How Archive in Gmail Works.
Email archiving in Gmail gives you the ability to organize your inbox without deleting old email threads. If someone updates the old thread by sending a new email, it will show up in your inbox again. Otherwise, the archived email will remain hidden in a separate folder on Google’s servers.
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In this article, we’ll explain how Gmail’s archive feature works, how you can archive emails, and how to easily find archived emails.
What Does Archive Mean in Gmail?
Many people simply delete all their old emails when they are no longer needed. But what do you do when you might need to refer to that post again in the future? This is where archiving comes in handy.
While deleted emails are sent to the Trash folder for 30 days and then deleted from Google’s servers, archived emails are instead sent to a hidden folder where they remain indefinitely.
This helps keep your inbox organized while saving potentially important emails just in case.
How to Archive in Gmail
There are three easy ways to archive an email using Gmail.
To archive an email in a web browser:
Open Gmail and sign in to your Gmail account.Right-click on an email and select “Archive” from the drop-down menu.
Alternatively, if you have opened an email that you want to archive:
Click the “Archive” button at the top of the email. It looks like a folder with a down arrow on top of it.
To archive a Gmail email using Android or iOS:
Open the Gmail app. Find and open the email you want to archive. Click on the archive icon. It’s the same icon as in the browser version, it looks like a folder with a down arrow on top of it.
How to Find an Archived Email in Gmail
Unfortunately, there is no separate Gmail archive folder that stores emails. However, there are two ways to find archived emails. First, if you remember the subject or sender, you can find the email using the Gmail search bar.
If you don’t remember any key terms, here is how you can find archived emails on PC or Mac:
Open your Gmail inbox. Select “More” from the menu on the left.
Click All Mail.
This mailbox stores all your mail, archived or not. Scroll to find the archived mail you are looking for.
Note. You can also search using the impromptu “All Mail” label. To do this, enter “-in:Sent -in:Draft -in:Inbox” in the search bar.
To find archived Gmail messages on iPhone or Android:
Open the Gmail app.Tap the hamburger icon in the top left corner to open the sidebar.Tap the All Mail folder.
Scroll until you find the archived email.
Unfortunately, if you don’t remember any of the key terms, it can take a while to search through all your emails. That’s why it can be helpful to use a more advanced sorting strategy to reduce spam and keep your email organized, especially if you’re using work email (and need to follow secure email procedures).
How to Return Archived Emails to the Inbox
Whether you accidentally archived an email, or just want to unarchive one of your archived messages, it’s easy to get it back into your primary inbox.
To unzip emails on a Microsoft PC or Mac:
Open Gmail and find the email you want to unzip.Right-click the email and select Move to Inbox.
To unzip a message on an Apple or Android device:
Open the Gmail app and find the email you want to unzip.Tap the email to open it.Tap the three dots in the top right corner.
Select Move to Inbox.
Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Most people now receive hundreds of emails a week, and email archiving is a great way to clean up your inbox. However, the archive function is not the most powerful sorting technique. To organize your Gmail inbox, it’s best to use a combination of archive, delete, and category filters.
How Archive in Gmail Works
How Archive in Gmail Works