In Gmail, you can reply directly to comments in Google Docs—and even update sharing permissions—right from your inbox. You can also start video meetings, chat with colleagues, work with your team in Spaces, and more.
On this page
- Collaborate on documents & reply to comments
- Start or join video meetings
- Chat with colleagues
- Send surveys by email
- Let someone else access your inbox
- Share a mailbox with a team
Note: The instructions in this guide are primarily web only. Get switching information for mobile devices.
Collaborate on documents & reply to comments
- In Outlook: Send copies to colleagues as email attachments.
- In Gmail: Share Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, update sharing permissions, and reply to comments without leaving Gmail.
Share files and update permissions in Gmail
- Open Gmail .
- At the top left, click
Compose.
- In the "To" field, add recipients.
- Add a subject.
- Add a link to the Docs, Sheets, or Slides file you want to send.
- If prompted, share the file with recipients.
- At the bottom of the page, click Send.
Reply to comments from Gmail
- Open Gmail .
- Open the message notifying you of new activity in the document.
- In the Comments section, do any of the following:
- In the Reply field, type your reply, then click Reply.
- Click Mark as done to close the comment in the document.
- Click Open to open the document.
Start or join video meetings
- In Outlook: Start or join Skype or Teams meetings from the Calendar tab. Requires Outlook.com or Skype account.
- In Gmail: Start or join video meetings with Google Meet in the Gmail sidebar.
Start a video meeting
- Open Gmail and in the sidebar, click Meet
New meeting.
Note: If you don't see Meet in Gmail, check your Gmail settings. - In the Share your new meeting window, click Join now.
- If you want to join using your computer’s camera for video and microphone for audio, click Join now.
- If you want to dial in by phone, click Join and use a phone for audio and follow the on-screen prompts.
You can use this feature only if your organization supports it. For help, contact your administrator.
If you join by phone, you can still use your computer for video. For details, see Use a phone for audio in a video meeting.
Join a video meeting
- Open Gmail and in the sidebar, click Meet.
- Choose an option:
- Click Join a meeting and enter a meeting nickname or code
Join.
- To join a scheduled meeting, point to a meeting under My meetings
- Click Join a meeting and enter a meeting nickname or code
Chat with colleagues
If you have a quick or urgent question, you can send a direct message to someone instead of an email. In Gmail, you can start a Chat conversation right from your inbox.
- In Outlook: Not available on the computer version of Outlook.
- In Gmail: Hold conversations in Chat in the Gmail sidebar.
Turn Chat on or off in Gmail
- On your computer, open Gmail.
- At the top right, click Settings
See all settings.
- At the top, click Chat and Meet.
- Next to “Chat,” to turn Chat on or off in Gmail, select Google Chat or Off.
- Click Save Changes.
See all settings.
Send a direct message to someone
- Go to Google Chat or your Gmail account.
- If the name isn’t already under "Chat," click Start a chat
.
- Enter a name or email address. Suggestions appear as you enter text.
- To send a 1:1 message to someone outside of your organization, enter their email address.
- Click the person you want to message.
- Enter a message, then click Send
.
Start a group conversation
- Go to Google Chat or your Gmail account.
- Under "Chat," click on an existing group conversation, enter a message
- If the group conversation isn’t under "Chat,” click Start a chat
- Enter a name or email address. Suggestions appear as you enter text.
- Click Done
.
- Enter a message, then click Send
Send surveys by email
- In Outlook: Take a poll through email.
- In Gmail: Take a poll using Google Forms.
Send a poll in email
To automatically send the form in an email notification when you share a form, click the box next to “Notify People.” If you notify responders when you publish the form, the email sent to them includes the form.
Tip: You can’t embed a form in an email when it contains:
- File upload question
- Rating question
- Image in a question or an option
- Secured quiz
Let someone else access your mailbox
- In Outlook: Add delegates in account settings.
- In Gmail: Add delegates in settings.
Delegate email
- At the top right, click Settings
- Click Accounts and Import.
- In the Grant access to your account section, click Add another account.
Note: Your organization may restrict email delegation. If you don’t see this setting, contact your administrator. - Enter the email address of the person you want to add and click Next Step.
- Click Send email to grant access.
Share a mailbox with a team
- In Outlook: Set up a shared mailbox in account settings.
- In Google Groups: Set up a group as a collaborative inbox.
If your team needs a shared mailbox, such as for technical support or customer service, you can use a Google group as a collaborative inbox.
For example, you can create a group with the address support@your-domain.com, add your support staff as members, and allow people outside your organization to send messages to the group. Your support staff will receive your customers' messages, and they can do any of the following from the group's Topics view:
- Assign responsibility for a topic to a member of the group
- Mark a topic as resolved
- Edit the tags associated with a topic
- Filter topics according to tag, resolution status, or assignee
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