How to Organize & Categorize Messages in Gmail with Labels GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO Email, Messaging, & Video Calls > Email 43 43 people found this article helpful

How to Organize & Categorize Messages in Gmail with Labels

Labels offer greater flexibility than a folder-tree structure

By Heinz Tschabitscher Heinz Tschabitscher Writer University of Vienna A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on May 27, 2021 Reviewed by Jon Fisher Reviewed by Jon Fisher Wichita Technical Institute Jonathan Fisher is a CompTIA certified technologist with more than 6 years' experience writing for publications like TechNorms and Help Desk Geek. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Email Gmail Yahoo! Mail

What to Know

Add a label: Open a message or select one (or several) from the inbox. In the toolbar, choose the Labels icon. Select a label.Customize labels: Go to Settings > Labels. Choose Create New Label to create a new one. Choose options to decide how labels function.Delete labels: Select the More button next to a label name, then choose Remove Label. Unlike most email servers that rely on a series of folders to organize messages, Gmail replaces folders in favor of labels. These labels are a tagging system for emails. Learn how to use labels to organize messages using Gmail on any operating system.

How to Add a Label to a Gmail Message

Folder-based sorting stores emails in one location. Label-based sorting can apply several labels to a single message. To add one or more labels to Gmail messages: Log in to your Gmail account. Open a message. Or, select the check boxes in the message list to select several emails. Go to the toolbar and select the Labels icon. In the Label As dialog box, select the label you want to apply. Choose Create New to make and apply a new label.

How to Customize Your Gmail Labels

The Label As dialog box includes a link to Manage Labels, which is a shortcut to the Labels screen of the Gmail Settings menu. Either click that link, or go to Settings > Labels, or (if you're logged in to your Gmail account) use this shortcut link: Gmail Labels Settings At the bottom of the settings screen, you'll see your custom labels. Select Create New Label to add a new label to the list. Each label supports four settings groups: Show in label list: Anytime a list of messages with labels appears in the left sidebar, select show (the default) to show the label persistently, hide to suppress it persistently, or show if unread to appear only when unread messages with that label appear. Show in message list: Select whether the label appears on messages in the message list. Actions: Select Remove to delete the label or edit to change it. Show in IMAP: Force email programs (like Microsoft Outlook) that use IMAP folders instead of Gmail labels to treat labels like IMAP folders. Unless there's a need to hide messages, leave Show in IMAP selected by default.

How to Manage Gmail Labels

To edit or delete Gmail labels: Go to the Folders pane and select the label you want to manage. Select the More button to the right of the label name. Choose the feature you want to change, such as the label color. Or, select Edit to change the label name or nest it under another label. Select Save to apply the changes. Choose Remove Label from the More menu to delete a label. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Hide Folders and Labels in Gmail IMAP How to Reduce Email Traffic and Make Gmail IMAP Faster How to Hide and Show Labels in Gmail How to Use Gmail: Get Started With Your New Account How to Retrieve Archived Emails in Gmail How to Label Outgoing Emails While Composing Them in Gmail How to Send Email to Undisclosed Recipients From Gmail How to Go to the Next or Previous Message in Gmail How to Create Rules in Gmail for (Almost) Anything How to Block Emails in Gmail How to Pick Folders to Push in iPhone Mail How to Download Gmail Chat Logs via IMAP How to Access Gmail With Thunderbird How to Export Your Emails From Gmail as Mbox Files How to Mark Email Read in Gmail How to Access Gmail in iPhone Mail Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies