Gmail Questions
Baker Gmail Features
File Attachments in Mail
Messages
Using Labels, Stars, and Filters
Archiving and Deleting Messages
Searching for Messages
Handling Spam
How do I access my Baker Gmail?
To access your Baker Gmail, you can log in to the Baker SSO through the my.baker.edu Home page. Enter the full email address ex. "ahut01@baker.edu" under Sign in, click Next, and provide your password on the next screen. After logging in you will see a BakerMail link on the top of the screen.
Why is my automatic spell-check not working when I compose an email?
Gmail doesn't have automatic spell-check. Auto spell-check may be provided by your browser, so if you need to turn off or adjust the automatic spell-check settings, please refer to the help instructions provided by the browser you're using.
You easily check your spelling by doing the following:
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Click the 3 vertical dots next to the Discard draft trash icon at the bottom of your compose window.
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Click Check spelling.
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If there's a misspelled word, it will be highlighted. Click the misspelled word to see Gmail's suggestions for similar words.
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Select a suggested word from the list to replace the misspelled word.
Can I check the spelling for a language other than English?
Gmail automatically checks spelling in the default language selected in your Settings. To check spelling in another language, click the down arrow next to Check Spelling, and then select the language.
Can I create my own mailing (distribution) lists?
Yes, you can create your own distribution list with its own email address using Google Groups. To learn about Groups and how to create your own, click this link.
Does Baker Gmail have an Out of Office feature?
Yes, in Baker Gmail, you can set up your "vacation responder," which is similar to the Apple Mail Out of Office feature. For details, refer to the Google Help Center.
Can I share my email with another employee?
Yes, email can be delegated to another user which gives them access to your email. Go to Settings -> See all settings -> Accounts -> Grant access to your account.
Is my email signature applied when I reply to or forward a message?
Yes, Baker Gmail adds your signature to the end of every message you reply to or forward. Note that if the message or conversation is long, you may not see your signature initially, because it's added to the very bottom of the original message or conversation.
I like using keyboard shortcuts. Are they available for Baker Gmail?
Yes, Baker Gmail includes a full set of keyboard shortcuts. First, you must enable keyboard shortcuts:
- In the upper-right corner of the Mail window, click Settings -> See all settings -> Advanced.
- Change Custom keyboard shortcuts to Enabled.
- Click Save Changes. Then, to see the shortcuts, press SHIFT+? while viewing your list of messages in the main Mail window to get a list of all keyboard shortcuts.
Does Baker Gmail have a "tasks" feature that lets me add messages to a list for follow-up?
Yes click the Tasks link on the right pane of the screen to open the Tasks gadget. Use the gadget to create one or more task lists. To add an email message to a tasks list, open the message and then click Add to tasks above the message window. You can also drag any email into the tasks list from the Inbox screen The subject of the message appears at the top of your tasks list, with a link to the message content.
Can I change the colors of my Mail window?
Yes, you can choose from a number of different color schemes, or even create your own! To change the colors, click Settings in the upper-right corner of your Mail window. Then select View all next to Theme.
What is the maximum number of characters I can use for my email signature?
Your signature can contain up to 10000 characters.
Can I format my email signature and add graphics?
Yes. To set up your signature, go to Settings > See all settings -> General tab. You can format your signature with different colors and styles, and even add links and images, such as your company logo. For Baker staff signatures refer to this Style Guide.
Can I change the way Baker Gmail displays the names of message recipients, so their last names appear instead of their first names?
No, the display of names Gmail is an option that your administrator sets for your entire organization.
What is a email alias?
Baker College can provide employees with an email alias. An alias is not a second email inbox, but rather a second email address that goes into the same inbox. For example if a user John Smith has an email address of jsmith25@baker.edu, upon request an email address of john.smith@baker.edu can be created to provide users with an easy to remember email address.
Can I include file attachments in email messages?
Yes, you can attach one or more files to an email message by clicking the paperclip image in the New Message window. Baker Gmail won't accept file attachments that are executable files. There's also a 25 MB size limitation for attachments. For details, see the Google Help Center.
