Gmail General Settings

I did not realize so many of you are Google fans just like me.  I have received quite a few questions about some of Gmail’s settings and what they do.  So let us investigate a few of those.

To get to the settings you must first be logged into your Gmail account (gmail.com).  Then look to the upper right corner and hover the little "gear" icon.  It should say "Settings". If not, keep hovering until you find it.  Now click it, then "Settings".

There are twelve setting tabs in Gmail with hundreds of items you can adjust.   We will only look at the General tab today.  If you are interested in any of the others let me know and we will look at those over the next few weeks. 

I will only elaborate on the ones that aren’t obvious.  For instance, "Language" should be a no-brainer since you have a dropdown menu allowing you to choose the language you wish to use in Gmail. (There are currently over 50 to choose from.)  How about "Keyboard shortcuts?"  You may either set it off or on.  To get details on what the shortcuts are and how to use them click the "Learn more" link.  I keep mine set to "off" because I don’t want to keep any more shortcut keys in my head. 

"External content" will show images you get in your emails.  It only allows them from "trusted senders."  A "trusted sender" is someone you have sent email to at least twice.  If they send you an email with graphics in it, you will see the image(s) automatically. 

I believe "Browser connection" should always be set to "Always use https".  Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure is a secure protocol providing authenticated and encrypted communication or in simple language: more security and safety for your email.  Use it!

"Undo Send" is a neat feature and I have it set on, but I rarely use it.  It does what it says; you can un-send an email up to the pre-set time limit.  The default is for 10 seconds but you may change it to up to 30 seconds.  Suppose you send an email and realize you left someone off or have one more thought to add.  Just click Undo Send at the top of the screen once you send it and you get it back.  Then finish and send it again.

Drop down to "My Picture" which I recommend.  Why not upload your picture to your account?  Then people who use Gmail can see what you look like.  Also, depending on which Smart Phone you have, it will pull that picture into the phone so you can see who is calling you.  (Note to self, get a haircut before doing this one.)

"Create contacts for auto-complete" is junk in my opinion.  If you leave it on anyone you send email to will be added to your contacts list under "Other Contacts".  I recommend setting it to "I’ll add contacts myself." 

Come on now, go ahead and add a "Signature" to be sent out at the bottom of each email.  You know, a pithy saying, your favorite Scripture, phone number, address, link to your website, etc.  One of the current rules of thumb is your email signature should be no more than 5 lines of text (or a graphic no larger than that) and I agree.

OK, the last one today is "Vacation responder".  You set the start and end dates, the subject line and a message letting people know whatever you want.  I highly recommend you check, "Only send a response to people in my Contacts" so you will not let all the spammers know where you went for vacation.

Finally, once you are done changing your settings MAKE SURE to click "Save Changes" at the bottom of the screen.