cover image: google
Is your gmail inbox looking a little different lately?
You are not alone. google started rolling out “a new integrated view for gmail features” which includes an updated user interface and changes to the left sidebar of gmail.
Google announced these updates in January 2022 and began slowly rolling them out to users in July.
To help you get familiar with this new gmail design, we break it down:
- what changed in the new gmail view
- how to add and remove apps on the left sidebar
- how to hide the gmail sidebar
- how to show gmail sidebar and pin it to open
- how to switch gmail back to “classic” view
- what this change means for streak users
The main changes included in this gmail update affect the left sidebar, which now offers a more consolidated view of your google apps, like google meet and chat.
1. gmail’s left sidebar is now the main app menu
Say goodbye to the ever-expanding accordion of dropdown menus for your google apps.
gmail’s new design has a more streamlined main app menu with a collapsible panel. you can find Mail, Chat, Spaces, and Meetings apps in the main menu. the collapsible panel expands into app-specific details, like your inbox folders, streak pipelines.
2. each app in the new gmail sidebar has its own floating menu
You can now hover over an app icon in the main menu to preview that app. this allows you to switch between apps and quickly navigate through your apps with fewer clicks.
You can save some space by using these floating menus with the panel collapsed to access your inbox, mail merges, specific chats, and more.
3. notification bubbles for new messages
With a nod to social media and chat interfaces, you’ll now see familiar notification bubbles in the bottom left corner of your gmail window when you receive a new chat message. You can also preview the message by hovering over the notification bubble to decide if you need to reply now or save it for later.
You can adjust your chat notification settings in the status menu (the one that probably says “active”) in the upper right corner of your gmail window.
4. updated gmail design and user interface
google updated the look and feel of gmail with its material design 3 for a clean and updated look.
The most visually obvious updates are new icons for each app and a slightly shaded sidebar and gmail navigation. choose which apps appear in the new gmail sidebar
You can customize the new gmail sidebar. add apps to the left sidebar for easy access, or reduce clutter by removing apps you don’t use.
to choose which apps appear in the left sidebar of gmail:
- click the gear icon in the upper right corner to open your settings.
- click “customize” in the “apps in gmail” section.
- check or uncheck apps to add or remove them from the sidebar.
- click done.
- click refresh to refresh your gmail window with your new settings.
how to hide gmail left sidebar
You can make more room to view your inbox and other apps by collapsing the app details panel.
To collapse the gmail sidebar, click the show/hide button (three horizontal lines) in the upper left corner of your gmail window when the gmail sidebar is open.
With the sidebar collapsed, you can hover over apps in the main menu to see app previews and navigate through them.
how to show gmail sidebar and pin it to open
To collapse the gmail sidebar, click the show/hide button (three horizontal lines) in the upper left corner of your gmail window when the gmail sidebar is collapsed.
this will open the collapsible panel so you can expand the application details by clicking on the application in the main menu. the sidebar stays open as you scroll through your inbox.
how to switch gmail to “classic” view
We get it, change can be hard.
If you just can’t get on board with this new version of gmail, there are two ways to get back to your old inbox experience.
just remember that the day will come when gmail will force everyone to use the new design, so maybe it’s better to do it now. we leave it to you.
to return to the classic view of gmail:
- click the gear icon in the top right corner of your gmail window to open your gmail settings.
- click “back to original view” in the menu quick setup that appears.
- gmail will reload with the original or “classic” gmail view.
If you like the aesthetics of the new UI and only use the gmail app (no meet, chat, etc), you can remove additional apps to return to essentially the same functionality as the original view of gmail.
using the new gmail sidebar with streak
You can find your streak pipelines and mail merge in the mail app with the new gmail view, which makes sense for a gmail integrated crm.
With the sidebar panel expanded and pinned open, you’ll find stripe pipelines and mail merges right below your inbox and inbox folders (starred, sent, draft, etc.). Click the arrow to expand your pipeline list and see all of your mail merge lists in the left sidebar.
don’t want to play with the sidebar? you can jump directly to your pipelines, saved views, contacts, and charts using keyboard shortcuts in the command palette.