Preview pane is a new feature that when enabled allows you to view Gmail in a split-screen view that is common with most email clients that run on your desktop like Outlook, Mail, and others.

This split-screen view dubbed the Preview Pane makes going through piles of email an effortless task.

In this guide I will show you how to enable this new feature to help you tame that inbox.

How to Enable the Preview Pane in Gmail

Open Gmail in your favorite browser before proceeding.

1. Click the Gear icon on the top-right corner of the Gmail page and click Mail Settings from the menu that appears.

2. When the Settings page loads click the Labs tab.

3. Since there are a ton of Labs features it will be easier to just search for the Preview Pane feature using the search box in the Labs page.

Enter preview pane in the search box and the results will appear on the list below.

4. Click Enable to turn on the Preview Pane feature.

5. Click Save Changes and return to the Inbox.

6. When you return to the Inbox you will find that there’s a new button on the left side of screen above the message list.

Click the new Preview Pane icon and select one of the options from the list. The options determine how the screen is split between the message list and the preview pane. Options available are as follows:

• No Split (original layout)
• Vertical Split (Message list on left pane and Preview pane on the right)
• Horizontal Split (Message list above the Preview pane).

Once the screen is split you can adjust the size of the panes by dragging the line dividing them.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Google makes this a permanent feature in the near future. What do you think about this new Labs feature?

Software/Hardware used: Gmail running in Chrome browser for Mac OS X Lion.

This new feature allows you to add accounts from various services to your Mac without having to add the account to individual applications.

On this guide we will focus on adding a Gmail account to your Mac. When you add the account following the steps below you will be able to access your email, calendars, and Google Talk all from Lion’s built-in applications.

How to Add Your Gmail Account to Mac OS X Lion

1. Click the Apple icon on the Menu Bar and then click System Preferences from the menu.

2. Click Mail, Contacts & Calendars under Internet & Wireless.

Note: Mail, Contacts & Calendars is a new Preference panel in Mac OS Lion. You can still add your accounts from within Mail if you wish to go that route.

3. Click Add Account… or click the [+] button to add a new account.

4. A list of email providers will appear on the right pane. Click Gmail from the list.

5. Enter your Gmail credentials in the fields provided and click Set Up when you are ready.

6. Depending on the email service you are using you will be asked to select which services you want synchronized with your Mac.

In Gmail you have the option to Sync Mail & Notes, Calendars and Chat (through Google Talk).

7. Select the services you wish to add to your Mac and click Add Account.

Once the set up process is complete you should see the Gmail account in the accounts list.

When you click the Gmail account you will see details about the services that are synced with your Mac. You can always remove services by unchecking them on this list.

If you have any comments or questions please use the comments form below.

Software/Hardware used: Mac OS X Lion.

You’ll also have the ability to quickly start a chat with individuals or groups and even schedule a meeting all right inside the People Widget in Gmail. The new widget should be appearing over the next few weeks, so keep your eye out for an added widget to the side of your emails.

With all of these updates being made, you’ll no longer be able to sign into your AIM account inside of Gmail. You can now import all of your AIM buddies right into Gmail by using AIMs import feature.

Use Priority Inbox – Priority Inbox helps find and sort the important messages for you. Gmail uses your actions with your email, whether you read a message or reply to one, to find out a messages importance. You can also help train Priority Inbox by marking messages more or less important.

Show More Messages – Gmail’s default message view is 25 per page. You can up it to 50 or 100 messages per page, saving you time from switching between pages of emails and allowing you to scan more messages at once.

Use Keyboard Shortcuts – Gmail has a ton of shortcuts. Press the “?” in your Gmail Inbox to see which ones you can use.  Use shortcuts to save time using simple tasks. You can learn them all; it just might take some time.

Inbox Preview – In Labs, find Inbox Preview and enable it. It will show a static preview of your Inbox while Gmail is loading your messages.

Send & Archive – In Labs, find Send & Archive. It will send your message and archive it in a single click.

Background Send – In Labs, find Background Send. Whenever you send a message or multiple messages it takes some time to send them. Using Background Send will send the messages in the background, allowing you to go right back into your Inbox to quickly process other emails.

Auto-advance – In Labs, find Auto-advance. This will automatically advance to the next or previous message whenever you mute, archive or delete a message. You can choose which way the auto-advance will go in your Inbox.

If all the messages are sent, you will get the message sent notification. Otherwise, a red error will popup notifying you that there was a problem sending your message. You have the opportunity to fixit now or later. You don’t have to stop doing what you’re doing just to fix the problem email. However, you should check this problem before you close Gmail, because chances are this problem isn’t going to show up next time you startup Gmail.

You can add custom colors to the Frame, Button Bar, Messages area, Side Frame, Side Boxes, Side Box Content and the Main Background. Each area has their own custom colors to choose from for different settings, whether its border color, background color, link color or text color. You only have the ability to add a background image to the main background, in which you can also select the alignment of the picture, and the tiling of it.

You can make your own custom theme by going under the theme tab, under your mail settings in Gmail.

The first little update is having the ability to turn-off the auto-save for contacts. Before, Gmail would save every single email address you’ve entered or that has contacted you, just in case you ever need to find that email. From now on you have the ability to turn this nice feature off in the General tab under Settings.

The second little update is the fixing of email typos. Gmail would notify you if you incorrectly typed an email, such as a missed period or forgetting to add a .com. Gmail will now tell you which email has something wrong with it, something nice to have when you have a large list of emails you’re sending to.

More updates include adding a “refresh” button to refresh your email, a default shortcut “Shift + ?” which brings up an on-screen shortcut menu, and less pop-up notifications. Gmail has also added an easier transition between different actions, so that you can seamlessly get back to what you were doing, like when you’re saving a filter.

It’s good to see that the Gmail team is pointing out some minor flaws and letting us know they’ve fixed them. Sometimes it’s the little things that matter more than the big things.

Enabling Smart Labels in Gmail Labs will declutter your Inbox by organizing certain messages into three categories: Bulk, Forums and Notifications. Bulk messages will include mass mailing messages, such as that from your favorite retail store or blog. The Forums label will obviously include updates from the forum you use on a regular basis as well as other group-like emails. The Notifications label includes receipts, bank and credit card statements, and other similar alerts.

All of these types of messages are automatically moved from your Inbox into their correct label, thus making your Inbox clearer. Since this is a Gmail lab feature, it will not appear in everyone’s Inbox, only those that choose to enable it. These new Smart Labels will work in conjunction with other labels you’ve created in the past. However, by enabling the Smart Labels it will probably make you think about removing some of your older labels.

The Hide Labels from Subjects and Hide Read Labels labs features were added in late 2009 and have become a very popular feature and Google has noticed. These two features have now been added to all Gmail users by default, letting the label feature better organize your Inbox.

The migration from Labs to default Gmail features has included some additional upgrades. The Labels settings tab now looks and works better. Labels can now also be hidden individually from the inbox, rather than hiding all of them, like how it was in Labs.

These new features will give you an excuse to actually organize your inbox. Don’t procrastinate any more, go check your inbox for these new features.