Using filters

ive been wanting to post about how to use your gmail email address to the fullest for a while now so i guess ill blog about it today, i apologize about having 2 gmail posts in a row especially to the people who dont have Gmail (and you should get one). well there are two great features for gmail they are:

1. The use of periods
2. The use of + signs

so if my email is bobsmith@gmail.com then i could add a period any where in there and it would still go to me, so i could write bob.smith@gmail.com or it works vice versa so your email could be bob.smith@gmail.com then give someone the email address without the period so its bobsmith@gmail.com and the person would still get it. you can add as many periods as you want any where you want so if you really felt like it you could say your email was b.o.b.s.m.i.t.h.@gmail.com

the one i think is much cooler is the use of + signs in your email address, so if my email is bobsmith@gmail.com if i was signing up for something that i knew would give me spam i would write my email as bobsmith+spam@gmail.com then set up a filter to have all emails sent to bobsmith+spam@gmail.com go straight to the spam box. it is also very useful for separating school from church stuff or to keep all the emails from colleges separated from the rest of your emails. so ill do one more example to help you understand this: if i wanted to keep my school and church stuff separated then i would give my church the email bobsmith+church@gmail.com and give my school the email bobsmith+school@gmail.com then set up filters. its also very handy when you want to see if certain people or organizations are taking your email address and giving them to spammers and if they are then set up a filter for the email you gave them to go straight to auto-delete.

wondering “well thats a nice feature, i think i’ll use it, but how do i set up a filter?” well i couldnt describe it better then google does so heres their answer:

Gmail’s filters allow you to manage the flow of incoming messages. Using filters, you can automatically label, archive, delete, star, or forward your mail, even keep it out of Spam — all based on a combination of keywords, sender, recipients, and more.

To create a filter:

1. Click Create a filter (next to the Search the Web button at the top of any Gmail page).
2. Enter your filter criteria in the appropriate field(s).
3. Click Test Search to see which messages currently in Gmail match your filter terms. You can update your criteria and run another test search, or click Next Step.
4. Select one or more actions from the list. These actions will be applied to messages matching your filter criteria in the order in which the actions are listed — for example, you could choose to Forward matching messages to a specific email address, then Deletethe messages.
5. If you’d like to apply this filter to messages already in Gmail, select the Also apply filter to x conversations below checkbox.
6. Click Create Filter.

To create a filter from within a message:

1. Click the drop-down menu next to Reply.
2. Select Filter messages like this.
3. Enter your filter criteria in the appropriate field(s).

To edit or delete existing filters:

1. Click Settings (at the top-right of any Gmail page).
2. Click Filters.
3. Find the filter you’d like to change and click its edit link, or click delete to remove the filter.
4. If you’re editing the filter, enter the updated criteria for the filter in the appropriate fields, and click Next Step.
5. Update any actions and click Update Filter.

You can create an unlimited number of filters, but only 20 filters can forward to other addresses. You can maximize your filtered forwarding by combining filters that send to the same address.

for more information about using the . and + signs in your email address click here.

Hit the 700 views mark after two days of lots of views! but very few comments and votes compared to the number of views, this blog will be A LOT better with some interaction trust me!!!