Gmail Settings: Every User Should Know

Gmail is a strong email service with many features and settings. These can make you work faster and make your talking through email better. If you know the settings, you can change Gmail how you like. This works if you just read emails or if you use Gmail for work email.

In this guide, we will show you important Gmail settings. We will tell you how to change your inbox look and how to send automatic replies. These ideas will help you to use Gmail better.

You look for Gmail settings to make Gmail better. This article shows you important Gmail settings for better use.

We can start now.

How can you find Gmail settings?

First, let us see how to change settings on different devices.

Gmail settings on your computer:

1. Go to Gmail on your computer.

2. Press the Settings gear icon on the top right.

3. Click “See all settings” in the dropdown.

4. Go to the tabs to change settings.

5. Save your changes.

Gmail settings on Android:

1. Open the Gmail app on your phone.

2. Hit the Menu icon with three lines on the top left.

3. Pick “General Settings” or choose an account to change.

Gmail settings on iPad and iPhone:

1. Open the Gmail app on your iPad or iPhone.

2. Hit the Menu icon with three lines on the top left, then Settings.

Not every setting is there on mobiles.

How do you find and use Gmail SMTP and POP settings?

To use Gmail with Outlook or Thunderbird, know the Gmail SMTP and POP settings.

Look at every setting now.

What does SMTP mean?

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) lets email go between your clients, like Outlook and Gmail.

For a full guide on SMTP and how to fix common problems, read this long guide.

To use Gmail with Outlook, follow the Gmail settings.

Gmail SMTP settings:

Gmail SMTP server address: smtp.gmail.com

  • Gmail SMTP server address: smtp.gmail.com
  • Gmail SMTP name: Your name
  • Gmail SMTP username: Your Gmail address
  • Gmail SMTP password: Your Gmail password
  • Gmail SMTP port (TLS): 587
  • Gmail SMTP port (SSL): 465

When asked:

  • Requires SSL: Yes
  • Requires TLS: Yes
  • Requires / Use authentication: Yes
  • Requires / Use secure connection: Yes

What is POP?

SMTP helps you send Gmail emails. POP and IMAP let you get Gmail emails from other services like Outlook.

To get Outlook emails in Gmail, turn on POP like this:

  1. Open Gmail on your computer.
  2. Click the Settings gear icon at the top right.
  3. Choose “See all settings.”
  4. Go to the “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” tab.
  5. Turn on POP download for “all mail” or for new emails.
  6. Click “Save Changes.”

Find out 9 Gmail settings you might not know.

These can make you use Gmail better, whether you have a new account or want to improve the one you have.

Tips to use Gmail like a pro:

1. Make the ‘undo send’ time longer

You can take back an email you sent by mistake. Gmail lets you make the time to undo send up to 30 seconds. Here’s how you can change it:

  1. Open Gmail on the computer.
  2. Click the settings in the corner.
  3. Choose “See all settings.”
  4. Find “Undo Send” and pick a Send Cancellation Period.
  5. Do not forget to save when you change settings.

2. Turn on nudges and reminders to follow up

Gmail gives you a special function that helps you manage your emails better.

When nudges are on, Gmail shows which emails might need an answer or another message at the start of your email list.

How to start using Gmail Nudges:

  1. Open Gmail on your computer.
    1. Click on the settings symbol on the top right side.
    1. Choose “See all settings” from the list.
    1. Press “General” from the choices.
    1. Find the nudges settings.
    1. Turn on the two kinds of nudges: “Suggest emails to reply to” and “Suggest emails to follow up on.”

3. Start using email templates

If you write the same emails over and over, Gmail has a useful feature to make things faster: email templates.

When you turn on email templates in Gmail, you can keep and use the same email designs again without copying and pasting every time.

Here is what to do to use Gmail templates:

  1. Open Gmail on your desktop.
    1. Click on the settings symbol on the top right corner and choose “See all settings.”
    1. Go to the “Advanced” section.
    1. Find “Templates” and turn this on.
    1. Save what you changed.

To make and use Gmail templates:

  1. Write a new email in Gmail.
    1. Click on the three dots at the bottom right of the new email and pick “Templates.”
    1. Here, you can save what you wrote as a new template, and you can also change or remove old ones.

Using Gmail templates makes sending emails much quicker because you can use messages that are ready to go.

4. Add your Gmail Signature

If you need to send professional emails, adding a signature is a good idea.

To add a signature:

  1. Click the gear icon at the top right of your screen.
    1. Choose “See all settings.”
    1. Go down to “Signature” in the General tab.
    1. Make and name your signature, then put in what you want it to say.

Look at our full guide about email signatures for tips on adding pictures, links, and logos.

5. Use Out-of-Office Messages

If you work with Gmail and you have to tell others when you are not there, you should use out-of-office messages.

To make an out-of-office reply in Gmail:

  1. Click the gear icon at the top right of your screen.
    1. Choose “See all settings.”
    1. Go down to “Vacation responder” in the General tab.
    1. Turn on the Vacation responder and pick start and finish dates.
    1. Write a subject and your out-of-office message.
    1. Save what you did.

Check our full guide for examples of out-of-office emails and how to use more features.

6. Adjust your max page size

When you get lots of emails each day, it helps to organize them. You can see more emails at one time by changing the Gmail max page size.

To set a new max page size:

  1. Click the gear icon at the top right of your screen.
    1. Choose “See all settings.”
    1. Go down to “Maximum page size” in the General tab.
    1. Pick how many emails you want to show on one page.

7. Enable Smart Compose

The Smart Compose in Gmail can help you write emails faster. It gives you writing suggestions using machine learning.

To turn on Smart Compose in Gmail:

  1. Click the gear icon at the top right of your screen.
  2. Choose “See all settings.”
  3. Go down to the “Smart Compose” part under General.
  4. Switch “Writing suggestions” on or off.
  5. Switch “Smart Compose Personalization” on or off.

8. Send from different email

Gmail lets you send emails from many addresses in one main Gmail account.

Here is how you add a Gmail alias:

  1. Press the gear icon at your computer’s top right.
  2. Choose “See all settings.
  3. Go down to the “Send email as” part under Accounts and Import.
  4. Press “Add another email address.”
  5. Put your name and email address in the window that comes up, say yes to “Treat as an alias,” and finish the check.

For help on setting and using Gmail aliases, look at our detailed guide here.

9. Make your Gmail better with Plugins

Plugins make Gmail better for work. Many people around the world use these Gmail plugins. They let you track emails, make templates, and send personalized emails to many.

Go to our guide for the best Gmail to learn how to send and get emails like a Pro.

Learn Gmail settings to use email better. If you learn to use email templates, set away messages and use various names, you can work quicker and stay professional.

Good settings make Gmail more than a basic email and turn it into a powerful communication tool. Take time to explore and adjust these settings to get the most out of your Gmail.