04.12.2013

Quick Tip: Archive old email in your Gmail inbox the easy way

Quick Tip: Archive old email in your Gmail inbox…

twitter icon
No matter how hard you try, your Gmail is going to get bloated with old messages. Take advantage of Google's archive system to manage the clutter. 

It is inevitable. Your inbox, whether it is Gmail, Outlook, or any other client, is going to fill up with old email. If you are like me, and I suspect that many of you are, you don't really archive email as you go. Instead you wait for a critical mass to build up and then you look to manage the problem.

The good thing about Gmail is that Google has a built-in archival system that you can take advantage of when you are ready. Of course, before you can archive you have to identify exactly which emails currently residing in your inbox qualify for the procedure. The simplest approach is to use the power of search - something Google is very good at non-coincidentally.

Search and identify

For this example, let's archive messages in my inbox more than 30 days old. Using some keyword searches we can get a list of email messages received before a specific date. In the search box at the top of your Gmail page type a search in this format:

before:yyyy/mm/dd

And, to further limit our search, specify that we are only searching the inbox:

in:inbox The entire search string will look something like Figure A. Figure A in:inbox before:2012/01/01 Now that you have a list of results matching your search criteria, you can start the archive process. First check the Select All check box as shown in Figure B. That check box only accounts for the messages that manage to fit on the first page, so you have to click the link that says: Select all messages that match this search, to select all of the messages in the list. Figure B Click the Select All check box and the Select all messages that match this search link Once you have made those two selections, all that is left to do is the archiving. For that you click the Archive button, shown in Figure C. When you click the button you will get a warning message, click OK to complete the process. Figure C Archive your inbox messages

You will now have less clutter in your Gmail inbox. If you ever want to find emails you have archived, they are now located under the All Mail label.

Every business has unique IT requirements and our ethos reflects this. Extremely Cost Conscious Our aim is to use IT solutions to save you money, not waste it.

Follow us for more articles and posts direct from professionals on      
Retail & Services

Time To Say Goodbye To Windows XP

Weve all been Windows users at some point.Even many hardcore Mac userstoday probably have a strong history with…
Retail & Services

7 Features Of Microsoft Outlook.com You May Have Missed

Earlier this year Microsoft replaced Hotmail and all accounts were transferred to Outlook.com. Microsoft included a…

More Articles

Media

Google Launches Person Finder After Typhoon Yolanda

Following Friday's devastating typhoon in the Philippines, Google has launched a Person Finder that allows individuals…
Marketing & PR

Actually, Facebook's Acquisition Of Instagram Is...

Did Facebook make the right call when it purchased Instagram? That's the question everyone has been asking themselves…
Media

Twitter Now Lets Users Receive Direct Messages from All...

The classic and often embarrassing, Follow me so I can send you a DM tweet may finally be going out of fashion. Over…

Would you like to promote an article ?

Post articles and opinions on Liverpool Professionals to attract new clients and referrals. Feature in newsletters.
Join for free today and upload your articles for new contacts to read and enquire further.