10 Cool Gmail Labs Features You Need

By Shawn Roberts
Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Gmail has come a long way since its launch in 2004 - including some really cool Labs features to make your experience even better. This week, I took the time to highlight what I think are the best 10 labs available to date.

Offline Gmail
With Gmail Offline, you can access and compose a message even when your internet connection is gone. Offline features require that you install the Google Gears plugin (for PC or Mac) to create a local cache file on your system. When you get back online and open Gmail, any changes or messages you composed are synched and sent. Simple!

Tasks
Add a to-do list to your inbox! After this lab is enabled, you'll notice a "Tasks" link under your "Contacts" link. This will open a window similar to those when chatting though Gmail. Just click anywhere in the box, start typing a task and hit return when done. Tasks can be even be created with a related email attached.

YouTube Previews
This one is pretty much self-explanatory. If a YouTube link is detected, Gmail loads a preview of that video for you to watch inline with your email. Nice!

Quick Links
Adds a box underneath your labels for bookmarking specific messages you want quick access to. Even bookmark your most frequent searches, like all those forwards from Grandma. (Thanks for those by the way.)

Forgotten Attachment Detector
We've all done it - composed an elaborate email to send along with an attachment. Then, forgot to attach the file! This feature solves that problem. After you finish your message and hit that Send button, Gmail will alert you if you didn't upload the attachment you were supposed to. Finally, no more embarrassing emails explaining why the file wasn't there to begin with.

Custom Label Colors
If you are like me, you probably have tons of labels to help keep your inbox organized. While Gmail offers several color options already - it may not be enough. In comes Custom Label Colors. Change the background color or the text color, hit apply, and you're all set!

Undo Send
Similar to the forgotten attachment fiasco, this lab feature gives you about five seconds to take back hitting the Send button by accident. You can also quickly take back that message to your boss telling him you want to quit.

Search Autocomplete
Just like in Google web search you can choose to have Gmail suggest the contacts or other search operators as you type in the search box. Great for when you don't feel like typing your friend's really long email address.

Text Messaging (SMS) in Chat
This lab features lets you save a time and money on your phone. Enable the SMS in Chat lab to quickly send and receive text messages right within the Gmail Chat window.

Inbox Preview
Gmail's newest lab allows the user to view simple, static window of the messages waiting in the inbox as it loads. Granted, this lab is more for those with slow internet connections and for frequent travelers. Then again I can see anyone using this - as long as you're in a big hurry.

Note: Gmail Labs are experimental features and can be a bit buggy. You may seem them change or break sometimes. Don't worry though - all your messages will still be intact!

(Photo Source: All images taken directly from Gmail Labs page)