Posts tagged gmail
Gmail Slow for you? Try These Tips
Jun 9th
Gmail too Slow for you? Try These Tips is an old cross-post from my other blog.
I’ve made a couple of posts recently about Gmail and had feedback that for some people Gmail runs slow. You might want to try these one at a time to see if they help. If you do the first one and Gmail’s fast enough then why go on?
This post won’t solve everyone’s slow Gmail problems, but you can try these tips for a start. For more information, some suggestions have links to Google’s Gmail Help Center labeled “(read first)”. These links should open in a new browser or tab and will give you more info on what you are about to do.
TIPS TO SPEED UP GMAIL
- Log into Gmail, click the Settings Gear, Mail Settings, then click the General tab you will see a dropdown where you can set the number of email conversations per page, set it to its lowest setting of 25 conversations per page. Don’t forget to save changes.
- (read first) While you are in Gmail’s settings, click on the Web Clips tab and uncheck the “Show my web clips above the Inbox” checkbox. Don’t forget to save changes.
- Read the Google Gmail Help Center’s help item Gmail is Slow
- (read first) Disable chat, scroll down to the bottom and click “turn off chat” in the second line from the bottom
- (read first) View in HTML, scroll down to the bottom and click “basic HTML” in the second line from the bottom
- (read first) Try http://mail.google.com/gmail?nocheckbrowser to stop gmail from doing a browser check when you login
- (first make sure you have all you need to reactivate/re-install) Minimize javascripts and remote calls – are you one of those cutting edge users that’s tricked out Gmail? Maybe you’ve skinned Gmail… maybe you are using it as your personal online hard drive, or maybe you have it showing your Remember the Milk to do list. Possibly other Gmail-related add-ons or plug ins are in use? If you’ve got enough of them it may slow down your Gmail so try turning some or all of them off and see if it makes a difference.
- (read first) (also read first) Try turning off your contact’s pictures. Click Settings Gear, Mail Settings, then click the General tab to the right of Contacts’ pictures select “Only show pictures that I’ve chosen for my contacts”. If you do this and you haven’t chosen any pictures for your contacts then you shouldn’t see any.
- Turn off snippets. Click Settings Gear, Mail Settings, then click the General tab. To the right of Snipetts click “ – Show subject only.”
- Do you have like 100 different labels? Maybe you’ve got too many… try pairing down the number of labels you use and get organized at the same time. Especially if your Inbox has LOTS of emails and the function of the archive button is a mystery.
- Check the Gmail Help Center
Did any of these help? Make it worse? Drop a comment to help improve these tips!
REFERENCES:
https://mail.google.com/support/
http://www.bloganything.net/187/improve-gmail-loading-time/ (now offline)
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/3262
Gmail Adds Background Sending
Apr 30th
A new feature has been added into Gmail Labs, Background Send. Background send could save time while you go onto other things and let Gmail handle the email as you continue on. Google had this to say:
We’re always looking for ways to make Gmail faster. One of the most common delays happens after you hit that “Send” button, when you’re waiting patiently for a couple seconds for Gmail to send your message. If you send a lot of email, that can add up to a lot of lost time.
I’ve got to admit that I agree, and I’ll be reviewing and pruning my Labs features and trying this one out soon. What do **you** think about Gmails new background send feature? Sound off below in the comments, be sure to tell us if you are actually using this feature or just commenting on it.
Totally Unrelated Post:
Used Car: 2000 Dodge Neon, Journal #1
Customize Your Gmail Theme with your own custom background
Apr 14th
As I hoped for in an earlier Gmail Themes post, Google has just announced today that you can now invent your own fully customized theme by choosing not only colors but using your own background image.
Is Gmail Broken? NewsFlash!
Apr 7th
Well, is Gmail broken? Some would say yes, but I say no, at least not for me. I have a WinXP computer and its probably 3+ years old, though I do have 2GB of RAM, its otherwise an ordinary, outdated Windows PC and Gmail runs with all of the bells and whistles I’ve chosen just fine. So what is Gmail fixing?
Here’s a quick list, and you can read the entire Gmail Fixing the Little Things post along with their cool little graphic, too. Here’s that list of changes:
- auto-save contacts setting
- better warnings for typos in email addresses
- fewer annoying error pop-ups
- easier transitions between certain actions
- keyboard shortcut guide for everyone
- refresh button repalces refresh link
If that little list whetted your appetite pay the folks at Gmail a visit and click the link above!
Gmail Expands Priority Inbox Past Android for Mobiles
Feb 8th
If you have a smart phone but its not an Android you wanted Priority Inbox, the Gmail mobile web app now supports it!
The Gmail blog says:
Now, once you set up Priority Inbox in the desktop version of Gmail, you’ll see Priority Inbox sections when you visit gmail.com from your phone’s browser and click on the ‘Menu’ screen. You’ll also see importance markers in your inbox, so you can quickly identify which messages are important.
Read the entire Priority Inbox for mobile post for more detail. Also, the Gmail Mobile blog has more great reading for all things Google/Mobile.
HTML5 Desktop Notifications for Gmail and Chat
Jan 27th
For Chrome users, and thanks to HTML5 Desktop Notifications don’t have to miss new emails and chats in Gmail just because you aren’t in your Gmail window. Maybe you’ve switched to a different tab, browser or program and missed an important reply via Gmail or Gmail chat? No more, thanks to HTML5 Desktop Notifications.
Google has thought this new feature out, so you can enable notifications for Gmail, or Chats, or both; and you’ll get a popup notification whenever you get a new message.
Google is already planning to make desktop notifications available for other browsers so that you can enjoy it even if you don’t use Chrome.
Google Updates to Tasks and Makes Labs Searchable
Jan 23rd
New Features for Tasks
Google Tasks is taking on the top 5 requests. Google announced they will be addressing those top 5 in no specific order:
- Reminders and notifications
- Ability to create repeating tasks
- Visual distinction for overdue tasks
- Sharable task lists
- Tasks API and synchronization
The list above is in the order I’d like to see these changes to tasks occur.
Labs Now Searchable
With the many Gmail labs projects its inconvenient to find the one you want to turn on or off. Google has added a search feature to labs so you can easily find that lab project you want to active or deactivate. It seems in retrospect like an expected move that a search engine giant like Google would make – it just makes sense.
This new feature stacks enabled labs on top, and the disabled ones below. The search bar works like Google now, as you type you see only matching labs displayed (also listed with the enabled labs above the disabled labs).
How Do I Restore Deleted Contacts in Gmail?
Jan 3rd
In the past if you deleted contacts in Gmail they were lost permanently after a short time. No more, because now Gmail allows you to restore your contact list to an earlier date. This new feature allows you to undo deleting a contact, undo importing contact, or undo a contact list merge.
We’ve added a new feature to Google Contacts that allows you to revert your contact list and undo any mistakes made up to 30 days in the past. Let’s say you accidentally deleted a bunch of contacts or wiped the contact data from your Gmail account by mistake while syncing to another device. Visit Gmail’s Contacts section, select “Restore contacts” in the “More actions” menu, and choose the time you would like to revert to.
- From the Gmail blog, Restore Your Contacts
