Gmail Search Options have never been so practical as now


Google recently did improvements to the Advanced Search options in Gmail. If you are not familiar with using the Gmail search operatorsOpens in a new tab. , then this new tool is just for you.

Namely, earlier you had to know the syntax of the search operators in order to effectively filter your mailbox messages (you may check the complete syntax hereOpens in a new tab.). Now, with these improvements everything is so obvious. You can choose to search either in All Mail folder, in Inbox, Sent items, or to search through all emails tagged with specific label.

In the following example I created a query which will give me all emails from the past year that contain the word “photos” and have attachments:

Gmail advanced search

Gmail users who prefer using search operators more than this new visualized search can still use manual search operatorsOpens in a new tab..

Another thing that is worth mentioning is creating email filters by using this same tool. For example, assume that hundreds of emails sent by Facebook are flooding your mailbox daily. Why not create a filter which will automatically categorize these messages as Social and archive them (by skipping the Inbox). This is one of the tactics for a tidy Gmail inboxOpens in a new tab..

In the “From” field just type “Facebook” and click the link “Create filter with this search” in the bottom right corner. In the following screenshot you have all the available options. Choose the options according to your needs.

Create filter for emails sent by Facebook

Share with us your practice, in the comments below.

Milan Mihajlov

Professional Software Tester. Previously IT Specialist and Sys Admin helping many companies to improve their IT infrastructure, IT management and Help Desk.

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