Google Mail (Gmail) General Settings

In Google Mail, the “General” tab of the “Settings” page allows you to change a variety of common options, such as the following:

How many emails appear on one screen
If email messages with the same subject line are grouped together (conversation view)
What stars you can use to label messages
If you want to receive pop-up messages when you receive a new email or chat message

To change these options, first navigate to the “Settings” page in Google Mail following the instructions below. Then make any desired changes.

To Change "General" Tab Settings

Navigate to cedarville.edu/google and click the “Mail” link > Log in to Gmail.
From the top right of the screen click the gear-shaped "Settings" icon. A drop-down menu appears.
Click “See All Settings.” The "General" tab will automatically open.
Make the desired changes. For information on what the settings on this tab do, see “Descriptions of the 'General' tab settings” below.
Click [Save Changes]. The settings will be changed.

Descriptions of the "General" Tab Settings

The following are the options available on the “General” tab of the “Settings” page. When you make a change to an option, you must click [Save Changes] to change the option.

Language: Choose what language you want Google Mail to display in.
Phone numbers: Choose what country code you want Google Mail to use for phone numbers.
Maximum page size: Under "Show ## conversations per page", choose how many email messages appear on one page of your main Google Mail screen. Under "Show ## contacts per page", choose how many contacts appear on one page when you are viewing them.
Images: Check "Always display external images" if you want Google to automatically load images within emails. Check "Ask before displaying external images" if you want Google to ask for your permission before loading images within emails (preferred option for slow internet connection or limited mobile data).
Default reply behavior: Check "Reply" to automatically reply to the email sender. Check "Reply All" to automatically reply to all email recipients.
Default text style: Customize how you want your email body text to appear (font, size, color etc.).
Conversation View: Choose whether you want all emails with the same subject to be grouped together (conversation view) or displayed separately. For more information, see the Google Mail: Turn Off Conversation View help page.
Send and Archive: Choose to display or hide the "Send & Archive" button at the top of emails. When you archive an email, Google transfers the email from your inbox to the "All Mail" folder without deleting it.
Undo Send: Check whether or not you want the "Undo Send" option to appear after you send an email. When you enable "Undo Send," a message will appear at the top of your screen with an "Undo" option each time you send an email. You can also set how long you want this option to be available after you send an email (e.g. 10 seconds).
Stars: Drag and drop stars/icons between the "In use" and "Not in use" sections. To star an email using your "In use" stars/icons, from your inbox, click the star icon located to the left of your email message. To view more stars, continue to click the star icon until you see the star/icon you wish to use.
Desktop Notifications: Choose whether you want to receive a pop-up when you receive a new chat message or email while not looking at Google Mail. Note that for this to work, the following must be true (for more information, see the Google Mail: Use Google Mail Desktop Notifications help page):
- You are using Google Chrome as your browser.
- You are logged in to Google Mail.
- You have Google Mail open in a window somewhere.
Keyboard shortcuts: Turn on the option to use keyboard combinations to accomplish various tasks in Google Mail (for example, compose, archive, open, reply, forward, and delete). For more information, please see this help page provided by Google.
Button labels: Choose whether you want certain buttons in Google Mail to be labeled with icons or text. For more information, see the Turn Button Text On help page.
External Content: Choose whether you always want Google Mail to automatically display images in emails you receive from contacts you have sent two or more emails to.
Browser connection: You cannot change this option.
Stars: Pick what stars you want to have available for marking emails. Click and drag to move starts between the “In use:” section and the “Not in use:” section.
My picture: Select a picture for people you email to see.
People Widget: Choose whether you want information about people involved in an email to display to the right of email when you are viewing it.
Create contacts for auto-complete: Choose whether you want Google Mail to save contacts you email so that Google Mail will automatically complete their email address when you email them in the future.
Signature: Add a signature to your email messages. For more information, see the Google Mail: Add a Signature help page.
Personal level indicators: Choose whether you want markings to appear next to the following types of email:
Email sent to multiple people (this does not include groups, such as a class or course group): A single arrow (>) will appear next to this type of message.
Email sent only to you: A double arrow (>>) will appear next to this type of message.
Snippets: Choose whether you want a preview of the body of the message to show next to each message. For more information, see the Google Mail: Show or Hide Snippets help page.

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Google Mail (Gmail) General Settings