Gmail filters are a simple and practical way to manage your email messages . Thus, when you receive a new message, the filters will do the action you have programmed. You can delete messages, move them, tag them … The result, a clean and orderly inbox regardless of whether you receive dozens or hundreds of emails a day.
And it is that processing your emails by hand can be a task that requires time . Time that you do not lack and that you could dedicate to other tasks. And if we talk about work, that time will help you to dedicate yourself to what is important and not waste it with email reading unnecessary messages .
Let's see some examples of Gmail filters that will help you save time and effort by processing your messages automatically. This way, your life will be easier if email is a central axis of your productivity or of your personal or professional life.
Save receipts and invoices
I believe that practically everyone has a folder or label in our email client with the name of Invoices or Receipts . It is inevitable, since nowadays we receive by email the receipts for water, electricity, natural gas, telephony, purchases in online stores …
And as with paper, keeping your receipts safe will be useful for the future. You never know when you need to know the date of a purchase, the original price or remember the model of that product you purchased a few years ago.
You can use various filters for this task. One is to label as Receipts all messages that come from your provider's email address. It is usually a fixed address. If those addresses tend to be varied, try the field Contains the words when creating the filter. Those words can be order, purchase, invoice, receipt …
Empty the spam folder automatically
To the folder Spam all the e-mails that Gmail considers unwanted will go. It is usually quite right, since most spam messages match certain characteristics. The problem is that, over time, the folder fills up and you should empty it.
Thanks to Gmail filters you can empty the folder automatically. Of course, try to check it from time to time lest you have accidentally received a desired email.
To create this filter, in the field Contains the words put is: spam and, after clicking on Create filter , use the action Delete . When creating the filter, Gmail notifies you of the characteristics of using “is” or other search methods.
Eliminate messages that bypass the antispam filter
Although Gmail's spam filter is successful in most cases, we still occasionally receive emails that bypass that filter. Nothing happens. With the Gmail filters we will eliminate them so that they do not take up space or bother you in the inbox.
As simple as indicating the email address (example@example.com) or the domain of the address (*@example.com) that you do not want to know anything about in the field From and , in the action list, you can directly use Delete . Goodbye to those annoying and unwanted messages.
Highlight messages from your boss or partner
If you receive dozens of messages every day, you may not look at your inbox except for a few occasions, when you have enough time. But there are messages and messages. You may receive more important messages than others. For example, emails from your boss are prioritized compared to those of your colleagues. Or the emails of an important client. Or a family member or your partner.
With a Gmail filter indicating the address of that important person in From and then selecting the action Highlight or Always mark as important , it will be easier for you to see relevant messages first. Then you will look at the rest of the emails.
The newsletters for when you have time
The bulletins or newsletters seemed something of the past. But in recent years they have become fashionable and are an interesting alternative to inform yourself, read quality content, etc. There are very complete ones and they will save you from having to visit dozens of pages or use other methods such as news readers or RSS feed managers.
Precisely, the grace of the newsletters is that you can read them calmly , they do not require you to consume them quickly or instantly. Therefore, they are not as high a priority as other emails. So why not move those emails to a tag that we will refer to when we have a time to rest ?
First we create a label of the type Newsletters , Readings or Newsletters . Then we create the Gmail filter indicating in the field It contains the words common concepts in a newsletter: “unsubscribe”, “subscribe”, “unsubscribe”, etc. If the email addresses are always the same, you can create a list and include it in the From field when creating the filter. Finally, as an action we choose Apply the label and we choose the one we created at the beginning.
A label for each account of mail
A very useful feature of Gmail is the one that allows to receive messages from several email accounts . That is, you can use Gmail to manage the email of two or more Gmail accounts. And also from Yahoo !, Outlook, iCloud and a long etcetera. This way you won't have to constantly log in. A single inbox for all your accounts .
Normally, when importing messages from other accounts, Gmail automatically assigns them a label or offers you the possibility to do so. In any case, you can create Gmail filters so that these messages not only appear labeled in the inbox , but also appear under the labels that will make alternative inboxes.
First, in the field To you indicate the email address that you manage. One filter for each direction. Then, in the actions, you choose Skip Inbox (Archive it) to not see those messages in your main inbox. Finally, Apply the label and choose the label that will act as a tray for that specific address.
The result, have the folder Received for your main account and the corresponding labels for the rest of email accounts. All in order.
