Gmail Multiple inboxes at a glance
- Multiple inboxes is Google's name for one Gmail setting. It isn't the same as having several accounts in one app.
- The setting adds lists of email to your inbox screen, called sections. You can have up to five sections, such as a list of email from one client.
- Choose what a section shows by typing a search, just as you would in Gmail's search box at the top. For example, "is:starred" shows the email you've starred.
- You can set up Multiple inboxes only on a computer.
Do you need Multiple inboxes, or a simpler inbox type?
You don't need Multiple inboxes just to put starred email above everything else. Select Starred first to put starred email at the top of your inbox with nothing to type. On a computer, click Settings at the top right and select a layout next to Inbox type.
- Select Important first to split your inbox into important email at the top and everything else below.
- Select Unread first to put email you haven't read at the top and everything else below.
- Select Priority Inbox to choose sections for important and unread email, starred email, everything else, or one of your labels. A label is a name you put on emails.
Choose Multiple inboxes when the list you want needs a search those layouts don't offer. For example, you might want a section for email from one person or email sent to one of your addresses. You'll enter that search when you set up the section.
How to set up Multiple inboxes in Gmail
In Gmail on a computer, click Settings at the top right to start setting up Multiple inboxes.
Next to Inbox type, select Multiple inboxes. The Primary, Social, Promotions, and Updates tabs belong to the default inbox type and turn off when you change it. The reading pane, the panel that shows an email beside or below the list, turns off too.
Click Customize next to the inbox type you selected.
Enter a search for each section, such as "is:starred" to show email you've starred.
Under Section name, enter the name you want to give that section.
Next to Maximum page size, enter the number of emails you want each section to show.
Next to Multiple Inbox position, select where you want the sections to appear on the inbox screen.
Click Save Changes at the bottom to finish setting up your sections.
To stop using Multiple inboxes, select a different inbox type next to Inbox type, such as Default.
What to type for each section
These searches also work in the search box at the top of Gmail. If you need a search the table doesn't cover, such as email between two dates or with a word in the subject, the Gmail search query builder makes a search from plain fields for you to copy.
| Email you want | What to type | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Email you've starred | is:starred | Type the search exactly as shown. |
| Email under one of your labels | label:friends | Replace friends with your label's name. |
| Email from one person | from:amy@example.com | Replace amy@example.com with the sender's email address. |
| Email sent to one of your addresses | to:john@example.com | Replace john@example.com with your address. |
| Email you haven't read | is:unread | Type the search exactly as shown. |
| Email with attachments | has:attachment | Type the search exactly as shown. |
| Email from either of two people | from:amy OR from:david | Replace amy and david with two senders' names or email addresses. |
| Email from the last two days | newer_than:2d | Replace 2 with the number of days you want to include. |
| Email with one word and without another | dinner -movie | Replace the two words with your own. A minus sign before a word leaves out email with that word. |
Email you've starred
- What to type
- is:starred
- What to know
- Type the search exactly as shown.
Email under one of your labels
- What to type
- label:friends
- What to know
- Replace friends with your label's name.
Email from one person
- What to type
- from:amy@example.com
- What to know
- Replace amy@example.com with the sender's email address.
Email sent to one of your addresses
- What to type
- to:john@example.com
- What to know
- Replace john@example.com with your address.
Email you haven't read
- What to type
- is:unread
- What to know
- Type the search exactly as shown.
Email with attachments
- What to type
- has:attachment
- What to know
- Type the search exactly as shown.
Email from either of two people
- What to type
- from:amy OR from:david
- What to know
- Replace amy and david with two senders' names or email addresses.
Email from the last two days
- What to type
- newer_than:2d
- What to know
- Replace 2 with the number of days you want to include.
Email with one word and without another
- What to type
- dinner -movie
- What to know
- Replace the two words with your own. A minus sign before a word leaves out email with that word.
Three sections to start with
Google's own example uses three labels with a section for each.
- Use "Action" with the search "label:action" for email that needs your attention right away.
