Read Receipts

How can I know if my recipient has opened/read the email that I sent?

By far the easiest and most reliable way to know if your recipient has read a message is to ask them in the message to send you a brief reply.

While Google Apps (for business and government) supports read receipts, Gmail's web interface does not support automatic read receipts or message disposition notifications (MDNs).

But I really want an automatic notification.

Some mail clients allow you to set a special header that requests an automatic receipt notification from the receiving mail client. While you can't do this in Gmail's web interface, you can use a desktop mail client that supports this feature (such as Mozilla Thunderbird or MS Outlook) to send your mail via Gmail's SMTP servers.

There are also variety of web-based services that can be used with any email address to send tracked mails. You should think very carefully before using such services, because they often use shady techniques to track emails. For example, they frequently use techniques otherwise employed only by spammers. Your recipients may consider such techniques to be an attempt to violate their privacy.

What's the problem with read receipts?

There are essentially two problems with read receipts in general:

They are unreliable: For a read receipt to work, the receiving client must support it and be configured to use it. Many clients (including most webmail services) will simply ignore any read receipt request. For this reason, not receiving a read receipt doesn't mean that the mail was not read. In addition, some systems may reply to read receipts without the user having truly opened the message. So receiving a read receipt doesn't necessarily mean the mail was read. In other words, read receipts tell you almost nothing. Even the sneakier techniques used by mail tracking services are far less than perfectly reliable. 

They may be considered a violation of privacy: Your recipient may not want you to know exactly when they opened your email. For this reason, most modern email clients won't send a read receipt without the explicit confirmation of the recipient.

I don't care about that. I still think Gmail should have read receipts.

Feel free to use the Suggestion Form to let them know.

Why is my browser redirecting repeatedly?

[1]

To update the time settings on a Windows machine:

1. Double-click the time in your taskbar.
2. Click the Time Zone tab along the top of the dialogue box.
3. Verify that your time zone is selected. If the time zone in which you are located is not displayed, select your time zone from the drop-down menu.
4. Verify that the box beside Automatically adjust clock for daylight savings changes is checked.
5. Click OK.

For other platforms, please refer to your operating system's help documentation.

 

Gmail Lab Not Showing

1. Make sure that you are in the New Gmail Version by using a Supported browser

     list supported browser click here

2. If you using Google Apps for your domain make sure that you have enable the new service and new release click here

 

The Gmail Labs will not show if you using a older browser such as IE 6 or Firefox 1,& 2 Safari 1 or if you using the older version of gmail.

 

3. Check to see what version of browser you using click here

Gmail Customer Care Spam/Scam

If you received an email that is From Gmail Customer Care

That may look simmer to this email below.

 

Dear Account User

This Email is from Gmail Customer Care and we are sending it to every

Gmail Email User Accounts Owner for safety. we are having congestions

due to the anonymous registration of Gmail  accounts so we are

shutting down some Gmail accounts and your account was among those to

be deleted.We are sending you this email to so that you can verify and

let us know if you still want to use this account.If you are still

interested please confirm your account by filling the space below.Your

User name,password,date of birth and your country information would be

needed to verify your account.

Due to the congestion in all Gmail users and removal of all unused

Gmail Accounts, Gmail  would be shutting down all unused Accounts, You

will have to confirm your E-mail by filling out your Login Information

below after clicking the reply button, or your account will be

suspended within 24 hours for security reasons.

* Username:

* Password:

* Date of Birth:

* Country Or Territory:

After following the instructions in the sheet, your account will not

be interrupted and will continue as normal. Thanks for your attention

to this request. We apologize for any inconveniences. Warning!!!

Account owner that refuses to update his/her account after two weeks

of receiving this warning will lose his or her account permanently.

 

 

You should always be wary of any message that asks for your personal information, or messages that refer you to a webpage asking for personal information. If you receive this type of message, especially from a source claiming to be Google or Gmail, please DO NOT provide the information requested.

 

Messages asking for personal information

http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=8253&topic=12786

 

This has been Posted Many Times  other topics on this click here and here

check the headers learn how to view headers

Reading full email headers click here

Why is my browser redirecting repeatedly?

To update the time settings on a Windows machine:

1. Double-click the time in your taskbar.
2. Click the Time Zone tab along the top of the dialogue box.
3. Verify that your time zone is selected. If the time zone in which you are located is not displayed, select your time zone from the drop-down menu.
4. Verify that the box beside Automatically adjust clock for daylight savings changes is checked.
5. Click OK.

For other platforms, please refer to your operating system's help document

 

 

 

Reference link   Browser endlessly redirects

 

Adjust Time in Mac.

Launch the System Preferences Select the Apple menu in the upper left-hand corner of the menu bar and drag your cursor to "System Preferences." Release the mouse to launch "System Preferences."

Step2

Date and Time In "System Preferences," click "Date and Time."

Step3

Date and Time Preferences Click the "Date and Time" button at the top of the preference panel. Check "Set date and time automatically" if your Mac is connected to the Internet to have your time set automatically. If your Mac is not connected to the Internet, you can set the date and time manually using the arrows above the calendar and clock icons.

