1If you're using Firefox, you can use an extension called 'DragDropUpload'. Just search for it at http://addons.mozilla.com. Once installed, you can just drag and drop any attachments you have, directly into the Gmail text box near the 'attach' button.

2Use Gmail labels to your advantage. This can make searching through Gmail a lot easier. For example, if you want to search for all unread messages in your inbox, type “label:inbox label:unread” in the search box (without the quotation marks) and hit enter. This works even if you type 'l' instead of 'label'.

3Gmail has shortcuts for each of the existing labels like sent, starred, trash, drafts, spam etc. These are:
^b - chats
^f - sent mail
^i - inbox
^k - trash
^r - draft
^s - spam
^t - starred messages
^u - unread mail

Just type these in the search box to go directly to that label. You have to use a combination of all of these to create a special search. For example, if you want to search for unread messages which are also starred, type “label:^t label:^u” in the search box (with the quotation) and hit enter. Remember you can also shorten label with an 'l'.

4There are a ton of keyboard shortcuts you can use. First, enable keyboard shortcuts in the settings menu. Press 'c' to compose a message, 'Tab' then 'Enter' to send a message, 's' to star a message, 'r' to reply, 'a' to reply all, 'f' to forward. You can really save a lot of time with this. You can also use a combination of letters. For example, press 'g' then 's' to go to starred mail, or press 'g' then 'c' to go to contacts, 'g' then 'd' to go to drafts and 'g' then 'i' to go to inbox.

5You can use the vast capacity of Gmail to add to the storage capacity of your computer using the Gmail drive shell extension. Download it from www.viksoe.dk/code/gmail.htm. Once installed, a Gmail drive will show up in 'My Computer' and you can just use drag-drop or copy-paste commands to move data. You need to have an account with Gmail and the computer needs to be connected to the internet for it to work. Keep in mind that transfers are only as fast as your net connection. It works best if you open a new Gmail account specifically for this purpose. But don't treat the storage as a safebox, since Google may decide to block this type of usage and ban that particular Gmail ID without notice.

6If you're on Firefox, you can download the Gmail Notifier from http://addons.mozilla.com. Once installed, you can monitor multiple Gmail accounts simultaneously, from within your browser window. It will automatically alert you about new mail.

Fun stuff

Google includes some Easter eggs, or hidden features in the home page. Just go to www.google.com, type in any one of the following and hit 'I'm feeling lucky' to see what you get:

xx-bork
xx-klingon
xx-piglatin
xx-elmer
xx-hacker
google holiday
google circa
elgoog
google bsd
google easter egg
google mentalplex
google scholar
google suggest
google linux
google zeitgeist
early google
google moms
google blog search
google heart page