What I like and don't like about the new Gmail interface
Google started the rollout of the new Gmail interface yesterday. While the company stated that users would be able to try it out as early as yesterday, it appears that the new interface is on a staged rollout which means that some users may not have access to it yet.
You can check out my initial review of major changes of the new Gmail interface as it helps find out what is new and changed, and how to activate the new Gmail interface right now.
The new interface is available only on request right now and it is possible to go back to the classic Gmail design as well. It is likely that Google will make the new interface the default eventually and remove the option to go back some time later.
In this article, I will focus on the things that I like and things that I dislike when it comes to the new interface.
The new Gmail: like and dislike
While there are certainly differences to the old Gmail interface, the general layout of things has not changed. Search, compose, the sidebar, and email listings are still there and displayed in the same order on the new Gmail.
The new design looks like a new paint job more than a complete overhaul of Gmail; that is good as users generally dislike interface updates that change things around.
Quick Actions
I really like the quick actions that Gmail displays when you hover over an email. Use them to delete, archive, snooze or mark as read emails without leaving the email list view.
Quick actions are available in all three "densities" that you can display the Gmail interface in.
While you get similar options (and additional ones) when you check emails, quick actions speed it up if you need to process just a few emails.
You need to use the select option to report spam, move emails, add labels, or use other actions such as mute, marking as unread or not important, or creating filters based on the selected emails.
Direct access to file attachments
Direct access to file attachments is another feature that I like a lot. Gmail displays file attachments in the email list so that you may open them directly without having to view emails first to do so.
The option is only available in the default display density, however. If you select comfortable or compact, attachments are not listed directly in the mail listing (only the indicator that emails contain attachments).
Not designed for smaller windows / screens
One of the things that I dislike is that Google has not designed the new Gmail interface for smaller windows or screens.
If I display the Gmail window on one half of a 1920x1080 display, some menu options are not displayed at all.
If you check out the screenshot above, you may notice that the Settings button is not displayed at all. There is no option to display it other than increasing the size of the Gmail window.
Another issue that I have with the new design is that the font color, dark gray on light gray background, is not optimal in my opinion.
You may not have issues with that if Gmail is displayed in a large enough window, but if you don't, you will notice that Gmail uses a different layout for email lists.
Tip: you can change the text color in the Settings under General.
The right sidebar
Gmail displays links to the Calendar, Keep and Tasks in the right sidebar now. The sidebar is new and it cannot be removed from the Gmail interface. Even if you don't use any of the services or add-ons that you may add to the sidebar, you are stuck with it.
Closing Words
Users should treat the new Gmail interface as a preview. Google may modify it before it is rolled out as the new default interface for the web mail service.
I think that Google needs to optimize the layout further and address at least the width issue as users may not see the Settings icon at all otherwise.
Now You: What's your take on the new interface?
You said that Outlook isn’t your main email client, so which is your main one?
I think its thunderbird
It is Mozilla Thunderbird.
Awesome! This actually solved my problem… what a stupid bug.
If this is the same bug that I’ve encountered, there may be another fix: (1) hover over open Outlook item in Taskbar, cursor up to hover over Outlook window item, and right-click; (2) this should give you Restore / Move / Size / Minimize / Maximize — choose Move or Size; (3) use your cursor keys, going arbitrarily N/S/E/W, to try to move or size the Outlook window back into view. Basically, the app behaves as though it were open in a 0x0 window, or at a location that’s offscreen, and this will frequently work to resize and/or move the window. Don’t forget to close while resized/moved, so that Outlook remembers the size/position for next time.
THANK YOU Claude!!! I could get the main window to launch but could not get any other message window to show on the desktop. You are my hero!!!!
Solved my issue! 6 years later and this is still problem…
Fantastic. Thank you. Size did the trick.
This solved my Outlook problem, too. Thank you. :)
Thank you so much, this started happening to me today and was causing big problems. You are a life saver, I hope I can help you in some way some day.
You are a god – thank you!
thanks a lot…. work like charm.. :-)
Yah…thanks Claude. I’ve been having the same problem and tried all the suggestions…your solution was the answer. It had resized itself to a 0/0 box. Cheers
Excellent post. This had me baffled even trying to accurately describe the problem. This fixed it for me.
Thank you
Thanks a lot for the article. Don’t know why it happenend, don’t know how it got fixed, but it was really annoying and now it works :-)
Thanks a lot. I was facing this issue from past 3 week. I tried everything but no resolution. The issue was happening intermittently and mainly when I was changing the display of screen ( as i use 2 monitors). The only option i had was to do system restore. But thanks to you.
I’ve been tried to sole this problem for 12hours. Your comment about changing the display of screen helped me a lot!! Thanks!!
Thank you…don’t know why this happened but your instructions helped me fix it. Running Windows 10 and office pro 2007
Great tip! Thanks!
Worked for me, too – thank you!!!
It’s Worked for me, too
thank you very much!
I had a similar issue with Outlook 2013 on Windows 10 and this helped me to fix it. Thank you very much!
Thank you so much. Solved!
Considering you published this in 2012, incredible not been debugged by Microsoft.
Thank you again. M
This problem was faced by only one user logging to TS 2008 r2 using outlook 2010.The issue was resolved.
Thanks.
Great tip. Thank you!!!! If it helps, I had to use the Control Key and the arrow keys at the same time to bring my window back into view. Worked like a charm.
Thank you, this worked !!!!
Man, you are a fucking god. Thanks a lot, what an annoying bug!!
Awesome, this post solved the issue. Many thanks!