Brad Trupp

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Keeping Email Reply Chains simplier with Gmail (Productivity Tips)
(2007/09/08)

Keeping Email Reply Chains simplier with Gmail
By Brad Trupp (c) 2007

One of the great things with Gmail is the way it arranges your emails and replies by thread.

Now this is good most of the time -- but what happens when the chain of emails and replies is 10 or 20 deep and the topic has changed a few times. It gets to be a little unmanageable when you try to read back through the chain to find out something from earlier.

Sure, you can search your emails for specific words or phrases but even this can be clumsy with long email trails.

A Good Habit

A better idea, and a good habit to get into, is to change the subject line when you are replying to an email and you are taking the conversation in a new direction.

For example -- the work problems are solved and you want to make plans for the weekend -- change the subject line!

By replying without changing your subject line just adds to the current thread and makes it longer -- plus the person you are sending to may not realize that the conversation has changed when seeing the old subject line and might choose not to read the email until after the weekend.

Change the subject

Once you click on reply, there is an easily missed action Edit Subject.

It is found after recipient To: box, beside the Add Cc, Add Bcc , and Attach a file action links.

 

 

Your new response will vanish into Gmail's Sent Mail box rather than attach to the current thread.

It reappears in your Inbox once you get your reply -- having started a new thread.

Choices Choices Choices

After all, which email would you rather read at 4 p.m. on Friday? -- "Further to our discussions on..." or "Any plans for the weekend..."

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