Can I drag and drop a file to attach it to a message?
Yes, if your browser supports it. If not, you must browse to it with the paperclip icon.
Is there a way to copy a file attachment from one message to another, without first downloading it to my computer?
No. you cannot drag a file attachment from one message to another. You can forward the message by clicking the 3 vertical dots at the top right of the email message and click Forward, or download the attachment to your computer, and then attach it to a new email message.
Can I forward all messages in a conversation (message thread) at once?
Yes. Open the conversation, and then click Forward all at the right of the message window.
Can I sort messages in my Inbox to move unread messages to the top?
Yes, under Settings -> See all settings -> Inbox you can try the Unread first option instead of default.
What does it mean to "mute" an email conversation?
You might receive messages in a very long, ongoing conversation. If you'd rather not receive anymore messages in that conversation, you can "mute" the conversation to keep all future additions out of your Inbox. To mute a conversation, click Mute under More which is the 3 verticle dots above the email message window.
Note: The mute feature works only for messages you received as part of a mailing list. If the message was sent directly to your email address (your address appears in the To or CC field), you can't use the mute feature.
Can I "unmute" a conversation?
Yes. First, find the conversation, click More which is the 3 verticle dots above the email message window. Another quick way to find all muted conversations is to type in is:muted in the Search field.
Can I make the "quoted text" in a conversation visible by default?
No, quoted text is always hidden by default.
Can I attach a message or conversation to a new message?
The better option here is to simply Forward the conversation to someone who only needs to review the conversation. If the new person needs to contribute to the conversation then it might be better to use the reply all feature, add a new persons email address, and then introduce them into the email conversation. You can download an email conversation and then attach the .eml file to a new message, however this is not a good way to continue a conversation and should only be used for archiving an email conversation.
Can I stop messages from being grouped into conversations?
Yes, you can control whether messages are grouped into conversations: Click Settings -> See all settings. Under the General tab, scroll down to Conversation View.
- If Conversation View is off, new messages won’t be grouped into conversations, and any existing conversations are ungrouped into separate messages.
- If Conversation View is on, you can't separate the messages in a conversation. However, if you want to send a reply but don't want it to be added to the conversation, you can simply change the subject line in your reply.
Can I delete messages in a conversation before I forward it?
Yes, you can delete one or more messages in a conversation as follows:
- Open the conversation and select the message you want to delete.
- Click the 3 vertical dots in the upper-right corner of the message card.
- Select Delete this message.
There are no folders in Baker Gmail. How do I organize my messages?
Instead of folders, Baker Gmail has a "labels" feature. Labels are similar to folders, but are more powerful and flexible. With labels you can add multiple "tags" to a message to categorize it in several ways. For details, see the Google Help Center .
If I label a message and archive it, but later remove the label, what happens to the message?
The message remains in your All Mail archive without the label. You can easily find it again later using Google search.
Can I apply more than one label to a single email message?
Yes, you can apply any number of labels to a message: Select the message in your Inbox, or open it, and select one or more labels in the Labels drop-down list at the top of your Mail window.
Can I change the label on one or more messages?
Yes. To change a label on a single message, select the message, and then, in Labels drop-down list at the top your Mail window, uncheck the label currently applied to it. Then select another label and click Apply.
To change a label on all messages that have that label on the left side of the screen under Inbox. At the top of the list that appears, click Select all. Then, in Labels drop-down list, uncheck the label you want to remove, and select the new label you want to apply. Click Apply.
Can I create sub-labels to recreate the folder tree I set up my previous Mail?
Yes, you can enable the Nested Labels lab in Baker Gmail. Go to Settings -> See all settings -> Labels. Click Create new label and give it a name. Check the box that says Nest label under: and choose the parent label.
Can I delete a label from a single message or all messages that have that label?
