Category Archives: Technology

Gmail Canned Responses

It can be very useful to have a standard email response to use for responding to types of emails that you receive often.  Gmail Canned Responses allows you to save a standard message and insert it in an email response whenever you like.

Note that Canned Responses is an option in Gmail Labs and they disclose, “Gmail Labs is a testing ground for experimental features that aren’t quite ready for primetime. They may change, break or disappear at any time.”Screenshot 2015-06-02 at 3.50.19 PM

I recommend that when you are creating a canned response, you create it in a brand new email that you are composing.  If you create it in an email to which you are replying, the canned response will include the sender’s message too!  (Can you tell I learned this from personal experience?)

The Many Features of Google Voice

Google Voice is one of Google’s many free applications which offers an amazing variety of features.

Basically, Google Voice provides one phone number to which you can forward one or more of your phone numbers.  If you have multiple phone numbers attached to your Google Voice number, others only need one number to contact you.  Either way, having a Google Voice number opens up many great features.  Some of my favorites are

  • Transcribed voicemail sent to you as an email and/or text message.
  • Call screening — remember how you used to be able to listen in on an answering machine message to decide if you wanted to answer?
  • Scheduled do not disturb on your Google Voice number — this makes it convenient for use as a home office number
  • Access to your Google Voice voicemail messages via smart phone or other mobile device
  • One phone number that sends calls to all your numbers

Check out the Google Voice Intro Video for more info about the features.

More Google Voice videos are available on YouTube.

Have fun exploring the many features of Google Voice!

Email Signatures

An email signature is an important way to include your contact information with a professional touch to your emails.

The Art And Science Of The Email Signature is a useful article on designing your email signature.

Gmail

How to Add an Email Signature in Gmail 

iPhone

There aren’t as many features for creating an email signature in iPhone settings.  One way to copy your email footer to your iPhone settings is to send yourself an email from your regular email program. Then you can cut and paste the signature from the message into the iPhone settings screen.
Create an iPhone Email Signature

Adding a Logo to an iPhone Signature

Other Email Programs

Each email program has a different way of creating an email signature, but the process is fairly similar.  To find instructions on adding an email signature in another program, just do an Internet search on the program name and “how to create an email signature.”

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