Today we’re happy to announce a host of upgrades to our free Gmail Label Sharing Chrome plugin.
Several weeks ago, we introduced “Gmail Label Sharing and Chat” for the plugin, giving every Gmail user a way to have Slack-style chat conversations, without leaving their email.
Today’s feature upgrades expand the capability of Gmail Label Sharing by adding:
- Status Commands
- Private Notes
- Team Icons
- File Command
- Backup Command
Each of these features will work for anyone who uses Gmail and has the free Gmail Label Sharing Chrome extension installed.
New Feature #1: Status Commands
Status Commands gives you a simple, powerful way to organize messages within a Gmail label. Here’s how to use them:
1. Place Messages in your Shared Label
You can manually drag and drop an email message into your shared Gmail label, or you can set up a filter to automatically apply classify email messages into a Gmail label with pre-set criteria like: who it’s sent from, subject, keywords, etc.
For example, you could create a filter that will place all emails from your website into the “inbound lead” Gmail label.
If you’ve shared the label with your coworkers, they’ll have access to any of those email messages at the same moment that you do.
2. Inside a Label, Open a Message and Look for the Chat Window
The chat window will automatically appear on the right of the email message. Unlike most chat applications, You won’t have to manually create a channel or a folder to keep track of your chat conversations.
The Gmail Label Sharing & chat tool is automatically available.
3. In the Instant Projects Chat Window, Type “/status [keyword or keywords]”
This will create a Status Command label that will be applied to the email.
For example, you could type:
- /status lead
- /status qualified prospect
- /status pending approval
- /status negotiating
- /status closed
To change the status, simply type a new command and it will overwrite the email’s status command.
4. Go Back to the Label
The Status Command labels will be easy to see in the email list.
Scenarios for Status Commands
Status Commands are perfect for any team looking to track their work through a standard process. Sales teams, real estate agents, and lawyers could all create simple stages to track their progress.
For example, a sales team could use Status Commands for a simple CRM system. In that case, your status commands would be “/status [pipeline stage]” with status labels such as:
- “Website lead”
- “Qualified lead”
- “Demo scheduled”
- “Negotiation”
- “Pending contracts”
- “Closed”
- “For future cultivation”
Realtors, lawyers, or anyone with a standard process could create similar labels to track workflow.
New Feature #2: Private Notes
Private Notes can be used the same way you might use the “notes” fields in a CRM or project management tool.
It’s a place to add your reference notes, without having to send yourself an email or put the note in some other tracking system.
To use this feature, place an email message inside a label. Use a label that is not shared with anyone else. Then open the message. You’ll be able to add notes using the box on the right.
New Feature #3: Team Icons
Team icons help you see which labels are shared and which labels are private to your email account.
Just look for the new “team” icon next to a label. If you see the icon, you know the label is shared with others.
New Feature #4: File Command
File Command lets you add files from Dropbox, Google Drive, or other cloud storage services directly into the Instant Projects chat area.
To use File Command, simply type “/file” into the chat area, then follow the prompts. A link to the document will appear in the chat area when you’re done.
New Feature #5: Backup
Backup lets you quickly create a backup archive of your entire Gmail label folder including all emails, chats, and attachments.
To set up a backup, type “/backup” in the Instant Projects chat area and follow the prompts.
Turn Gmail Into a Team Productivity Powerhouse
We’ve been finding all kinds of ways to use these new features for our work here at cloudHQ. If your team uses Gmail, these new features will help you be more productive.
Noone ever needs to leave their Gmail inboxes, allowing you and your team to easily share, track, and collaborate on messages. And you can do it without having to switch between email and chat, CRM, or project management applications.
Try it out today and see how it works for you.