How to Create a Folder in Gmail for Specific Emails

Email is one of the easiest ways to stay in contact with friends, family, and coworkers. Gmail makes it free and easy to sign up for their services, so you can use this account for work and for play.

Of course, using your Gmail account for business and pleasure means that you might get inundated with messages, and it won’t take long for your inbox to become unruly. That’s when you might be wondering how to create a folder in Gmail for specific emails.

Thankfully, it is not difficult to organize a Gmail inbox. Once you create labels in Gmail, you’ll be able to organize your inbox so that you can quickly and easily find the important emails that need to be responded to as soon as possible.

How to Create a Folder in Gmail for Specific Emails

If you are asking how to create a folder in Gmail for specific emails, the first thing you should know is that when you organize Gmail inbox, they refer to the different sections as labels instead of folders, but they function in the same way.

You can only create labels on your desktop or laptop computer. If you are wondering how to create folders in the Gmail app, you can’t.

To create labels in Gmail using your desktop or laptop computer, these are the steps you’ll need to follow:

Step 1: Log in to Your Gmail Account

The first thing you’ll need to do when asking how to create a folder in Gmail for specific emails is to log in to your Gmail account.

You’ll be asked to insert your username and password.

Step 2: Open Settings

After you have logged in to your Gmail account, you’ll then need to click on Settings. This is the gear icon that is located in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

Step 3: Click on “See All Settings”

Once you’ve clicked on the gear icon, when trying to create labels in Gmail, this will bring up a drop-down menu. At the top of the list, you should see a button that says, “See all settings.”

Click on that.

Step 4: Look for “Labels”

A new window with various options will open in your Gmail inbox, and you’ll want to look for “Labels” at the top of your screen.

Click on it.

Step 5: Scroll Down to the “Labels” Subsection

When asking how to create a folder in Gmail for specific emails, after you’ve clicked on the “Labels” option at the top, this will open a new window. The first section shows the labels that already exist within your Gmail inbox, as well as some other information about where and how they are displayed.

You need to scroll down to about the middle of the page and look for the “Labels” subsection.

Step 6: “Create a New Label”

When attempting to organize Gmail inbox, under the “Labels” subsection, you will see a button that says, “Create new label.”

Click on it.

Step 7: Name Your Label

After clicking this button, a box will appear on your screen. In the first dialogue box, it will ask you to enter a name for your new label.

What you put here will depend on what you want to call your folder/label. Perhaps you need a folder/label for shopping emails, so you might label it “Shopping.” Maybe you want a folder that contains emails from your family, so you might label it “Family.”

The titles you add should be quick and easy for you to recognize and describe exactly what type of messages are stored within. The labels will be based on personal preference, so choose names that work for you.

Step 8: Nest Your Label (Optional)

When asking how to create a folder in Gmail for specific emails, after you have given the folder/label a name, you’ll then decide where it should be located. If you want it as a main folder, then you won’t nest it under any other folder.

Should you want to create a sublabel for a label that already exists, you’ll click the box next to “Nest label under.” Then, from the drop-down menu, you’ll click the name of the label you want the new label to be placed under.

Step 9: Create Your Label

Once you have chosen a label name and decided where it should be listed in your inbox, you’ll then click “Create” or “Save.”

Your new label will then appear in the list of labels on the left-hand side of your screen.

Creating Labels Directly from Messages

Another option you have when it comes to creating folders/labels in your Gmail account is to use your messages. This step also has to be done using a laptop or desktop computer. Once again, you may be asking how to create folders in the Gmail app, but you can’t.

Step 1: Log in to Your Google Account

If you aren’t already logged in to Gmail, you’ll need to insert your username and password to get to your inbox.

Step 2: Choose a Message

When asking how to create a folder in Gmail for specific emails using your inbox messages, once you’ve logged in and have access to your inbox, you’ll then need to choose a message. Preferably, this will be a message that you’ll want to move to a folder.

Click on the box on the left-hand side to highlight it.

Step 3: Click on the Label Icon

At the top of your inbox, you will see a toolbar full of icons. Click on the label icon, which is on the far-right side and looks like a tag you might find on clothing.

Step 4: Create a New Label

After clicking on the label icon, a drop-down menu will appear. Look for the “Create new” option near the bottom of the box and click on it.

Step 5: Enter Your Label Name

Clicking on the “Create new” option will bring up a new box where you’ll need to add a label name and then decide if it will be nested under another folder that already exists.

Step 6: Click “Create”

Once you have picked a name and decided where the new folder will be located, you’ll then click “Create.”

Your new label will then appear in the list on the left-hand side of your inbox, and the message you wanted to place in this folder should automatically be moved.

