Using Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts

Gmail is probably the most popular Web based email program available. It gets considerable competition from the likes of Microsoft and Yahoo, but no one denies the ease of use when it comes to Gmail. But, there is one function that many people do not know about that will make the experience even easier. Even though Gmail is a web based program, it gives users the ability to utilize keyboard shortcuts. These can make using the program easier and much more efficient. The following will highlight some of the best keyboard shortcuts available for Gmail.

Enable Keyboard Shortcuts

Before you can benefit from the keyboard shortcuts, you first have to enable the use with Gmail. Doing this is a simple process.

1. Click on the gear at the top right of your Gmail window
2. Select Settings in the drop down window
3. Click on General and then scroll down to the section that says Keyboard Shortcuts
4. Click the box that says Keyboard Shortcuts
5. Click on Save Changes at the bottom of the screen.

Keyboard Shortcuts for an Open Email

If you already have an email open, here are a few handy shortcuts you can use:

1. Press the “F” key if you are reading an email if you want to forward it to someone. When you do this, it will jump down to the compose window so you can type the email address of the person you want to send the email on to.
2. Press the “R” key if you want to reply to the email. Again, if you press this, you will be taken down to the compose screen where you can add text into the body of the message.

If you are already in the email, you can click on the TAB key to move to different fields in the message. Tab will move down a field, and hitting SHIFT + TAB will move up a field.

Keyboard Shortcuts for Selected Emails

If you are working in your list of emails, and select an individual email, there are a few keyboard shortcuts that come in handy.

1. If you press the “!” while an email it is selected, it will mark the message as spam. It will move this message to your spam folder as well.
2. Hitting the “#” with a selected email will move the email to your recycle bin
3. If you would like to mark a message as read, you can hit “SHIFT” + “R”, and if you want to mark it as unread, you can type “SHIFT” + “U”

General Keyboard Shortcuts

1. If you hit the “C” in the Gmail main screen you will get the email box to compose a new email.
2. If you hit the “/” your cursor will be taken to the Search bar. Here you can search for a specific email or something within the body of a message.

Hopefully, these shortcuts will help you become even more productive with Gmail. It is a slick email program to begin with, but hopefully these will make you more productive.