By turning on the keyboard option in Gmail, you can get things done a lot faster. You can do things without your hands leaving the keyboard by pressing a few keys here. But, to use these shortcuts, you will need to enable them since it’s not on by default.
The good news is that the steps to enable the Gmail shortcuts are quick and easy. There will be no need to call your techy friend to help you out.
How to Enable the Gmail Shortcuts
Once Gmail is open on your computer, click on the cogwheel and click All Settings.
At the top, you’ll see various tabs to choose from. Click on Advanced, and when you scroll down a little, you should see the Custom keyboard shortcuts option.
When the shortcut option is enabled, a new tab will appear at the top: Keyboard Shortcuts. Click on it, and you’ll see all the keyboard shortcuts you can use. If you would rather use another shortcut for a specific action, simply click on the box, erase the old action and add a new one.
In this case, there is more than meets the eye. By pressing the question mark key on your computer, you’ll see even more keyboard shortcuts. At the top right, you’ll see an option to open all the shortcuts in a new window.
Also, if you scroll down a little, you’ll also see that various keyboard shortcuts are disabled. Click on the Enable option, and after a few seconds, the options will be turned on.
Keyboard Shortcuts
The actions will already have a shortcut by default in the keyboard shortcuts list. You can leave them as is, or you can customize the shortcuts. It’s also possible to an alternative option. So if you can’t decide between two shortcuts, you can go ahead and use both of them. When you’ve made the necessary changes, don’t forget to click on the Save changes button at the bottom.
If you ever change your mind about your changes, don’t worry. All the way, at the bottom of the keyboard shortcut list, you’ll find an option to restore all the shortcuts to default. It might take some time to learn the shortcuts, but you can start by learning the ones you use more frequently and move on from there.
Conclusion
When you use keyboard shortcuts for tasks, you save some valuable time. But, since there are a lot of shortcuts you can use, learning them may seem overwhelming. But, after a while, you’ll see how it wasn’t so hard after all. Which shortcuts are you going to start with? Let me know in the comments below, and don’t forget to share the article with others on social media.
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