How to Organize Your Inbox with Folders and Labels

Create folders to file mail into, tag messages with labels, and move between the mailboxes you have access to.

Steps

Create a folder:

1. In the folder sidebar, click the + / Create New Folder control.
2. Type a folder name and click Create. To nest it inside an existing folder, open that folder's menu first — the dialog then reads "New folder inside {parent}".
3. Built-in folders (Inbox, Sent, Drafts, Trash, Junk/Spam, Archive) keep their names and can't be renamed or deleted; folders you create can be renamed or deleted from the same folder menu.

Move a message into a folder:

1. Right-click a message (or open its More actions menu) and choose Move to folder, or select one or more messages and use the same option in the selection toolbar.
2. Pick the destination folder.

Apply a label:

1. Right-click a message and choose Label, or select messages and use Label in the selection toolbar.
2. Pick an existing label, or click Create new label and type a name.

Switch which mailbox you're viewing:

1. Click the mailbox switcher at the top of the sidebar ("Open a mailbox").
2. Search by address, mailbox name, or the person it belongs to, and select it. The sidebar's folder tree and message list switch to that mailbox — your own, a shared team mailbox, or (if you have access) another member's.

What you'll see

Folders and labels you create are immediately usable from any message's action menu. Switching mailboxes is remembered in the page URL, so refreshing or sharing the link keeps you on the same mailbox.