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Organizing Your Inbox Using Rules

Creating folders/labels is the first step you’ll need to take when organizing your Gmail inbox. After that, you need to create rules in Gmail to ensure new messages don’t continue to clog up your inbox. If you are wondering how to filter emails in Gmail, these are the steps you’ll want to take:

Step 1: Log in to Your Gmail Account

When wondering how to create rules in Gmail, the first thing you’ll need to do is log in to your Gmail account.

Step 2: Open Settings

Once you have accessed your Gmail inbox, you’ll want to click on the gear icon in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

After the drop-down menu has opened, look for and click on the “See all settings” button.

Step 3: Choose “Filters and Blocked Addresses”

The “See all settings” button opens a new window in your Gmail account, and at the top, you will see a list of different options.

Once you find the one labeled “Filters and Blocked Addresses,” click on it.

Step 4: “Create a New Filter”

When wondering how to filter emails in Gmail, you need to create a rule. Once you have opened the “Filters and Blocked Addresses” tab, look for the “Create a new filter” text, which is found near the bottom of the screen.

Click on it.

Step 5: Decide How to Filter Your Email

Once you’ve clicked on the “Create a new filter” option, a new box will appear with a variety of different options.

Some of the ways you can filter your emails include:

Who they come from
Who they are to
The subject
If they contain specific words
The size of the email

You can also refine your filters by adding words that aren’t included in the email or if they have an attachment or not.

If you want to move emails that come from a specific sender into a folder/label, then you will type their name or address onto the “From” line.

Once you have done that, click on the “Create filter” button at the bottom of the screen.

Step 6: Apply a Label

To create rules in Gmail, after you click on the “Create filter” button, a new menu will appear with different options to choose from.

Since you are trying to send an email to a specific folder/label, you will look for the “Apply the label” option and click the box next to it.

Step 7: Choose the Label

Then, you’ll need to click the arrow on the drop-down menu next to “Apply the label” and choose which folder you want the email to be sent to.

If you have already created the label, find it on the list and click on it.

If you need to create a new label, you will choose that option from the list and then add a folder name and decide if it should be nested under another label.

Step 8: “Create Filter”

After choosing the label you want the email to go to, you will then click the “Create filter” button at the bottom of the menu.

Your rule will be created, and you should see it on the list under the “Filters and Blocked Addresses” tab.

If you are wondering how to automatically label emails in Gmail, creating rules will help with that.

Maybe you want to delete spam messages you get from certain sites. An example could be messages you get from YouTube that let you know when the people you subscribe to upload a new video.

You have the option of adding the email address to the “From” line or you can have Gmail look for a specific word, such as “Subscribe” or any other term that is used frequently. To delete the email, instead of choosing the “Apply the label” option, you’ll click “Delete it” from the list of options.

When asking how to automatically label emails in Gmail, whenever an email from that specific sender or containing certain words comes into your inbox, it will get deleted and you’ll never know it was there.

How to Manage Folders in Gmail

In addition to asking how to create folders, you might also be wondering how to manage folders in Gmail. This process is relatively easy and involves the following steps:

Step 1: Log in to Gmail

To manage your folders, the first thing you need to do is make sure you can access your inbox.

Step 2: Open Settings

Once you’ve accessed your inbox, click on the gear icon and then click on the “See all settings” button.

Step 3: Go to Labels

After opening the settings menu, you’ll then want to click on the “Labels” tab at the top of your screen.

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Step 4: Find the Label(s) You Want to Manage

Clicking on the “Labels” tab will open a new window that lists all of the labels that have been created for your Gmail account.

At the top of the screen are the system labels that are created by default. If you scroll down, you’ll be able to access the labels you’ve created.

Look for the label(s) you want to manage.

Step 5: Determine How to Manage Them

Once you have found the folder/label you want to manage, you have several options to choose from, including:

Show
Hide
Show if unread
Remove
Edit
Show in IMAP

All of the options except for the last one are in blue text. If you want to hide any of the labels, then you’ll need to click on that option until it is highlighted in black.

The Show in IMAP option is a checkbox, and if you don’t want to show the folder/label in IMAP, uncheck the box.

Be aware that you can’t remove any of the system labels created by Gmail. If you don’t want them to appear in the list on the left-hand side of the screen, then you’ll need to hide the folder.

It’s also important to be aware that if you remove a label, it won’t delete the emails within. It will get rid of the folder, but you’ll still be able to find the messages in your inbox.

An Organized Inbox Can Reduce Stress

Opening your email and being bombarded with tons of new and old emails can be incredibly stressful. Organizing your messages is in your best interest, which may have you asking how to create a folder in Gmail for specific emails. To make your inbox less chaotic, you’ll follow these steps: