Day 1: Set up Chrome browser, Gmail & Calendar

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Welcome to Google Workspace. To get started on your first day, complete the tasks below.

1. Set up Chrome browser

2. Set up your Gmail inbox

3. Set up Calendar

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1. Set up Chrome browser

Chrome browser overview

To access your Google Workspace email and calendar, you'll use a web browser instead of a desktop app.

Why this is important 
This automatically and securely saves your work to the web. When you’re signed in, you’ll be able to see the updates you make on any device and any browser.

And if you use Chrome browser, you’ll get access to more advanced Gmail and Calendar features, too. These are described in later weeks.

Note: If you don’t already have Chrome browser, download and install itbefore using this checklist.

Sign in to your Google Workspace account

1. Open a browser and go to the Google Workspace User Hub.
2. Enter your Google Workspace email address (such as [e-mail]) and password.

(Optional) Create Chrome browser profiles for different accounts (such as personal and work accounts)

1. Open Chrome browser.
2. In the top-right corner next to the address bar, click your profile image.
3. Click Manage People.
4. Click Add Person.
5. Enter a name, choose an image, and click Add.
6. Sign in with the Google Account you're adding.
   All settings and bookmarks automatically sync.
7. Click your profile image and choose a different profile to switch between accounts.

Note: If you’re unsure which account you’re currently using, click your name and see which profile is at the top.

Learn more

Create Gmail and Calendar bookmarks

1. In Chrome Browser, go to the site you want to visit again in the future. For example:
   • mail.google.com for Gmail
   • calendar.google.com for Google Calendar
2. To the right of the address bar, click Star Add Bookmark .
3. Choose an option:
   • To exit, click Close .
   • To rename your bookmark or access it from a different folder, choose an option and click Done.

Learn more

Create Gmail and Calendar desktop shortcuts

1. Go to your desktop and right-click. 
2. Choose NewShortcut. 
3. Type the web address as the location. For example:

   • https://mail.google.com for Gmail
   • https://calendar.google.com for Calendar

4. (Optional) Name your shortcut.

Pin your favorite tabs

To pin a tab to the left, right-click the tab and select Pin tab. Pinned tabs are smaller and only show the site's icon.

Learn more

Use keyboard shortcut keys

Keyboard shortcuts in Chrome browser help you get more done with fewer clicks. For example:

• Ctrl/⌘ + T: Opens a new tab
• Ctrl/⌘ + W: Closes the current tab
• Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + T: Re-opens the last closed tab 

In most other Google Workspace apps (like Gmail and Calendar), you can see a list of available keyboard shortcuts when you press Shift + ?.

Learn more

Set Chrome browser to remember where you left off

You can tell Chrome browser to re-open the same pages you were looking at when you quit.

1. In Chrome Browser, at the top right, click More Settings.
2. Under On startup, select Continue where you left off.

Learn more

2. Set up your Gmail inbox

(Optional) If you previously used Microsoft Outlook, learn how Gmail works differently

If you’re coming from Microsoft Outlook, you’ll notice a few differences in Gmail. 

For example, in Outlook, you can drag messages into folders and sort your inbox. In Gmail, you can tag messages with labels and use Google’s search tools to find messages.

Learn more

Set your email signature

1. At the top right, click Settings See all settings.
2. On the General tab, scroll down to the Signature section and create your signature.
3. (Optional) Use the format bar to add text colors, styles, links, or a picture.
4. At the bottom, click Save Changes.

Learn more

Choose an amount of time to recall a message you sent

Send an email: At the bottom of the compose window, click Send.

Undo send: After sending an email, at the bottom left, click Undo.

Change the send cancellation period:

1. At the top right, click Settings See all settings.
2. In the General tab, scroll to the Undo Send section and choose a time.
3. At the bottom, click Save changes.

Learn more

Add Google Chat to your inbox

You can add Chat to your Gmail inbox and get all the features of Chat directly in Gmail, so you can collaborate and stay connected from a central location.

1. On your computer, open Gmail.
2. At the top right, click Settings   See all settings.
3. At the top, click Chat and Meet.
4. Next to “Chat,” to turn Chat on or off in Gmail, select Google Chat or Off.
5. Click Save Changes.

You can also mute Chat notifications so you can work uninterrupted.

Learn more

Set email notifications

1. At the top right, click Settings See all settings.
2. Scroll down to the Desktop notifications section.
3. Click Click here to enable desktop notifications for <your organization>.
4. Select New mail notifications on or Important mail notifications on.
5. At the bottom of the page, click Save Changes.

Learn more

Compose messages in a new window and change the window size

Tip: To open the Compose window with a keyboard shortcut, just type c.

1. On the left, click Compose.
2. (Optional) Choose a window size with the buttons in the top right:
   • Full screen
   • Exit full screen
   • Open in a new window Shift + 
3. Add a subject and recipients (To, Cc, or Bcc).

Learn more

Delete or archive email you don't need

Archive  messages you're not using now but might need later. Archiving moves email out of your inbox. You can find them later in All Mail or through Gmail search.

