How To Filter Gmail

Knowing how to filter Gmail messages will help you to break free of a cluttered inbox.  Sometimes the best way to manage your mail messages is to create filters that follow instructions that you put in place.  Apply these easy steps to your Gmail account and clean up your mailbox.

1. Start up a filter.  Click the "Create a filter" link located next to the Search button on top of the Gmail page to open up the filter options.  There is no limit to how many filters you are allowed to create.
2. Enter the filter.  This includes names and email addresses in the "To" and "From" fields, subject criteria, or keywords that the email will or will not contain.  However, any messages already in the Trash or Spam folders will not be searched.
3. Test search.  Click the "Test Search" button to see which email fits the criteria you specified.  When finished adjusting your criteria, click the "Next Step" button.
4. Select an action.  Choose what you would like Gmail to do to incoming messages that meet your criteria.  This includes skipping your inbox, applying labels to the message, or automatically deleting the message altogether.  You can even create a filter to forward up to twenty mail messages to your other email addresses as long as you can verify ownership of those addresses.  All current and future messages within your filter parameters will adhere to the action you choose.
5. Create the filter.  Click "Create Filter" once you have made your selections, and Gmail will automatically apply your filters.  You may delete any of your filters by viewing them and clicking on the "delete" link.  At the same time, you may edit and update the filters by clicking the "edit" link under the filter settings.