Step4

Time Zone preferences Click the "Time Zone" button at the top of the preference pane to set your Mac's time zone. You can select the time zone by clicking on the city nearest to your location on the time-zone map, or by clicking on the closest city's pop-up button and dragging to the nearest city to your location.

Step5

Clock Preferences Click on the "Clock" button at the top right of the "Date and Time" preferences pane to set the preferences for the menu-bar clock on your Mac's desktop. Click "Show Date and Time" to enable the menu-bar clock. Selecting "Digital" will display the time digitally; clicking "Analog" will display a round analog clock in the menu bar. The check boxes below the radio buttons will further customize your menu-bar clock. If you check the "Announce the Time" box, your Mac will announce the time on the hour, half- or quarter-hour. The "Customize Voice" button selects the built-in voice to use to announce the time. When you've finished setting up your "Date and Time" preferences, click the red "Close Window" button in the upper left-hand corner of the preferences pane to save your changes.

Gmail Notifer Patch

Good news for Windows users - Gmail have a small download available that will 

set the Notifier to use https. Here's the instructions: 

1. Download Patch.  

2. Open up the folder. 

3. Double-click on the file called notifier_https.reg to install it. 

4. Click 'yes' when you're asked to confirm if you want to add the 

information to the registry. 

5. Restart the Notifier. 

And you're done! The Notifier will now work with Gmail set to always 

use https. If you decide you don't want to use that setting anymore, 

you'll need to install the other file in the zip folder - 

notifier_https_undo.reg - to reset Notifier. 

Help Center on Gmail Notifer 

 

GHD Discussion annoucement

Why can't I download messages I send from my POP client?

 

If you really want your email download from email client  you must use the Recent mode

 

Recent mode fetches the last 30 days of mail, regardless of whether it's been sent to another POP client already.

 

In your POP client, replace 'username@gmail.com' in the Username field your POP client settings with 'recent:username@gmail.com'. Blackberry users will be signed in to recent mode automatically, without adding 'recent:'.

Once you enable recent mode, please be sure to configure your POP client to leave messages on the server according to the instructions below:

In Outlook, on the Advanced tab, check the box next to Leave a copy of messages on the server.

In Outlook Express, on the Advanced tab, check the box next to Leave a copy of messages on server.

In Apple Mail, on the Advanced tab, remove the check next to Remove copy from server after retrieving a message.

 

http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=47948  

In Thunderbird, on the Server Settings tab, check the box next to Leave messages on server.

Gmail New Drag and Drop Labels

[1]If you sudden find that one of your Label Missing here how to find it.

1. Click xxx more then from drop down menu you will find your missing label  see the image below.
2. To show your Label again click Manage your Labels. this will open your Label tab in your gmail setting.
3. you can click show or hide any Label or System Label except your Inbox Label
4. All of these changes also mean the end of Right-side Labels, an experimental Gmail Labs feature. This is the first Labs feature we're retiring. (The idea behind Labs was always that things could break or disappear at any time or they might work so well that they become regular features. More on that soon...) Now that labels aren't in their own little box and take up much less space, moving them around the screen didn't seem as important. We realize quite a few of you used and liked Right-side Labels, so if you feel strapped for left nav screen real estate without it, try turning on Right-side Chat in Labs instead.

Getting someone else's mail (the dots issue)

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Description

The answer is quite simple- Gmail does NOT recognize dot in username. That means username@gmail.com and user.name@gmail.com are same.
If you own username1@gmail.com, you also own user.name1@gmail.com. To check that send an email to user.name1@gmail.com  (if you own username1@gmail.com), you'll get the email in your own email id.
Gmail has described it very well in this article. Read it. 
I have done a testing [the test I described above] in my own Gmail account. You can see the test in this video here:

Conclusion

So if you own username1@gmail.com you also own user.name1@gmail.com

Questions And Answers

Q. How can I block them?
A. Use filter. Gmail recognizes 'dot' in filter. So, if you own username@gmail.com you can set filter for user.name@gmail.com. I suggest to select criteria 1) Archive 2) Label (create a label for these messages)
Q. I am getting credit card, travel tickets, hotel bills etc.
A. Those emails are being misaddressed. Ignore them.

Still I Don't Believe, I Have Proof

Since now hundreds of users have come to Gmail Help, but no one could prove that there may be two different accounts username@gmail.com and user.mame@gmail.com
If you can manage to collect some proof, post in Gmail Help Forum. 
Q. I don't want to post screenshot of my email page in public forum, it has my personal information!
A. Worry not. Just post that you have proof. A Top Contributor or helper will tell you how to send that personally. But, most probably, you can't collect any proof. :-)

Documentation Time

Here we are providing some documentation which have been published already by Gmail or Google Team.
Okay, we have some documentation, if you are interested check these: 

 

Repost

This week's hot topic is dots in usernames.

We still get a lot of inquiries about dots, and this leads to confusion about security.

For example, many users will say that they are receiving messages   addressed to 'user.name [at] gmail.com' but their email address is   'username [at] gmail.com.' Or vice-versa. The confusion about security   is that many users believe they are receiving someone else's mail, and   that someone else must also be receiving mail meant for them.

