Gmail
Gmail lets you send messages with another of your email addresses listed as the sender instead of your Gmail address. This feature helps you manage multiple accounts from the Gmail interface; it works only if you already own the email account linked to the alternate address. To send mail from a different Gmail username, you'll first need to sign up for that address. Select an option below for instructions on how to add your other addresses to your Gmail account.
I'm a Gmail or Google Apps user sending from an external address.
- Click the gear icon
in the upper right, then select Settings. - Select the Accounts and Import tab (or Accounts tab, if you're using Google Apps).
- Under Send mail as, click Add another email address.
- In the 'Email address' field, enter your name and alternate email address.
- Choose one of two options:
- Use Gmail's servers to send your mail (this is easier to set up)
- Use your other email provider's SMTP servers (we recommend this option for professional mail accounts or domains). Note for Google Apps users: Depending on your domain2 type, this feature may be disabled by default. Talk to your administrator if you have any questions.
in the upper right, then select Settings.If you choose to use Gmail's servers:
6. Click Next Step >> and then click Send Verification. Gmail will send a verification message to your other email address to confirm that you own it.
7. Open your other account and either click the link in the message Gmail sent or enter the confirmation code in the Accounts section of your Gmail settings.
If Gmail sends a verification email and you didn't receive the it, the message was probably caught by a spam or bulk mail filter in your recovery email system. Try checking your Spam or Bulk Mail folders for a message from account-verification-noreply@google.com to see if the email ended up in there.
Your Gmail address will still be included in your email header's sender field, to help prevent your mail from being marked as spam. Most email clients don't display the sender field, though some versions of Microsoft Outlook may display "From yourusername@gmail.com on behalf of customaddress@mydomain.com." For this reason, if you don't want 'on behalf of' to appear in any of your messages, we recommend using the SMTP servers of your other email provider.
If you choose to send mail through another domain's SMTP servers:6. Enter the SMTP server (e.g. smtp.domain.com), your username on that domain, and your password for that account. You may also need to adjust your port setting or SSL3 setting (talk to your other ISP4 if you need this information).
7. Click Add account >>
8. Open your other account and either click the link in the message Gmail sent or enter the confirmation code in the Accounts section of your Gmail settings.
Your other email provider has to provide authenticated SMTP support for you to use this option. We'll use TLS5 by default, or SSL if you enable it. Many email services that provide POP6 or IMAP7 support also offer authenticated SMTP support, and you can likely find your SMTP server configuration instructions alongside information about POP or IMAP. Also, this new version of custom 'From:' doesn't work with Yahoo! Mail Plus accounts just yet, but we've reached out to Yahoo! to try to get it working.
I'm a Google Apps for Business user sending from a domain alias or nickname.
- Sign in to your Google Apps email.
- Click the
in the upper-right and select Settings along the top of any page, and select the Accounts tab. - Under Send mail as, click Add another email address.
- In the Email address field, enter your name and alternate email address.
- Click Next Step >> and then click Send Verification. Gmail will send a verification message to your other email address to confirm that you own it.
- Locate the message from Gmail. Open it and and either click the link contained in the message or enter the confirmation code in the Accounts section of your Google Apps email settings.
in the upper-right and select Settings along the top of any page, and select the Messages you send will appear to be from the domain alias or nickname. The return-path of the message will indicate your primary mail addresses, but only recipients who look at the original message header will notice.
Once you're set up: sending mail
To use one of your alternate sender addresses, just pick an address from the drop-down menu in the 'From:' field when you compose a message. If you're replying or forwarding to a message, click 'change' next to the 'From:' field. You can also choose to automatically use the address to which a message was sent.
To edit the name, configuration or reply-to address for an existing entry, click edit next to the address on your Accounts tab. To delete an address, just click delete.
Note for IMAP/POP users: If you access Gmail through a POP or IMAP email client (e.g. Outlook) and would like to send messages with a custom "from" address, you have two options. We recommend that you configure your email client with two outgoing SMTP servers, one for Gmail and one for your other address. Or, you can use Gmail's outbound servers with a different "from" address. If you've already configured the alternate address, your message will be sent from:otheraddress@domain.com, sender:username@gmail.com, regardless of which custom from configuration you chose.
- SMTP: SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is a set of standard Internet procedures by which two email providers (ex. Gmail, Yahoo Mail), transfer email messages to one another’s mail servers.
- domain: A domain is a name for an IP address and is more commonly recognized as a website or web address. For example, Google.com is a domain.
- SSL: SSL (secure socket layer) is a way of changing data such as your username and password into code as it travels across the Internet, so that the data will be secure and private.
- ISP: An ISP (Internet Service Provider) is a company (ex. AOL, AT&T, and Comcast) that gives your computer Internet access. ISPs are usually the companies that come to your house and set up all the wires.
- TLS: TLS (Transport Layer Security) is a way of changing data such as your username and password into code as it travels across the Internet, so that the data will be secure and private. With mail delivery, TLS begins with an unsecured connection to the mail servers, and then upgrades to a secure connection once information is sent.
- POP: POP (Post office protocol) is a one-way download of your messages that allows you to access your mail with a mail program like Outlook Express or Apple Mail. POP only offers one-way communication, which means that actions you take in the mail program (like marking a message as read) won’t be synced to Gmail.
- IMAP: IMAP (Internet message access protocol) lets you download messages from Gmail so you can access your mail with a program like Outlook Express or Apple Mail. IMAP syncs the actions you take in Outlook Express or Apple Mail with Gmail so if you read a message in your mail client, it'll be marked as read in Gmail.