The other day I told you how to show only unread messages in your Gmail inbox. Part of the reasoning behind that was that older unread mail would often get forced “off the page” by newer messages, thus increasing the chances of it getting overlooked.
However, there’s another way to make unread mail–and, for that matter, all mail–more readily visible. Gmail gives you the option of increasing the number of conversations that are visible at a time. Here’s how to find it:
1. Start your Web browser and head to Gmail.
2. Click the little gear icon in the upper right corner, then click Mail settings.
3. Near the top of the General tab you’ll see Maximum Page Size. Click the arrow in Show X conversations per page and change the number from the default (usually 25) to 50 or 100.
4. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Save changes.
You’ll notice that your inbox just got “longer.” Now you can see more of your mail at one time, both read and unread.
Tune in tomorrow for yet another way to make your Gmail inbox a little more accommodating–and even a little smarter. (In the meantime, check out some of my previous posts on improving Gmail: Preview Gmail Messages Before Opening Them and Insert an Image into the Body of a Gmail Message.)
Contributing Editor Rick Broida writes about business and consumer technology. Ask for help with your PC hassles at hasslefree@pcworld.com, or try the treasure trove of helpful folks in the PC World Community Forums.