But, don't fret - Gmail doesn't pay attention to dots in usernames. In   many ways, this is an added feature of Gmail.

For example, let's assume my username is 'gmail.guide [at] gmail.com.'   This is the address I give to friends and family. Now, if I also wanted   to use this as my work address, I could make business cards with   'g.mail.guide [at] gmail.com,' and create a filter to send those   messages to my 'Work' label.

So, if you own 'gmail.guide [at] gmail.com,' you also own 'gmailguide'   and 'g.m.a.i.l.g.u.i.d.e' and 'gm.ai.lg.ui.de,' and many more   possibilities!

For security purposes, you can only log in with the exact username you   used to create your account. So, if you started with dots, you have to   log in with dots, but people who send you messages don't have to   include dots.

Also, if you find that you're always receiving spam messages at a   variation of your username. For instance, my username is 'gmail.guide'   but I always get spam sent to 'gmailguide' and it ends up in my inbox.   If that's the case, you can create a filter for messages address to   'gmailguide' and send them directly to Trash.

Hot-topic 2006 by Gmail Guide

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Repost from Gmail Guide  Feb.21,2007

You can rest assured that no one else is getting emails you send to   any dot variation of your username. Gmail's policy about dots in   usernames was the same the first day the product launched as it is   now. The messages you are receiving that aren't intended for you are   the result of an error on the part of the sender and are not due to a   bug in Gmail.

Thanks,   ~Gmail Guide

Gmail Guide post from Feb. 21,2007

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Repost of the Gmail Blog

Gmail Blog Post March 5,2008

2 hidden ways to get more from your Gmail address

Wednesday, March 05, 2008 8:10 AM

Posted by Robby Stein, Associate Product Marketing Manager    I recently discovered some little-known ways to use your Gmail address that can give you greater control over your inbox and save you some time and headache. When you choose a Gmail address, you actually get more than just "yourusername@gmail.com." Here are two different ways you can modify your Gmail address and still get your mail:

• Append a plus ("+") sign and any combination of words or numbers after your email address. For example, if your name was hikingfan@gmail.com, you could send mail to hikingfan+friends@gmail.com or hikingfan+mailinglists@gmail.com.
• Insert one or several dots (".") anywhere in your email address. Gmail doesn't recognize periods as characters in addresses -- we just ignore them. For example, you could tell people your address was hikingfan@gmail.com, hiking.fan@gmail.com or hi.kin.g.fan@gmail.com. (We understand that there has been some confusion about this in the past, but to settle it once and for all, you can indeed receive mail at all the variations with dots.)

For me, the real value in being able to manipulate your email address is that it makes it really easy to filter on those variants. For example you could use hikingfan+bank@gmail.com when you sign up for online banking and then set up a filter to automatically star, archive or label emails addressed to hikingfan+bank. You can also use this when you register for a service and think they might share your information. For example, I added "+donation" when I gave money to a political organization once, and now when I see emails from other groups to that address, I know how they got it. Solution: filtered to auto-delete.



2 hidden ways to get more from your Gmail address

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also you will have the same username as  @gmail.com  and @googlemail.com  

From Official Gmail Help Center.

Sometimes you may receive a message intended for someone whose address resembles yours but has a different number or placement of dots. For example, your address might be homerjsimpson@ gmail.com, but the message was sent to a Homer.J.Simpson@ gmail.com. What's going on?

Gmail allows only one registration for any given username. Once you sign up for a particular username, any dot or capitalization variations are made permanently unavailable for new registration. If you created yourusername@ gmail.com, no one can ever register your.username@ gmail.com, or Your.user.name@ gmail.com. Furthermore, because Gmail doesn't recognize dots as characters within usernames, adding or removing dots from a Gmail address won’t change the actual destination address. Messages sent to yourusername@ gmail.com, your.username@ gmail.com, and y.o.u.r.u.s.e.r.n.a.m.e@ gmail.com are all delivered to your inbox, and only yours.

If you're homerjsimpson@ gmail.com, no one owns Homer.J.Simpson@ gmail.com, except for you. Sending mail to Homer.J.Simpson@ gmail.com is the same as sending mail to homerjsimpson@ gmail.com, or even HOMERJSIMPSON@ GMAIL.COM. If you're getting mail addressed to Homer.J.Simpson@ gmail.com, most likely someone was trying to send a message to Homer.J.Sampson@ gmail.com, or Homer.J.Simpson1@ gmail.com, and made a mistake. You might even get messages from mailing lists or website registrations because the intended recipient accidentally provided the wrong email address. In these cases, we suggest contacting the original sender or website when possible to alert them to the mistake.

For security reasons, when you log in to Gmail, you must enter any dots that were originally defined as part of your username.

Note: Google Apps recognizes dots. If you'd like to receive mail with a dot in your username, please ask your domain administrator to add the desired username as a nickname.

This have been  Gmail Policy since Day 1

Gmail Help Center dots artcles

http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=10313

Learn about Dots

testimonial from a user