- Use "Follow-up" with the search "label:follow-up" for email that needs more work with other people, such as a thread waiting on a colleague's answer.
- Use "Later" with the search "label:later" for email that can wait.
Create the three labels and their sections in Gmail on a computer:
Click Create new label next to Labels on the left side of Gmail.
Enter "Action" as the label's name.
Click Create.
Create the labels "Follow-up" and "Later" the same way.
In the Multiple inboxes settings, enter the three searches as separate sections with their matching names and click Save Changes.
In Gmail on a computer, add a label as you read an email:
Open an email.
Click Labels at the top.
Select "Action", "Follow-up", or "Later" for the email.
Why an email shows in a section and in your inbox
A section shows email that matches its search. If a matching email is in your inbox, it appears in the inbox list too.
Archiving takes an email out of your inbox without deleting it. An archived email still appears in a section whose search it matches.
Check the box next to the email you want to take out of the inbox.
Click Archive at the top of Gmail.
To clear an email from a section when you're done, make it stop matching the search. Remove its star if the section shows starred email, or remove its label if the section searches for that label.
How to label new email for a section automatically
You can use a filter, a rule you set up in Gmail that acts on new email as it arrives, to fill a label-based section. The filter adds the label your section searches for and keeps matching email out of your inbox.
On a computer, click Show search options in the search box at the top of Gmail to start creating a filter.
Enter what the emails have in common, such as the sender's email address.
Click Create filter at the bottom of the search window.
Check Apply the label and choose the label used in your section's search.
Check Skip the Inbox (Archive it) to keep matching new email out of the inbox list.
Click Create filter to finish setting up the rule.
Multiple inboxes on your phone
You can set up Multiple inboxes only on a computer. The Gmail app on Android, iPhone, and iPad has its own inbox type setting, but Multiple inboxes isn't an option in the app.
To see the email from one of your sections on a phone, type its search in the app's search box. For example, enter "label:action" for your action section. The same searches work in the Gmail app, so you'll see the email that matches that section's search.
If a section doesn't show what you expected
If you don't see any sections on your inbox screen:
Click Settings at the top right.
Next to Inbox type, select Multiple inboxes to show the sections on your inbox screen.
If you find that a section is empty or shows email you didn't want:
Type the section's search in the search box at the top of Gmail and press Enter.
Change the search there until it finds the email you want.
Click Settings at the top right.
Click Customize next to Inbox type.
Replace the section's search with the corrected one.
Click Save Changes at the bottom.
If you see fewer emails in a section than the same search finds in Gmail's search box:
Click Settings at the top right.
Click Customize next to Inbox type.
Next to Maximum page size, enter a larger number.
Click Save Changes at the bottom.
If you see email from someone else or shared-file notices in a section for one sender, the search includes the sender's alias and notices that they shared a Google Drive file. An alias is another address that belongs to the same person.
Click Settings at the top right.
Click Customize next to Inbox type.
Put the section's whole search in double quotes to limit it to one address, as in Google's example "from:john.doe@gmail.com".
Click Save Changes at the bottom.
If you wanted several accounts in one inbox
You can see email from every account together in the Gmail app on a phone, while Gmail on a computer shows one account at a time.
Each account needs to be added to the Gmail app on Android, iPhone, or iPad first. Then you can open All inboxes.
Tap your profile picture at the top right of the Gmail app.
Tap Add another account to add an account to the app.
Select the type of account you're adding, such as Google.
Sign in to the account you want to add.
Add each of your other accounts the same way.
Tap Menu at the top left of the app.
Tap All inboxes to see email from all your added accounts in one list.
On a computer, you can stay signed in to several Google accounts and switch between them from your profile picture at the top right, but each account has its own inbox. If you want another account's new email to arrive in one Gmail inbox, set up automatic forwarding at the other email provider.
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Sorting email shows what needs attention, but you still have to answer it. After you connect Gmail, dreamif.ai drafts replies in Gmail Drafts using the thread and earlier emails with that person. It also drafts follow-ups when a contact goes quiet, and nothing sends until you approve it.