How Folders and Labels Work in Gmail
Technically, folders aren't a thing on Gmail. All the messages you receive go to your Inbox, which is categorized into Primary, Promotions, Social, and Updates. The ones you see on the left panel — Inbox, Starred, Drafts, Sent, etc. — are "views" based on the action applied to a particular email.
However, the closest thing to folders in Gmail is a "label." This is what you use when you want to be a little more organized with your messages.
Labels work like tags that you can apply to emails; they allow you to categorize them into multiple groups without duplicating the message. You'll typically find them under the views (as earlier described), and you can create sub-labels when you add labels and "nest" them under existing labels.
For instance, one of my labels is "HOLIDAYS," and nestled under it are messages relating to different trips, e.g., "Europe '23" and "Asia '22."
All this said, here's how to move Gmail emails to a folder, or label.
How To Move Emails to Folders in Gmail and Remove Them From the Inbox
Many Gmail users keep their inbox neat and tidy by moving labeled emails to folders in Gmail. Some even like to remove them from Primary. If this sounds like a clever way to manage your email, here's the step-by-step guide on how to move emails from inbox to folders in Gmail:
Create a Label
- Launch Gmail on your desktop.
- In the left-hand sidebar, scroll down and click More.
- Click Create new label.
- Enter a name for your label and click Create. You can also nest this new label under an existing one.
- Tick the boxes on the left side to select the emails you want to move.
- Click the Move to: icon at the top of the inbox and select the appropriate Gmail label from the dropdown.
Move Emails to the Label
This action removes the Inbox label and moves the emails to the selected label folder. They are now only accessible through the label and are not visible in the inbox.
Create a Label
- Launch the Gmail app on your mobile device.
- Tap the three horizontal lines in the top left corner to open the sidebar, then scroll down and tap Create new.
- Enter a name for your label and tap Save.
- Select the email you want to move by pressing long on it so that a checkmark appears on the left.
- Then click on the three horizontal dots at the top right of your inbox.
- Select Move and tap the appropriate label to move the email out of your Primary inbox.
Move Emails to the Label
Why Moving Emails to Gmail Folders is Best Practice
As a freelancer, I use Gmail for both work and personal communication. My inbox can easily get out of whack if I don't make the effort to keep track of all my messages. Labeling messages is one of the best ways I can stay on top of my inbox and easily find messages.
For instance, I label freelance work-related emails into "Clients," "Invoices," and "Newsletters." I also have labels for my personal admins, like "Bills" and — as mentioned earlier — "Holidays."
As such, knowing how to move all emails from one sender to a folder in Gmail comes in really handy for me.
Putting labels takes me less than five seconds. It helps me manage my emails with ease and efficiency. On the contrary, if I forget to move multiple emails to folders in Gmail, they'll eventually pile up to an overwhelming scale and it would take me way longer to find and organize them.
Intuitive Email Labeling in Clean Email
Clean Email’s Smart Folders feature is a game-changer for anyone overwhelmed by a crowded inbox. Designed to categorize your emails into over 33 distinct folders automatically, Smart Folders simplify email management by sorting messages into intuitive groups without any manual setup.
The 33 folders include categories like "Social Notifications," "Productivity Tools," "Online Shopping," "Travel," "Job Search," and more. This automated categorization helps you quickly locate specific types of emails without having to sift through your entire inbox manually.
Important note: All Smart Folders are just labels visible only in Clean Email. They are non-invasive — they won’t affect how you've organized your labels or categories in your Gmail inbox.
Once you sign up for Clean Email, the Smart Folders feature kicks in immediately. You don’t have to lift a finger; the system analyzes your inbox and sorts emails into pre-set categories based on their content and sender type.
For users with inboxes flooded with emails, Smart Folders are an incredible time-saver. Instead of spending hours organizing emails or creating filters, everything is sorted for you right out of the gate.
With Smart Folders, you get the best of both worlds: a highly organized, intuitive email system and a clean, familiar Gmail interface.
Smart Folders on Mobile
The Smart Folders feature works seamlessly on mobile devices, including iPhone, iPad, and Android.
Once you sign up for Clean Email on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device, the Smart Folders feature immediately goes to work — as with desktop. Without requiring manual setup, it scans your inbox and sorts your emails into predefined categories based on their content and sender.
Instead of spending hours labeling and sorting emails or creating filters, everything is done for you automatically. This allows on-the-go you to focus on important tasks rather than email management.
Easily Move Emails to Folders by Automated Rules
Moving emails between folders can be a breeze with automated rules in Clean Email. Here's how:
- Log in to Clean Email on your desktop or mobile device with your Gmail credentials.
- The app automatically imports all your existing messages — and your labels —from Gmail. There’s no need for any manual import.
- Then you can find your labels by clicking on the icon next to Large Mail.
- Choose the necessary label and select the email(s) you want to move.
- Click on Create Rule in the blue action bar at the bottom, then choose Move to under the Apply action section.
- Choose the folder you want to apply from your list of imported labels and set the criteria for the rule (e.g., age, size, subject). Confirm and save your rule by clicking the Create Rule button again.
Once set up, you can edit, pause, or remove these rules later on — a feature not quite available on Gmail!
Oh, and also, creating rules as described above works for both desktop and mobile.
How Clean Email Can Organize Your Inbox with Folders
Smart Folders and Auto Clean features offer various ways to organize and manage users' inboxes efficiently. For example:
- Archiving Important Emails: Unlike Gmail, which lacks a dedicated Archive folder, Clean Email provides an Archive folder specifically for storing archived emails, ensuring that these messages are easily accessible whenever needed.
- Grouping Favorite Messages: The Favorites feature allows for the grouping of emails based on specific criteria. Users can create custom filters to easily access emails from their preferred contacts, simplifying inbox management.
These are just some ways Clean Email users can keep their inbox efficiently clean. It sure pays to know how to move emails to labels in Gmail. But it's also great to know that alternative tools can make life so much easier because you can essentially move emails to folders in Gmail automatically!
