As a user of Gmail for my personal email account, and Google Apps for my work email accounts, I spend a lot of time using the Gmail interface. One thing that I use in Mail/Outlook that I missed in Gmail is a view of my unread messages. Here is a quick tutorial of how I created one.
The first thing that I needed to do was go to 'Labs' within my Gmail account, and enable the 'Quick Links' lab. This adds a block on the left-hand side of my Gmail window, which allows me to quickly bookmark any URL within Gmail.
Built within Gmail, there are several hidden labels and shortcuts that can be used (click here for more information). By entering the following into the search box, a list of all unread messages in my inbox is displayed:
label:unread label:inbox
This can also be shorted to:
l:unread l:inbox
or l:^u l:^i
Now, with 'Quick Links' enabled, and the required output displayed on the screen, clicking 'Add Quick Link' will create the bookmark. You will be prompted to give it a name - I've chosen 'Unread Messages'.
The quick link has now been saved, and when I click on it I'm returned to my simple view of unread emails.
Update: I've now started using Google's Priority Inbox, which gives easy access to your unread messages, as well as those that you prioritise and/or mark as important.
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