Comments for Gmail Gets 'Multiple Inboxes'

Gmail Gets 'Multiple Inboxes'

2009-02-06T05:59:35Z

Google added a new feature to Gmail Labs today: Multiple Inboxes. Created as a 20% time project by Google's Octavian Costache, this new feature allows you to expand your standard Gmail inbox with additional panes. The name 'Multiple Inboxes' is misleading, however. In reality, this new feature gives you something akin to multi-pane viewing, with your main inbox on the left and up to five other 'inboxes' on the right. These additional inboxes can display anything from searches, to mail with a specific label or from a certain sender.

]]> You can use any of the standard Gmail search functions like is:starred, label:abc, or has:attachment to define a new pane.

Showing the new panes on the right works best when you have a wide-screen monitor with a relatively high resolution. Otherwise, the additional 'inboxes' take up too much space and you won't be able to read the subject lines of your incoming messages. If you add a lot of new inboxes, this will also make your screen look extremely cluttered.

You can also chose to have Gmail display the extra inboxes underneath or above your standard inbox, though this method probably works best when you set Gmail to only show a small number of messages in your standard inbox.

This new feature will surely help those of us who get a lot of email to get a quicker overview of our incoming mail, but given the name, we had hoped that it would allow us to combine multiple Gmail accounts into one, which would be even more helpful for those of us who manage more than one email account through Gmail.

Comment from rizzy on 2009-02-05

2009-02-06T06:27:09Z

I still remember how much I used to just hate Gmail because of its ugly looks. I used to use Hotmail, because it looked good but hated it for so many ads which made everything load so slow. Then I switched to Yahoo and it sucked and was even slower. Then Gmail came in my life, and it changed the way I communicate.

Regards: rizzy
http://twitter.com/rizzy81

Comment from Alex Trup on 2009-02-05

2009-02-06T06:32:42Z

I noticed that feature this morning and activated it a couple of hours ago. I like the configurability, but I have yet to decide what I want to appear there that would be useful. It set access to draft and starred emails as default which could be quite useful if I used those properly (I tend to move store some of my files as drafts for easy access...)

It could be good for filtering incoming Facebook and Twitter messages etc. but the only thing is they still appear in the main inbox panel (unless another rule were set up or something.

Definitely a feature I'll keep active though... Gmail is already the center of my communications world and I love the features they keep adding to it (including Tasks!)

Comment from Eyal Sela on 2009-02-06

2009-02-06T09:05:31Z

here is a nice application for the new feature: I use stars to mark email I have to reply or do something else with. now I can display them in the right panel like a to do list...
nice idea.

Comment from Eyal Sela on 2009-02-06

2009-02-06T09:06:39Z

*emails

Comment from tm on 2009-02-06

2009-02-06T09:07:22Z

Actually, the name isn't entirely misleading if you use external accounts. Just set them up to go to a label and skip the inbox, then set one of your multiple inboxes to use the label.

Comment from Stephan on 2009-02-06

2009-02-06T10:47:15Z

Perhaps you want the multiple account feature that's been available for a long time? I've used it for more than two years. I currently have over 20 email boxes all aggregating into gmail. When I reply, it goes back "as if" it came from the originating box. Not saying it's perfect, but does pretty much the part you've described, anyways.

Comment from Oliver Chesler on 2009-02-06

2009-02-06T13:37:52Z

They key is to have all your labeled "bacon" and social media skip your inbox and then it will only appear in another pane (when set-up). This is a cool way to keep a nice inbox of only important stuff on top and fluffy nonsense to the right or even better below it.

Comment from qwan on 2009-02-06

2009-02-06T14:07:09Z

I wish they allowed an option to manage multiple gmail accounts from a single login.
I wrongly thought that multiple inboxes means that you can check multiple accounts.
Alas I was wrong.
Wish gmail would have this options cause I got three emails. 1 proffessional 1 activist/rebel and 1 for spammers

Comment from VitaminCM on 2009-02-06

2009-02-06T14:47:19Z

Mine gets all messed up. One group overlays the other. I can't read either. I wonder if it's some Greasemonkey script I'm running.
Anyone else seeing this?

Comment from SchoenbornO on 2009-02-06

2009-02-06T19:05:12Z

@qwan: As Stephan said, gmail can handle several email accounts. This is what the Gmail help says:

Get mail from other accounts
Now Gmail can check for the mail you receive at your other email accounts. You can retrieve your mail (new and old) from up to five other email accounts and have them all in Gmail. Then you can even create a customized 'From:' address, which lets you send messages from Gmail, but have them look like they were sent from another one of your email accounts. Please note that you can only retrieve mail from accounts that have POP3 access enabled.

See http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?&answer=21288 for more info.

Comment from Eyal Sela on 2009-02-07

2009-02-07T14:28:40Z

I've written a post called 7 Great Things You Can Do with Gmail Multiple Inboxes. I think it is the first one on the internet to give actual applications for the new feature. You're invited to read it here:

http://www.productivewise.com/7-great-gmail-multiple-inboxes/

Comment from Natraj on 2009-02-07

2009-02-07T17:41:44Z

yah this is we have to accept...

there is no doubt it will be the good one like the othere things...

Comment from krgaskins on 2009-02-08

2009-02-08T20:37:53Z

Am I the only person that routinely uses gmail in the "All Mail" rather than "Inbox" mode, as I like to see messages I've filtered, archived, and sent?

I notice that the additional inboxes disappear in that mode.

Irritating.

Comment from Randon on 2009-02-09

2009-02-10T06:59:13Z

but y gmail is still in its beta version??
http://www.geekonnet.com/2009/02/multiple-inboxes-gmails-new-feature.html

Comment from Cameron on 2009-02-16

2009-02-16T11:58:57Z

This could do just that - allow multiple inboxes for multiple gmail accounts, by setting up one 'catchall' account that handles all other email, you could set each inbox to 'catch' each emails that are sent to each email address you have. this is actually more flexible, because you don't have to only manage other email boxes, but can do search, etc

Thanks for the overview! keen to give it a whirl now :)

Comment from Cindy Sue Causey on 2009-02-27

2009-02-27T09:28:36Z

Hm. I call this "tab browsing", of which I have some 30, 40+ of Gmail open this moment.. How I found this article, atter of fact.. :grin:

Comment from John on 2009-05-06

2009-05-06T13:25:19Z

Ah! Useful though this is, what I really want is to view real multiple gmail accounts with one application, and also my other non google accounts would be a bonus. Over the years I have built up a number of emails accounts... Anyone know the best way to do this? Just all the google accounts would be great.

John

Comment from free virtual worlds for kids on 2009-06-04

2009-06-04T17:53:46Z

Don't think that I'll be using this feature. Quite cool though.

Comment from Utility Warehouse on 2009-06-13

2009-06-13T07:27:27Z

Nice feature, good for viewing all of the accounts I seem to collected over the years at once.

Comment from konda on 2009-07-10

2009-07-11T03:21:44Z

happy

Comment from Outdoor lighting on 2009-09-09

2009-09-09T07:04:41Z

It is a nice application .