But if you want to skyrocket your email productivity, you’ll need to use Gmail search operators.
Search operators save you tons of time by making it quick and easy to locate specific emails in Gmail. You can also use them to filter your incoming emails for a more organized mailbox experience.
In this article, I’ll briefly cover how to use Gmail search (with screenshots). I’ll also explain italy phone number library all about Gmail search operators, including the 20 best search operators, and show you how to use search operators to filter incoming emails.
Finally, as a bonus, I’ll tell you how to create email lists using Gmail search.
Further Reading:
If you’re just getting started on Gmail, check out my step-by-step guide on how to use Gmail.
Also, discover the best Gmail tips and tricks every Gmail user should know.
This Article Contains:
(Click on links to jump to specific sections)
How to Use Gmail Search
What Are Gmail Search Operators?
20 Useful Gmail Search Operators
How to Use Search Operators to Filter Incoming Emails
Bonus Tip: How to Use Gmail Search to Create Email Lists
Let’s get started.
How to Use Gmail Search
Using Gmail’s Search box is incredibly easy.
You can find the Search bar at the very top of your Gmail inbox screen, in both the web and mobile apps.
Here’s how to perform a Gmail search:
Type the keyword or phrase (search query) you’re looking for into the Search box at the top, and Gmail will automatically start listing suggestions.
You can either choose from one of these suggestions to your search query or press Enter to get more search results.
Type gmass (a search query)
But what if you want to get even more specific search results?
If you’re using the web app, Gmail’s Advanced search option can help you out here.
With the advanced Gmail search, you can narrow your search results according to:
The sender.
The file size.
The date you received the message.
The email’s label, like starred or unread Gmail messages.
Whether there was an attachment.
Google Chat messages, and more.
In addition to advanced search, you can use Gmail’s search chips feature to filter emails by sender, recipient, whether the email is unread, and so on.
Advanced search
Additionally, you can now quickly filter search results on Android devices due to a new feature similar to search chips. The new search filter is available for Android users with a Google Workspace, G Suite Basic, or Business account.
This new feature was launched alongside the “personalised results” (based on search history, location, etc.) feature for the Google app. It shows the search filter buttons (From, Sent to, etc.) under the Search bar (or Search box) of your Gmail Android app.
Unfortunately, you can’t use the search filter on your iPad or any other iOS device for that matter.
However, you can leverage Gmail’s search operators to perform a more refined search on the Gmail web app, iOS app, and Android app.
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What Are Gmail Search Operators?
Gmail’s search operators (also known as search commands) are strings of text that you can use to enhance Gmail’s search capabilities.
Think of Gmail’s search operators like the keyboard shortcuts that you routinely use to perform your tasks quicker.
These advanced search operators narrow down search results (by filtering out the irrelevant emails) to help you find the specific message you’re looking for quicker.
It’s also possible to combine more than one search operator to refine your search results further.
For example, you can combine the search parameters (operators) to find emails from a specific se
