Control Gmail With Custom Keyboard Shortcuts & Just a Number Pad
Gmail has great built-in keyboard shortcuts to carry out the frequent tasks like composing, archiving & replying to emails with single keystrokes. But if you’re a really active user who loves to use the less frequently used shortcuts like marking conversations & jumping between drafts & sent messages, using custom shortcuts is a better way to maximize productivity.
Gmail Lab’s Custom keyboard shortcuts feature does just this by letting users assign significant tasks to custom keys. If you’re in accounting or an expert with a number pad, it’s even possible to assign actions to each numeric key which can save a lot of time by minimizing key travel.
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Set Custom Keyboard Shortcuts in Gmail
Step 1: Press the Gear icon in Gmail & click on Settings.
Press the gear icon & select Settings
Step 2: Go to the Labs tab & look for Custom Keyboard Shortcuts. Once spotted, press Enable & scroll down to press Save Changes.
Find Custom Keyboard Shortcuts in Labs & press Enable
Step 3: Visit Settings again by repeating Step 1. Click the newly visible tab called Keyboard Shortcuts.
Visit the Keyboard Shortcuts tab in Settings
Step 4: Selecting the Keyboard Shortcuts tab will take you to a screen with options to configure every single keyboard action supported by Gmail.
Step 5: Edit the values by settings numeric keys or preferred keystrokes. Scroll down & press Save Changes.
Scroll down and press Save changes
If you’ve made any drastic changes or feel more at home with the original shortcuts you can always go back by pressing the Restore Defaults button in the Keyboard Shortcuts tab. For memorising shortcuts, Google has made is really easy to access keyboard shortcuts from anywhere in Gmail by pressing Shift + ?
Access assigned shortcut keys from anywhere in Gmail
This window dynamically updates itself to reflect the user’s preferences and changes.
Conclusion
Reassigning keyboard shortcuts to easily reachable areas is a solid way to improve any Gmail user’s productivity. If you’re feeling experimental, you can even assign shortcuts to dedicated macropads for the better results.
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