Delete  messages you no longer need. Deleted email are moved to Trash and then permanently deleted after 30 days.

Note: If you don’t see All Mail or Trash, scroll to the bottom of the left sidebar and click More.

Learn more

Add labels (similar to folders) to organize email

1. Check the box next to one or more email messages.
2. At the top, click Labels .
3. Choose one of the following:

   1. To make new labels, click Create new. Type the name of your label and click Create.
   2. To select an existing label, click it in the list.

In the left sidebar, click a label to see messages with that label. Click More Label color to change its color.

Learn more

Find and save attachments

1. Open an email with an attachment.
2. Point to the attachment.
3. Choose one of the following options:

   • Save it to your device—Click Download .
   • Save it to Google Drive—Click Save to Drive .

   Note: If you don't see this option, contact your administrator.

Learn more

Find email with Advanced search

At the top of your inbox, search for one or more keywords that appear anywhere in the email—in the subject, body, or sender name. 

If you’re looking for something specific, click Show search options to use advanced search.

Example: Search for:

• Senders—Example: From:([e-mail])
• Date ranges—Example: after:2019/3/29 before:2019/4/5
• Keywords—Example: Company confidential
• Message attributes, such as attachments—Example: has:attachment

Learn more

Add filter rules to categorize incoming email

 

1. Open Gmail.
2. In the search box at the top, click Show search options .
3. Enter your search criteria. If you want to check that your search worked correctly, see what emails show up by clicking Search.
4. At the bottom of the search window, click Create filter.
5. Choose what you’d like the filter to do.
6. Click Create filter.

 

Example: Create a filter to automatically archive emails from Google Calendar telling you when people accept your invites.

1. Next to Has the words, enter invite.ics and accepted. 
2. Click Create filter.
3. Check Skip the Inbox (Archive it).
4. Click Create filter.

Learn more

3. Set up Calendar

Set your Calendar notifications

1. In Calendar, click Settings Settings.
2. On the left under General, click Event settings.
3. Click Notifications and select an option:
   • Off
   • Desktop notifications
   • Alerts
4. (Optional) To set up a sound for your incoming notifications, check the Play notification sounds box.
5. (Optional) To manage your notifications, on the left, click your calendarGeneral notifications.
6. Next to each option, click the Down arrow and select None or Email.

Learn more

Set your work hours

If you’d prefer not to be invited to events outside of your working hours, you can adjust your Google Calendar settings so organizers know to reschedule an event to a better time.

1. In Calendar, go to Settings Settings.
2. On the left under General, click Working Hours.
3. Check the Enable working hours box.
4. For each day, click the time when you’re available. Suggestions might already appear, but you can click the time to change them.
5. (Optional) To set the same times for every day, click Copy time to all.

Learn more

Add co-workers' calendars

1. On the left, click Add calendar.
2. Enter your co-worker’s email address. Their calendar appears under Other calendars on the left, and their events appear on your calendar page.
3. (Optional) To temporarily hide the events from another calendar, uncheck the box next to the calendar.

Learn more

Create calendar events

1. In Calendar, choose an option:
   • Click an empty time slot in the calendar grid.
   • Click Create.
2. Add an event title, date, and time.
3. (Optional) To create the event on another calendar you have edit access to, at the bottom click your calendar name and select another calendar. 

Learn more

Find open times for meetings with your team

1. Click Find A Time. You’ll see the local time for guests in other time zones just below their name.
2. Scroll across the time slots or click the arrows at the top to view different days and available times.
3. Click a time slot and click Save. The time will be updated in the meeting details.

Learn more

Propose a new meeting time

Note: If the event organizer has given you access to modify an event, you can reschedule it directly without proposing a new time.

1. In Calendar, single-click the event in your calendar grid.
2. Go to the Going? section and click the Up arrow Propose a new time.
3. In the Your proposal section, select a different time or day and add a message.
4. Click Send proposal.

Learn more

Find a room or resource

Note: If you don’t see resources, room details, or automatic room suggestions, your administrator might not have set them up for your organization.

1. Click the Add rooms, location, or conferencing field.

   Note: If you don't see this option, contact your administrator.

2. Click Add rooms.

   Based on your work location, number of attendees, and previous room bookings, suggestions automatically appear. 

3. (Optional) If you need to adjust the criteria for your meeting room, you can click:
   • People  to specify the required room size.
   • Video  to specify the need for video-conferencing equipment.
   • Phone to specify the need for audio conferencing
4. Point to the room that meets your criteria and check the box to select the room.
5. If you don’t see a suitable room:
   1. In the search box, enter another resource or building name, floor, or conferencing equipment (such as Chromebox for meetings). As you enter text, you’ll see results below the search box.
   2. Point to a room to see details, such as room capacity, location, equipment and features.
   3. When you find the room you need, point to it and check the box to select it.

Learn more

Next steps

Want to get a jump start on becoming productive on Google Workspace? See the Week 1 checklist.

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