Not all email is important enough to stay in your inbox, but you may not want to delete it either. what should you do in a situation like this? use the gmail file.
Most email clients have an archive folder for messages that aren’t important to you right now, but might be useful to refer to later. Archived emails are the best way to have a clean and organized inbox without deleting anything.
In this article, you’ll learn the basics of the gmail file folder, where to find it, and how to make the most of it.
what happens when you archive an email?
If you want to clean up or organize your inbox, you have several options, including deleting messages or moving them to the gmail archives folder. if you choose the latter option, it will simply move your messages from your inbox to another folder: the archive.
When you archive an email, you save it for future reference. and if someone replies to an email that was archived, it will reappear in your inbox. archiving is the best solution for emails you want to remove from your inbox, but for which there’s a good chance you’ll need them later.
what is the difference between deleting and archiving emails?
delete an email sends it to the trash. it will stay there for 30 days. after this period of time, it will be permanently deleted and can no longer be retrieved or viewed.
Archiving an email only removes it from your inbox. it will stay that way indefinitely, but the action can be undone at any time.
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how to delete archived emails in gmail
If at any point you feel like you no longer need the emails you’ve archived, you can easily delete them.
all you have to do is:
- browse the archived emails.
- click the “delete” icon.
doing this will move the selected emails to the trash. just remember, after 30 days, they will be gone forever and there will be no way to get them back.
why archive an email in the first place?
There are several reasons why you might want to archive your emails. that’s because when you do:
- provides a cleaner, more manageable inbox
- ensures important data is never lost
- makes important data easy and quick to access
- helps your business comply with regulations
- protects your business from potential litigation
So while dealing with email can take up 28% of your productive time, managing it effectively is still vital. see below how mailbird can help you do just this.
how to find emails archived in gmail on desktop
If you’re opening your gmail account from your computer, there are two easy ways to find archived emails. you can do it more easily with the gmail app for windows.
1. using the all mail folder
If you’re just checking your inbox, you’ll quickly notice that no archived emails appear there. that’s because, by default, google hides them. what you need to do to view the archived emails is to go to the all mails folder.
to do this:
- move the cursor to the icons on the top left of the gmail app screen.
- when the cursor hovers over this area, the side menu will expand.
- with the side menu expanded, scroll down until you find the all mail folder.
- click on this folder.
If you archive dozens to hundreds of emails a day, this method may not be ideal for you. having to manually archive all important emails (incoming and outgoing) will be tedious and time consuming. To avoid having to review hundreds of messages, use the following method instead.
2. using the search bar
You can also find your archived emails in gmail with the help of the search bar. for that, you can:
- Input some of the important words from the email you are searching for into the search bar. Emails with those words will appear. The more keywords you write, the narrower the results will be.
- Type into the search bar “-in:Sent -in:Draft -in:Inbox” -has:nouserlabels”. Doing this will bring up a list of every email within the Sent, Drafts, and Inbox folders, as well as any outside of those folders. This effectively does the same thing as opening the All Mail folder, only in a more round-about way.
how to find emails archived in gmail on your phone
Finding archived emails on a phone isn’t much different than in the mail app on your computer. however, the interface will look a bit different.
how to find emails archived in gmail in android
- open the gmail app.
- click the hamburger menu to expand it.
- then select the all mail label or use the search to find what you want. you are looking for.
how to find emails archived in gmail on iphone
Although Gmail is not as popular with iPhone users, the app is still available on the Apple App Store. the process of searching for archived emails is similar to that of an android.
- open the gmail app.
- click the hamburger menu to expand it.
- touch the all mails label or use the search bar.
how do you automatically archive emails you have replied to?
Open your gmail account and look for the gear icon in the top right corner. click it and choose “see all settings”.
find “send and archive” and select “show option” send and archive; file button” in response.” then click “save changes” at the bottom of the page.
When you enable this setting, a new button will appear when you reply to your emails. when you click this new button, it will send the reply and automatically archive the previous message for you.
However, gmail is not the only platform to offer this innovative feature. Some other email clients, like Mailbird, also allow you to archive emails in one step when replying to a conversation. Plus, Mailbird is packed with other advanced features that will completely transform your email experience.
Can email archiving be automated?
If you receive dozens to hundreds of emails a day, manually archiving them can quickly become a hassle. a solution that many companies opt for is automation.
if you’re using mailbird, automating email archiving is easy.
simply:
1) Go to the mailbird menu at the top left of the main window.
2) select “settings”.
3) Click on the compose tab
4) check or uncheck “send & file: show send & file button.”
Doing so will ensure that all outgoing emails are automatically archived. simply adjust your settings in the settings menu to automatically receive and archive outgoing emails. this will save you a lot of time and allow you to easily archive all your important communications.
how to unarchive emails in gmail
Moving archived items back to your inbox is simple.
- Browse the archived emails using the methods mentioned above.
- Click the “move to inbox” icon.
some emails just belong in a file
Moving emails from your inbox to the gmail archive is one of the best strategies for decluttering your inbox. By archiving all emails that do not need any further action, it makes it easy to find emails that require a response. More importantly, archiving emails helps reduce mental clutter, making your workday more enjoyable.
Archiving emails is a better solution than deleting them if you ever need to access old email in the future. You can compare archiving an email to completing a task: you read it, reply, and then move it out of your way. In the event that you receive a response to an archived email, it will appear in your inbox and remind you to take action.
Last but not least, all businesses should consider archiving their emails for legal and practical reasons.
conclusion
Finding archived emails in gmail doesn’t have to be difficult. It doesn’t matter if you are using mail app for pc, gmail app for android or gmail app for iphone; it all boils down to two main methods.
- open the gmail app > look for the all mail folder in the upper left corner of the screen > click it
- open the gmail app > click the search bar > enter relevant keywords that match the email you are trying to find/type “-in:sent -in:draft -in:inbox” -has:nouserlabels” to get a list of all your emails in each folder
If manually archiving and finding your emails works for you, great! however, if you’re looking to automate your process, mailbird can come in handy. plus, it will save you time in several different ways, such as:
- have a simple and easy-to-use platform
- provide a unified inbox
- remind you to automatically track important communications via a feature repeater
- be highly customizable
- robust integrations
- multilingual support
- 24/7 free support
use a solution like mailbird to automate the task and streamline your day.
Do you know any tricks to find archived emails in gmail that we forgot to mention? if so, don’t keep them to yourself; let us know in the comments section below.
FAQ about gmail file