Turn Gmail Into Mail Central

Adapted by: Bruce Tyson • Edited by: Misty Faucheux
Updated Jan 30, 2011 • Related Guides: Email | Gmail

Tired of logging into multiple email accounts to check your messages? Then take advantage of Gmail's ability to become your central email address. Gmail can be a unified interface that allows easy access to multiple email accounts.

Introduction

Wouldn't it be convenient if you could access all of your email accounts from a single place regardless of where you are or whose computer you're using? Gmail lets you do just that. You can receive email from other accounts and send messages using those email addresses. It's easy to do, and you can take advantage of Gmail's features with any email account.

Verifying the other address

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The first step is to get Gmail to recognize your other email accounts. In Gmail, click the Settings link. On the Settings page, click the Accounts tab. Then find and click the Add another email addresss link. A new window opens. This is the first page of a wizard that walks you through the process of adding another email account to Gmail.

Type the email address of the account that you want to add to Gmail in the Email address field, and then click the Next Step button.

To allow Gmail to send messages using the email account that you specified, Gmail must verify that you actually own the account. On the next page of the wizard, click the Send Verification button. Gmail sends a verification message to the email address that you added. To acknowledge the verification, log into that email account, and click the link in the message.

Setting up the account in Gmail

Back in Gmail, go to the Settings page, and click the edit info link beside the name of the email address that you verified. Then enter the following information about the account that you want to add:

User name
Password (click the Edit your password link to enter the account password)
POP server

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Gmail usually adds the POP server information for you, for example, mail.inter.net. But, check that address to be sure. Most Web-based mail services, Internet service providers and Web hosting companies have this information on their sites. Check the online help for the mail service, service provider or your hosting company. If all that fails, call or email the technical support department that services the external account.

You can also choose to leave a copy of the message in the inbox of your other account and to use secure connection. To finish, click the Save Changes button. You should be ready to use the external account from within Gmail.

Sending messages

Once the account is added, you can send messages by clicking the Compose Mail link. In the mail composition window, you'll notice that the From field is actually a drop-down list. Just select the Email address that you want to use from the list. Remember that Gmail uses your Gmail address as the default address for the From field. It takes a bit of time to get into the habit of choosing the email address that you want to use. Once you do though, it becomes second nature.

Conclusion

It's easy to turn Gmail into your main email account. Not only do you get to use all of your email addresses from one location, you can take advantage of all of Gmail's features no matter what email service that you use.