New Compose – Gmail

Gmail released it’s new compose window last November and has now released it to every Gmail user. Gmail claims it’s, “G-chat, only larger.”

It feels less bulky and is surprisingly much smaller than before, it makes emailing feel more like a conversation. Jason Cornwell, lead designer at Google said it will, “give you permission to write shorter messages.”

There are some differences in the functionality options when creating an email with Gmail in the new compose window, but most of the same features are available when you hover over the icons. The design is built to be able to reference other sources, such as an email, when composing a message and less focused on functions.

People began using Gmail because it was easy, now some users are  unhappy with the changes. For those who wish to work in the old version can still temporarily switch back.

This is obviously a strategic development by Gmail to become applicable to smaller devices, but some would argue that Gmail is primarily used on computers, thus the new, smaller compose window is counter-intuitive to the product usage. The new compose window doesn’t limit the amount users can write, but gives users a different feeling about how they communicating through design.

4 Tips for New Compose Gmail

1. Pop-up a new compose window. Hold shift and click compose.

2. Temporarily switch back to the old compose window. Open a new compose window, click on more options on the bottom left hand corner. Scroll up and click on temporarily switch back to old compose.

3. Send from another email account. Click on the upside down triangle next to the From field and choose which email address you would like to send from.

4. Compose in a new browser tab. Hold Control + Alt and click compose.

These are just some of the features I’ve found to help me use the new compose in Gmail. What are some useful tips you’ve found in the new Gmail compose? What do you think about the new design?

Try creating a new email newsletter in gmail with Flashissue in 8 minutes. The video below shows you how.