First Steps-wise | @ WiseStamp. Gmail Backup | Safer is better. Flash introduction. Make a Local Backup Of Your Gmail Account. From Wired How-To Wiki Web-based e-mail services like Gmail, Yahoo Mail or Windows Live Mail are great for their access-anywhere capabilities. The ease and simplicity of checking your mail in a browser have caused many of us to ditch the desktop client in favor of a web-based interface.
It's one less application to have running and, in the case of Google's Gmail, the search capabilities and conversation threading blow desktop apps out of the water. However, using a service like Gmail means you don't have a local backup of your e-mail like you would if you were using a desktop client. That means if there is a glitch on Google's side, like the one February 28 that led to the deletion of approximately 40,000 Gmail accounts, you could lose everything and be forced to start from scratch.
(Update 3/11 3:00 p.m. EST: A Google spokesperson emailed Wired.com to say that no email was permanently lost, and the company has restored 100% of the data, per the incident report (pdf).) Step 1. Step 2. Gmail Shortcuts (printable cheatsheet) Gmail Shortcuts Key Definition Action c Compose Allows you to compose a new message. allows you to compose a message in a new window. <tab> then <Enter> Send message After composing your message, use tdis combination to send it automatically. K Move to newer conversation Opens or moves your cursor to a more recent conversation. J Move to older conversation Opens or moves your cursor to the next oldest conversation. N Next message Moves your cursor to the next message.
P Previous message Moves your cursor to the previous message. O or <Enter> Open Opens your conversation. U Return to conversation list Refreshes your page and returns you to the inbox, or list of conversations. y Archive* Remove from current view Automatically removes the message or conversation from your current view.
From 'Inbox,' 'y' means From 'Starred,' 'y' means From any label, 'y' means * 'y' has no effect if you're in 'Spam,' 'Sent,' or 'All Mail.' x Select conversation s Star a message or conversation Report spam r Reply a Reply all f Forward y then o. Gmail: Import old emails into Gmail with Gmail Loader.