Between work and promotional emails, your Gmail inbox is bound to get crowded over time. While Gmail’s advanced search filters help you find the exact email in no time, labels take email organization to the next level. Yes, Gmail's version of folders is called labels. These labels are the same as a folder but with different naming schemes. Your Gmail inbox has system labels like Important, Starred, Spam, Trash, etc, and you can create new ones as per your preference. While some emails, like Outlook, only allow you to send an email to one specific folder, Gmail lets you add multiple labels to a single email. The organization possibilities are endless!



The entire system works similarly to tags in a note-taking app. Here’s how you can create folders/labels in Gmail.


Create folders in Gmail

There are two ways to create a new label. You can either use the Gmail main menu or go into settings to create new folders. It is a little quicker to use the main menu, but if you prefer using the settings, we'll show you how to do that, too.

Creating a label using main menu

Log into your Gmail account on your web browser.
Search for Labels in the Gmail menu.
Select + icon.
Enter a new label name. If you'd like, you can nest the new label under an existing label. For instance, you can create a Receipts label and add Amazon, Walmart, Target, and eBay, sub-labels under it for better organization.


Click on Create button, and the new Gmail label is ready to use.





If you prefer to navigate thorough settings to create labels, you can do that as well. Here’s what you need to do.

Open Gmail on a web browser and click on the Settings gear in the top right corner.
Select See all settings.
Move to the Labels tab.
Scroll down and select Create new label button.
Enter the label name, nest it under another label (if you prefer), and hit the Create button.



Add a label to an email

Now that you have created folders in Gmail, it’s time to organize your emails.

Head to your inbox and open an email.
Select the Labels icon at the top.
Check your preferred labels and select Apply.
The label will appear right beside the email subject.



Once you've applied the label, that email will appear under whichever label you selected. However, you have to repeat this process for every email. You can also drag and drop you emails to a label. Just select the email you want to move to highlight it, and drag it to the label you want. You can even drag multiple by checking the box and dragging them all at once.



Automatically move an email to a folder

Manually adding labels to an email can be a tiring and time-consuming process. Thankfully, Gmail allows you to automate the process for incoming emails. For example, you can add a Credit Card bills label in Gmail and create a rule to send all future emails from the credit card company to the label. Here's how to do it.

Select Show search options icon in the Gmail search bar at the top.
Add the sender’s email address that you automatically want to move to a folder.
Click on Create filter button.
Enable Apply the label checkbox.
Select the label from the drop-down menu.
Select Create filter button.



Gmail will directly send incoming emails from the sender to a specific folder.


Customize labels in Gmail

All labels use boring gray color by default. It might get difficult for you to differentiate between dozens of them. Gmail allows you to add color to a label.


Select the three-dot menu beside a label in Gmail main menu.
Expand the Label color menu.
Select one of the pre-built colors or add a custom color.


The world of colored labels is now in the palm of your hand. You can add green color to the invoice label, red to Amazon one, etc. Go wild! It's your in-box.


Create folders using Gmail mobile apps

Although the Gmail Android app is quite capable, you can't create labels on it. Interestingly, you do have an option to create a label in Gmail’s iOS app.


Open Gmail on iPhone.
Tap on the hamburger menu in the top left corner.
Scroll down and select Create new from the Labels menu.
Add label name and hit the Done button at the top.


Check your newly created label from the Gmail hamburger menu. Do note that you can’t nest a new label under any existing label from the app.



Rename or remove folders in Gmail

When you no longer require a specific label in your workflow, you can remove it to streamline the label section.

Log on to Gmail using a web browser.
Find the label on your Gmail menu and click on the three-dot icon next to it.
Select Remove label to delete it.


You can edit (rename) the label from the same menu and even add new sub labels to it. So, there's no need to create a new label every time.


Folder alternatives in Gmail

If you don’t see an option to create labels or aren’t a fan of a manual process, you can rely on default labels and categories to organize your inbox.The default Gmail view already comes with Primary, Social, and Promotions categories. You can use them to filter personal emails from your bank offers and social media updates.




You can also opt for default labels such as Starred and Important. Select the star icon beside an email or click on the arrow-style icon to mark the conversation important. You can add several star colors as well.


When starring an email, you can click on it again and change it to a green-check, purple-question, and blue star for more diverse organization options. You can find Starred and Important section from the Gmail main menu.




Organize your emails like a pro

Gmail labels will help streamline your email inbox. If you are a power user, you can go a step further by using Gmail keyboard shortcuts to fly through the Gmail without lifting your fingers from the keyboard. But for now, you can obtain ultimate organization by creating rules to automate important incoming emails to a chosen folder, just like your own personal secretary.









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About The Author








Parth Shah
(17 Articles Published)












Parth started his career by covering tech news. A tech enthusiast by heart, you will find him talking about how-tos, guides, app comparisons, tutorials, and troubleshooting tricks on Android Police and Guiding Tech. Take away his mechanical keyboard and you will see him dealing in diamonds in Surat, India.




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Source: Android Police

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