Years ago I had a Hotmail address as well as an address based on my service provider and one for the institution I worked for. Three email addresses:
- one I could open on any wired computer, as long as I remembered the exact address and my password for it (didn’t always happen),
- another I could open on my work computer,
- a third I could open on my home computer.
Of course I could use Webmail for my work and home addresses, but it was a pain. And so was opening three different addresses. The Hotmail address died from neglect and forgetfulness, but the other two were important, and it was irritating to have two different email accounts. (Hey, laziness and forgetfulness aren’t my dominant characteristics, but I do avoid any web stuff that isn’t EASY!)
I found a solution, and that’s what this, the first in a series of posts about gmail, is about: how gmail lets you read all your email in one place, yet answer from other sites.
(This post has been inspired by a friend leaving the institution where she has worked for years, and where her email address will be terminated when she leaves.)
Why gMail?
- It’s free!
- You can choose your address.
- And this is the important one -> you can forward all your other addresses to gmail so you can see ALL your messages in ONE place. (You can also reply from the address the message came to! without leaving the gmail page.)
To do this, set up your own gmail account. You can do this by googling gmail, and following the links, for example – http://www.webdevelopersnotes.com/basics/create_free_gmail_account_how_to.php
(My friend’s son did this for her, so she had her gmail address, but she still had to check her other addresses. Here are the instructions for how I did the next step for her.)
Click on “Settings” on the upper right of the gmail page.
Then, go to “Accounts and Import” -
Click on the Import button – for more detailed instructions go here
Don’t forget to click on the button that lets you reply from the same address the message is sent to.
Just add your addresses one at a time and answer the confirmation email that arrives at your original address.
That’s it! Now all your addresses funnel into your gmail account so you only have one place to look, making your life easier! And my friend really likes that part of gmail, (which her son hadn’t set up for her.)
Soon, I’ll explain how to use Labels in gmail, and why they are better than folders in other email applications.
Joan works and plays on the web and is happy to speak to groups or individuals about the web's communication possibilities
The second step when adding another email address gives you two options: “Send through Gmail…” or “Send through yourdomain.com SMTP…”
If you use the first option it’s easier to set up but bear in mind that anyone receiving your message in Outlook will see the sender as: “your.name@gmail.com sent on behalf of your.name@yourdomain.com” – which is not very good if you’re using the account for business and want to present a professional image.
The second option requires you to know the address and log in details of your SMTP servers, but the email will be sent from the correct address.
Nice instructions, Joan. I do not use gmail as my primary email, but I do forward all my primary email through gmail for convenience when I am traveling. I don’t use gmail as my primary email for two reasons: It is a free service, and I don’t like to rely on something free when it comes to my business; I just do not like the user interface! Everyone else seems to like it, so this is just me! (I use the Apple Mail app.)
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