7 Google Labs add-ons for Gmail that will really save you time

GMail Lab add-ons are Google experiments that add extra functionality to GMail. You can view the complete list by clicking on ‘Settings’ (top right hand corner of GMail window) and then clicking on the ‘Labs’ tab. To activate any add-on you click ‘Enable’ next to the add-on description and then the ‘Save Changes’ button.  These features are experimental and hence can be removed and modified at any time so don’t get too attached!

Here are among the most helpful GMail Labs features.

Tasks

After enabling this feature a ‘Task’ link is added to the left hand side navigation bar in your GMail window, which if clicked presents a Task list pane. You can add tasks to this list and edit them by attaching notes and due dates.  Now you can remember to buy more milk while writing emails.

Google Search

This add-on lets you search for stuff on Google and see the results in the GMail window itself. Search query results appear in a small new pane.  When you press ‘enter’ for a search new query only a few results are shown at first and you view more by clicking a ‘more’ button at the bottom of the results pane.

Inserting Images

Believe it or not but you can’t by default, add images to emails you compose in GMail. You can though with this feature activated.

Multiple Inboxes

With this feature activated you can add other message folders to your GMail inbox window so you don’t have to navigate to other pages. For example you can choose to see your ‘Sent Messages’ or ‘Drafts’ in small panes beside your inbox.

Youtube previews in mail

With this add-on any YouTube videos that are sent as links can be viewed in GMail itself without having to click on the link and navigate to YouTube.

Mouse Gestures

This allows you to navigate with a swipe of your mouse. Hold down the right mouse button and drag it right to view the next conversation, drag it back to see the previous one and drag it up to go back to your inbox.

Canned Responses

Save frequently sent email messages and send them with a click of a button. Activation adds a button next to the compose form.