Remember the old Gmail—you know, before instant chat, the preview pane, the automatic message sorting, and the much-hated “new look”? Here’s five ways to turn back the clock on some of Gmail’s latest (and for some, most annoying) new features.
Go back to the “Classic” inbox
Gmail offers a variety of new ways to organize your inbox, from displaying unread messages first to bubbling up “Important” emails that (supposedly, anyway) matter most to you.
You can get back to the "classic" Gmail inbox in just a few clicks.
Want your Gmail messages ordered the old-fashioned way—that is, chronologically? Here’s what you do.
- Click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the screen, select Mail Settings, and then click the Inbox tab (it’s almost all the way over on the right side of the page).
- Click the pull-down menu marked “Inbox type” and select “Classic.”
- You can also nix the little yellow flags next to the messages that Gmail thinks are “Important” to you; just select the “No Markets” option under “Importance markers.”
- Click the “Save Changes” button. All done!
Deactivate the preview pane
Personally, I like being able to sneak a peek at my messages from the Gmail inbox view, but the preview pane (which debuted last summer) isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Luckily, you can turn the preview pane off in just a few clicks.
Just click the button or select "No Split" to remove the Gmail preview pane.
Just go to your inbox, find the preview pane icon (it’s in the top-right corner of the screen, directly above your list of messages), and click the button. Buh-bye, preview pane. (You can also click the downward arrow and select “No split.”)
Turn off chat
Gmail isn’t just about email, of course; it also comes with its own, built-in online chat client, which hums away in the bottom-left corner of the page while you’re checking your messages. It’s a handy feature for multitasking chatters, but you can also return to the simpler days of email-only Gmail if you wish.
- Click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the page, select Mail Settings, then click the Chat tab.
- Under the main Chat heading, click the “Chat off” setting, then click the “Save Changes” button to shut Gmail’s chat window.
Unthread your conversations
Gmail’s “conversation view,” which groups individual messages in an ongoing email thread together, isn’t really a new feature; in fact, it’s been standard in Gmail for as long as I can remember. Even so, I still hear regular complaints from Gmail users who want their messages—even those in lengthy conversation threads—to appear the “old” way rather than grouped together. Well, your wish is my command.
- Head back to the gear icon in the top-right corner of the page, click it, select Mail Settings, and click the General tab.
- Find the Conversation View heading (it’s sixth from the top) and click the “Conversation view off” setting.
- Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page and click the “Save Changes” button.
Yes, you can go back to the old Gmail look—temporarily, anyway.
Banish Gmail’s “new look”
“Annoying,” “cluttered,” “cumbersome”: that’s how many of you have described Gmail’s new, modern-looking makeover, which first reared its ugly head (depending on your point of view, of course) last fall.
Google has been moving Gmail users over to the new look in waves, and it says everyone must make the endure the shock of the new sooner or later. But if you want to go back to the old Gmail—at least for a little while, anyway—here’s how.
Update [4/19/12]: Well, it looks like Google has finally pulled the “revert to the old Gmail look” option. The good news, though, is that Google has posted a URL that will let you return to the old Gmail—for now, at least. There are also options for changing the look and feel of your “new” Gmail inbox.
- From the new Gmail interface, click the larger of the two gear icons—the one that’s just below the smaller gear icon at the very top-right corner of the screen.
- From the drop-down menu that appears, select “Revert to the old look temporarily”—and yes, “temporarily” is the key word.
- A pop-up window will appear that reads “Thanks for trying out the new look”; go ahead and click the blue “Revert to the old look temporarily” button to return to your inbox, with the classic Gmail look restored.
Have more Gmail questions, or your own tip to share? Let us know in the comments below.
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