Some Gmail recommendations and best practices
ITS would like to share a handful of Gmail-related tips, tricks, and best practices to be aware of, which we hope will help faculty and staff take even greater control of their email.
When sending a mass email, add recipients to BCC: if you are sending an email to a large audience, such as all students, families, faculty, or staff, for example, we recommend adding your email recipients to the blind carbon copy (BCC) field rather than to the TO or CC fields. This will prevent the possibility of accidental or undesired reply-all emails from occurring following your email.
Use Schedule send feature: the powerful “Schedule send” functionality in Gmail is just a click away! Click the little down arrow next to the Send button, click Schedule send, and pick a suggested time or a custom day and time of your choosing from the menu. For more information, please review this guide from Google.
Set and use a profile picture: we recommend using a profile picture on your Google account to help personalize your email and chat conversations with others. We have instructions on the ITS Wiki to help guide you through the process.
Use email templates: templates can save a lot of time if there is a type of email message you send a lot. To enable templates for Gmail if not already enabled, go to Settings > Show all settings > Advanced tab and click the Enable radio button next to Templates. To create a new template, compose your message that you would like to repurpose as a template, click the more options menu in the Compose window (three dots next to the trash icon), select Templates, and click Save draft as template. Now to use this saved template, you’ll compose a new message and go to that same Templates menu and insert the template you would like to use. For more information, please review this guide from Google.
Check Quick settings for popular features and customizations: Click on the gear icon at the top-right to access Quick settings for Gmail. Here you will see a number of customization options, such as the option to include (or exclude) Chat and Meet in Gmail, options to change the displayed message density (Default, Comfortable, or Compact) and theme, settings to adjust how your inbox is sorted and organized, or you may enable the optional Reading pane to show message contents alongside the message list. Not seeing a particular setting, or need to access more options (such as your vacation responder, filters, etc.)? Click on See all settings to get to the full Gmail settings page. For more information, please review the feature announcement from Google.
We hope this helps! Google also has some excellent Gmail training and help available for your review. If you have any questions or concerns about Gmail, please don’t hesitate to reach out to ITS at ithelp.ncssm.edu or by emailing ithelp@ncssm.edu.