what to know
- To select each email, click the checkbox above the message, then click Select all [#] conversations .
- If you searched for emails, click to select all conversations that match this search .
- This applies to Inbox, All Mail, and other labels. You can then delete, flag, and archive emails in bulk.
This article explains how to select each Gmail email at once from the desktop website. Doing so will allow you to apply a new label to selected messages, delete emails in bulk, mark them as read, and more.
Once you've found the emails you want to manage, highlighting all emails is a simple two-step process.
Click the label that contains the email you want to select. For example, to select every email in your Gmail inbox, click Inbox .
Just below the search bar and above the email, click the checkbox to select all currently displayed messages. Alternatively, select the arrow next to the checkbox to select the type of email you want to select, such as read, unread, starred, or unstarred.
At this point, you have only selected the messages visible on the screen.
To select every email in Gmail (including emails not currently displayed), look at the Attach button at the top of the email list and select it. It looks like this: Select all [#] conversations in [label] .
Gmail offers some powerful search tools to help you find email quickly. For example, you can find the largest emails, find messages with attachments, or find emails that arrived on a specific date.
When using the advanced search options, you can select everything that appears in that search. It works pretty much the same way as the directions we covered above, but there's one difference...
Run a search to find the message you're looking for.
Click the checkbox above the search results to select all messages.
Click to select all conversations that match this search .
Anything you can do with an email, Gmail lets you do it with the message of your choice. When you select a large number of emails at once, you can do the following:
- delete : To delete selected emails, click the trash can icon.
- file : The icon appears as a box with a small arrow. Archiving emails removes them from view in your inbox without deleting them, which is great for organization. Once archived, the email won't appear in your inbox, but it can be found by searching or viewing your All Mail folder.
- Report spam : This button uses a stop sign with an exclamation mark in the center. Select it to move emails to your spam folder, and future emails from these senders will bypass your inbox and automatically go to your spam folder.
- Move to : This button has a folder icon on it and it allows you to move selected emails to a folder or label.
- Label : The button has a label image on it. It allows you to assign labels to selected emails.
The "More" button (three dots) provides several additional options for the email you selected. These include:
- Mark as read
- Mark as unread
- Mark as important
- Mark as not important
- Add stars
- Filter messages like this
- silent
- Forward as attachment
The Gmail app also lets you select all emails in the current view, but you can't highlight each message using the app. To bulk select multiple messages at once, tap and hold to select a message, then select Select All .
FAQTo empty your Gmail inbox, enter in:inbox in the Gmail search field. Select the checkbox at the top of the email list and click Select all conversations that match this search . Press Trash to move emails to the Trash folder; they will be permanently deleted after 30 days.
To retrieve archived messages in Gmail, select All Mail on the left side of the site. Messages located in your inbox will be marked as such, as will other flagged emails.
To recover deleted Gmail messages, select More > Trash . If you find the email you're looking for, right-click on it and select Move to Inbox . Please note that emails sent to the Trash folder will be permanently deleted after 30 days.
