Ever wondered on how to save your email messages and send them at a certain time period later? Email scheduling is one helpful approach which allows people to delay the delivery of composed email message until the given time frame. Earlier, you can only save the message as draft and then manually send it later. However, recently Google introduced the scheduling feature in Gmail. In addition, you can make this happen by relying on third party extensions and add-ons. In this article, we will explain how to schedule emails in Gmail using default feature, with extensions from Chrome Web Store and using add-ons from G Suite Marketplace.
Related: How to track real sender of the Gmail message?
1. Schedule Emails in Gmail
Follow the instructions as explained below to schedule your emails for future without any hassle. You can schedule an email in both mobile apps for Android / iOS and on Gmail desktop interface.
- On mobile apps, tap “Compose” button to create a new email and type your recipient emails.
- Tap on the three horizontal lines showing on the top right corner and select “Schedule send” option from the list that appears.
- On desktop interface, click on the “Compose” button and then click on the small arrow beside the “Send” button.
- Select “Schedule send” option from the option.
After that the process remains same in mobile and desktop, we will explain further setup with desktop interface. After selecting the “Schedule send” option, choose the date for scheduling your email.
You will see a success message at the bottom with the scheduled date and options to undo or view the message.
Viewing and Cancelling Scheduled Emails
After scheduling an email Gmail will create a “Scheduled” folder in the sidebar. Click on the folder to view all your scheduled emails similar to “Inbox” or “Sent” emails.
Alternatively, you can use the “in:scheduled” operator in the search box to filter all scheduled emails in your account. Each schedule email will show the corresponding date, you can hover over an email and snooze it if required. This will remind you at the snoozed date so that you will not forget the schedule email.
If you have wrongly scheduled an email, it is easy to cancel before it is sent out to the recipients. Click on the scheduled email to view the content and click the “Cancel send” link.
This will cancel the email schedule and revert the message to a draft status. You can view the cancelled emails under “Draft” folder and resend if required.
2. Using Google Chrome Extensions
The default schedule send option in Gmail is super simple. If you want more customizations then you have to use Gmail in Google Chrome with additional extensions. Chrome Web Store has lot of amazing extensions and tools which can help you in managing your daily activities. Boomerang is one such extension available at Chrome Web Store allowing users to send emails, track responses and write better emails through AI support. Furthermore, another great feature of Boomerang is that it helps you to snooze or postpone incoming emails and bringing them back after a certain time frame as specified.
Installing Boomerang Extension on Chrome
Launch Google Chrome browser and go to the Boomerang extension page. Click on the “Add to Chrome” button and install the extension on your browser.
After installation the extension will launch Gmail and prompt you to login if you haven’t logged in before.
Setting Up Boomerang with Gmail
Launch Gmail by entering your email and passwords. If you have already logged in, just refresh the Gmail page once the Boomerang extension is installed. Alternatively, click on the Boomerang icon next to the address bar on Chrome to launch your Gmail. You will see an introduction tour like below explaining the features of the extension.
We strongly recommend you to go through the tour especially if this is a first time you are trying to schedule emails in Gmail. You will see some interface changes on your Gmail like “Pause Inbox” and “Boomerang Icon” are added as shown below.
Scheduling Gmail with Boomerang
Next click on “Compose” button to create your email. Here you will see multiple options from Boomerang extension.
Send Later
Click on the “Send Later” button to start scheduling a message.
- a. Click on the “Send Later” button to and setup a time for Gmail to send this email. You have lot of predefined options like for hours, days and tomorrow morning/afternoon.
- b. If you don’t find an option in the available menu items, then click on the “Gear” icon to add your own timing to the pre-existing menu items.
- c. Click on the calendar icon under “At a specific time” and select custom date and time for the email to be sent out of your inbox.
- d. Schedule Recurring Messages – You can also schedule a recurring message and send it periodically. But this option needs an exception for service handler. Chrome will automatically block popup and service handler which you can authenticate to allow if required.
Return the Email Based on Response
Boomerang helps you to track your emails and do the necessary action depending on the response. Click on the “Boomerang this” check box and authenticate the Gmail service on Google Chrome. Choose the first dropdown box and select the days after which you want to recall the message. You can also enter a note for you to remember the return message.
Choose the condition for recalling the message on the next dropdown box. You can return the email if there are no replies, no not clicked, if not opened or regardless of any situation.
Read Receipts
The help icon on the envelope allows you to request a read receipt for your email and tracks the clicks.
Boomerang Respondable
Click on the “Boomerang Respondable” button to allow the extension helps you in writing a better emails using artificial intelligence.
Related: How to transfer one Gmail account to another?
Manage Scheduled Emails
Once you have scheduled and sent an email, the extension will show additional menu items in the Gmail sidebar to manage your emails send with the extension. You can check the returned and sent messages using the menu items.
Inbox Pause
Sometimes you want to focus on the work and avoid distraction from getting emails. Then click on the “Inbox Pause” button and setup the followings:
- Pause receiving inbox messages.
- You can unpause this option manually or set a time frame for enabling the emails again.
- Enable auto responder with a message.
- Get emails in a scheduled manner.
- Enable or disable delivering emails when the inbox is paused.
Getting Help
You can click on the Boomerang icon on the top menu bar to get the required help. If you missed the introduction tour then click on the “How to” menu and go through the tour again.
The developer also offers extensive FAQ which you refer when you are in doubt.
Removing the Extension
If you are not happy, simply right click on the extension icon next to Chrome address bar. Select “Remove from Chrome…” and confirm the deletion of the extension.
Refresh your Gmail and you will not see additional buttons from Boomerang anymore. You also need to go to your Google account’s security section and remove the data access for Boomerang to your account.
Using on Other Browsers and Options
If you are not using Chrome browser, Boomerang extension is also available for all popular browsers like Edge, Safari and Firefox. The free extension will allow you to send 10 messages per month. If you like the extension, check out the pricing plans to upgrade your subscription for sending unlimited emails. You can also use Boomerang apps on iOS and Android for scheduling Gmail messages from mobile devices.
3. Add-ons from G Suite Marketplace
If you don’t want to use any browser extensions, click on the + icon on your Gmail interface right sidebar. This will open G Suite Marketplace where you can find lots of add-ons for Gmail. Boomerang also offers two add-ons for admin and normal users with similar function like browser extension. There are many other add-ons like Gmail Scheduler and Email Studio which you can try for scheduling Gmail messages.
Remember that Gmail extensions from Chrome Web Store or G Suite Marketplace will mostly work inside Gmail inbox of web or mobile interface.
Summary
Scheduling emails in Gmail is possible with the default interface and there are no additional extensions or add-ons needed for this purpose. However, the default options is simple and you need to rely on browser extensions or G Suite Marketplace add-ons for getting additional scheduling features. Though these add-ons are free of cost for limited usage, you should upgrade to premium version for unlimited usage. So, if you are determined to manage your mailbox and schedule emails on regular bases, following one of the methods as explained above will surely give you great support.
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