings.
2. Under Keyboard shortcuts, select Keyboard shortcuts on.
3. Click Save Settings.

To see the shortcuts, press SHIFT+? while viewing your list of messages in the main Mail window.

A: You can use the email delegation feature to allow up to 10 other users access a single email account.

A: Yes, the Google Tasks gadget is available in Gmail and Calendar. Click the Tasks link in the pane on the left to open the Tasks gadget. Use the gadget to create one or more task lists.

To add an email message to a tasks list, open the message and then click More Actions > Add to Tasks. The subject of the message appears at the top of your tasks list, with a link to the message content.

A: Yes, you can specify Gmail as your default email program in Google Talk (available for Windows only):

1. Open Google Talk.
2. Click Settings in the upper-right corner of your contacts list.
3. In the General dialog box, select Open Gmail when I click on email links.
4. Click OK.

Note that this setting does not work for all email links.

A: Yes, if your browser is set to display pop-ups in a new window, you can click do the following:

• If you're reading a message, click the New Window link in the upper-right corner of the message.
• If you're composing a new message, click the "pop-up" icon in the upper-right corner of the message.

A: Current applications such as SSC Navigate, LibCal etc. will be available to integrate with your Gmail/Calendar.