5 tips for searching Gmail

Being able to effectively search for messages in Gmail is a great time-saver. Knowing a few shortcuts helps you find exactly what you are looking for as quickly as possible.
Here are five of our top tips:

Tip 1 – in:anywhere

By default, a Gmail search does not include messages in Spam and Trash/Bin. However putting the search operator in:anywhere in front of your search term tells Gmail to search everywhere – including Spam and Trash/Bin. In the example below, Gmail will search for the word ‘demonstration’.

Tip 2 – is:unread

You can quickly locate all unread messages in your Gmail account by searching for is:unread. This is a great way to work through your unread mail when you return from holidays! If you only want to see unread messages in your inbox, put in:inbox on the end.

Tip 3 – list:<mailing list address>

The list:<list email address> search operator finds emails from or to the specified mailing list. In the example below, all emails sent from or to allstaff@simplify.com.au would be returned as search results.

Tip 4 – is:chat

Gmail search also covers your chat conversations (if they were not off-the-record). Using the operator is:chat limits the search to only chat conversations. In the example below, any chat conversations with the word ‘pasta’ would be returned as search results.

Tip 5 – Search options drop-down

There are heaps more search operators you can use to limit your search to dates, subjects and people. An easy way to use these is via the search options drop-down. Click the arrow to the right of the search box to access search options.

Then simply enter your search criteria in the appropriate field.

These five tips are a great start to becoming a Gmail power searcher! If you want to learn even more, check out Google’s help topic on advanced search.