Yes. To delete a label from a single message, select the message, and then, in Labels drop-down list at the top your Mail window, uncheck the label. Click Apply to delete a label from all messages that have that label, in the Labels drop-down list, select Manage labels. (You can also click Edit labels at the bottom of your Labels list at the left of the Mail window.) In the list that appears, find the label, and then click Remove.
If I set up a filter to add a label to specific incoming messages, but then later delete the label, is the filter also deleted?
No, even if applying the label was the only action for the filter, your filter is not deleted. You can edit the filter to specify a different label or another action.
What are stars and how do I use them?
Stars are a way to highlight messages. Assign stars to special conversations or messages in your Inbox, or use them as a visual reminder that you need to follow up on a message or conversation later. To quickly see all messages with a star, click Starred at the left of your Mail window.
When setting up an email filter, can I apply more than one label for the action?
You can apply only one label per email filter. However, if you want to add multiple labels to a filtered message, you can do the following: Create multiple filters with the same criteria, except specify a different label for each filter. If you receive a message that meets the criteria for the filters, Baker Gmail will apply the multiple labels to that message.
Can I highlight messages in my Inbox?
Yes, you can use labels and stars to highlight messages in your Inbox. For example, you might create a label named "Action" and apply the color red to it, so you can easily see it in your Inbox. After setting up a label, find it on the left side. Hover over it and then click the 3 vertical dots to the right of the label. Set the Label Color here.
Can I mark a message as "unread" in my Inbox after I open it?
Yes, in your Inbox, select the message. Then, in click the 3 vertical dots (More) and select Mark as Unread.
What is the difference between deleting and archiving email messages? When should I delete and when should I archive?
If you either delete or archive a message, it's removed from your inbox. If you delete a message, it's placed in the Trash and then permanently removed from your Baker Gmail account after 30 days. On the other hand, if you archive a message, it's moved to All Mail (your archive), where you can easily find it in the future, using Google's powerful search feature.
How long do messages stay in my archive?
Messages remain in your archive forever, unless you choose to delete them.
How long do messages stay in the Trash?
Messages remain in the Trash for 30 days. After that, Gmail permanently deletes them.
Can I move message out of the Trash?
Find the message in the Trash and select it. Then, in the Move To drop-down list at the top of the Mail window, select Inbox.
If I delete or archive a meeting invitation from my Inbox, is the meeting removed from my calendar?
No. Deleting or archiving a meeting invitation does not affect the invitation on your calendar.
If I archive or trash a message, and then someone replies to it later, will it show up in my Inbox?
Yes, if someone replies to a message you archived or trashed, that message appears in your Inbox as a conversation, with all previous content. If you applied a label to the archived message, the label will appear in your Inbox. If the message was permanently deleted from the Trash, you'll see an option at the bottom of the message to view the deleted messages in the conversation. However, the message won't have the original label you applied to it.
I can't always find messages I search for. How does Search work?
To search for messages, type a word that the messages contain. Search matches "whole words" only — that is, it doesn't recognize partial or similar matches. For example, if you search for benefits, Search won't find "benefit" or "benef." Also, Search doesn't recognize special search characters, such as square brackets, parentheses, currency symbols, the ampersand, the pound sign, and asterisks.
By default, Search doesn't look in your Trash or Spam folders. To search those folders also, click Show search options next to the Search field, and then, in the Search drop-down list, select Mail & Spam & Trash. You can find more information about using Search in the Google Apps Help Center.
Where can I find information about performing advanced searches?
A list of the advanced search operators is available in the Google Apps Help Center.
How long do messages remain in my Spam folder?
Messages remain in the Spam folder for 30 days. After that, Baker Gmail permanently deletes them.
How do I prevent messages from specific senders from being tagged as spam?
To make sure that any messages you receive from a specific person outside our domain pass through the spam filter, create an email filter using the Never send it to Spam option:
- In Baker Gmail, click Settings > See all settings -> Filters and Blocked Addresses > Scroll down and find Create a new filter.
- Enter the person's address in the From field, and then Create Filter to get to the Next Step.
- Select Never send it to spam, and then click Create Filter.