Gmail & Labels - Big Concern for Me

Hey everyone! I just bought my first iPad 3 this weekend (16 GB), and I must say that I really enjoy it quite a bit. I've been an Android user for over three years, so it's quite a leap for me to come to the iPad.

Anyway, I have a pretty big concern/issue with using Gmail on my iPad. I've searched the forums and haven't found anything truly specific to my concern, hence the reason for me creating a new thread. I've tried both the iPad's Mail app and Google Gmail app, and I'm not satisfied with using either of them to manage my Gmail. I would also like to stress that I'd prefer using an app versus having to use Safari to log into the Gmail website. The Mail app doesn't allow you to add labels to emails, you can only move emails from the inbox into one of the folders (label). I've been a Gmail user since its inception, and I leave all my email in the inbox while applying labels to those emails. I've never archived them into their permanent place (labels). If I were to use the Mail app, I'd kind of have to force myself to change my ways to move mail to a folder (label) instead of just adding a label (which can't be done in the Mail app). The Gmail app and even the Mail app are both limited in the fact that there's no undo feature in case you accidentally delete an email. And if I even wanted to use the Gmail app as my primary default email app, there's no way to make that happen. Anytime I click on a mailto link on a web page, it always opens up a compose message thanks to the Mail app.

Am I the only one experiencing this frustration? Surely, I hope not. Any help, advice and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Maybe I am not quite understanding your exact issue with labels, but in the native email app when you are looking at you mail click the "mailboxes" tab to where it brings up inbox, drafts, sent mail etc. in the right hand corner click on edit, then at the bottom there will be a tab that says "New Mailbox", that is the only way I know of adding labels in the native email app. Then in the Gmail app, if you are looking at an email you can hit the little down arrow at the top of the screen and have access to your labels.

In the Mail app you cannot assign multiple Gmail labels to a given email message, you can only move emails to a Gmail label. I don't normally assign multiple labels to my email, but on occasion I do and in the Mail app it's not possible. In Gmail you can add as many labels to an email if you want, while also keeping it inside your Inbox. In Mail, you're moving emails from the Inbox to a label (folder). I've never moved email in Gmail, I've only assigned labels to my emails. Basically, if I want to use the Mail app, I'll have to start moving (aka "archiving") my email to a designated label.

Does that help explain myself any better? Sorry if I confused you (or anyone else).

Ah, got ya. I just tried in my Gmail app and it works. Just hit that down arrow I talked about before and you can add labels while keeping it in your inbox.

Then the problem continues if I were to use the Gmail app, in that there's no way to designate that as the default/go-to email client. No matter what, the Mail app seems to always be the default app for handling email messages (i.e. composing).

Hi everyone,
I'm sorry for hijacking the thread (kind of) in my first post here but I'd really love to hear from dustrho on any solution you may have found to your problem. Mine is quite similar: I'm also not happy either with the built-in Mail App nor the official Gmail. I rely on labels to organize my email and most of my incoming messages are tagged with multiple labels based on the sender/subject and incoming address, on top of that I usually add more labels manually based on the project that the message belongs to and finally I use a variation of the trusted trio for messages and label them as "to do" or "waiting for [reply]" based on whether I need to act on it myself (ie follow up with a phone call or a conversation) or need input from somebody.

Now if you get my point that's a lot of shuffling labels and event though I enjoy the threaded view and multiple labels in the gmail app, I kind of like the way labels are assigned in the mail app by dragging the message to an appropriate mailbox. So the ideal solution for me would be a gmail app clone with an intuitive and quick (read: one tap drag and drop) way to add or remove labels. The big touch screen in the ipad seems just perfect for that kind of Interface. Hope you can recommend something.

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Originally Posted by seneca18

Maybe I am not quite understanding your exact issue with labels, but in the native email app when you are looking at you mail click the "mailboxes" tab to where it brings up inbox, drafts, sent mail etc. in the right hand corner click on edit, then at the bottom there will be a tab that says "New Mailbox", that is the only way I know of adding labels in the native email app. Then in the Gmail app, if you are looking at an email you can hit the little down arrow at the top of the screen and have access to your labels.

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Can someone clarify whether a new label can be set up when using the gmail app on the iPad? I know how to set up labels when I am using gmail via safari. I can also see and move emails to existing labels when using the gmail app. At the moment if I want to create a new label I have to log into my gmail acct via safari. My hope is to be able to do this just I the gmail app.

I just spent time in the Gmail app, pressing on every button I can find. I could find nothing that would allow for making labels. So, I'm afraid the answer is no, you can't create labels using the Gmail app on the iPad. Sorry.

Marilyn

Just read on a google forum the gmail app currently does not support label creation. Its being passed onto their techs. For the time being we need to revert back to gmail via safari (or something similar) to create the label which can then be used on the gmail app once created.