There are a variety of situations where you might want to mark an email as “unread.” Marking an email unread can help you remember it later on and return to it at another time. So, how can you mark an email as “unread”?
You can mark emails as “unread” in Gmail by selecting the box next to the message you want to mark. The email will be highlighted, and the box will have a checkmark. You can then hit the “Mark as unread” icon on the top toolbar underneath the search bar. The message will now appear unread.
Email platforms have a lot of different functions and useful features. These features can be tough to grasp but can help keep your inbox organized and under control. Read on for everything you need to know.
How Do You Mark an Email as “Unread” After Opening?
You might need to label an email as “unread” after opening it to help you keep track of it in the future. Here’s how you can label an email thread or message as unread in Gmail for desktop:
- First, log into your Gmail account.
- Select the opened message that you’d like to label as unread. You can select multiple emails by clicking the box on the left side of the email. The emails will be highlighted and have a checkmark in the box on the left side.
- After you select the opened messages, hit the Mark as Unread icon on the top toolbar underneath the search bar. The messages will revert to unread once you click the button.
It’s important to note that if you select unread and read messages simultaneously, the icon will mark them as read. So you’ll have to hit the button a second time to label all the selected email threads as unread.
Differences in Desktop vs. Mobile App
It’s also possible to label email threads as unread in the iOS and Android Gmail mobile apps. You can set up the swiping function beforehand for easy access or use the standard marking method.
How to Mark as Read in the Gmail App
You can mark multiple emails as opened or “unread” at a time in the mobile Gmail software. Here are the steps for Android and iOS devices:
- Launch the Gmail app.
- Click the circle icon in front of the email you want to mark as opened or unread. You can select as many emails or conversations as you’d like by tapping multiple circles.
- After tapping the circles, a toolbar should appear at the top of the screen. Select the Mark as Read/Unread icon that looks like an envelope.
How to Configure Swiping to Label as Unread in the Gmail App
- Launch the Gmail app.
- Hit the three lines on the left side of the search bar at the top of the screen. A dropdown menu should appear.
- Scroll down the menu and select Settings at the bottom.
- Gmail iOS: click Mail swipe actions.
- Gmail Android: Hit General Settings and then Swipe actions.
- Select Right swipe or Left swipe and set the function to Mark as opened or unread
- Hit the back button twice to exit the Settings menu and finish adjusting the swipe settings.
Now, you can easily swipe your emails left or right to mark them as open or unread.
How to Mark an Email as “Unread” in Different Email Platforms
The steps for marking emails as “unread” in different email platforms are similar to Gmail. We’ll cover some popular email providers below to give you a better idea of what to expect.
Yahoo Mail
- Open your Yahoo Mail account.
- One option is to right-click the email you want to mark as unread and select Mark as Unread from the dropdown menu.
- You can also select the check box on the right of the email, choose More, then select Mark as Unread.
Outlook
- Open your Outlook account.
- Right-click the email and select Mark as Read or Mark as Unread.
- You can mark several messages at once by selecting the first email, holding down Ctrl, selecting other emails, and then choosing the marking you want.
- You can also press Ctrl+Q to mark an email as read or Ctrl+U to mark an email as unread.
Can You Mark a Portion of an Email Thread as “Unread”?
It’s possible to mark a portion of an email thread as “unread” in Gmail. Follow the steps below to start:
- Log into your Gmail account and open the email thread.
- Next, ensure the message in the email thread you want to mark as unread is expanded.
- You can select the sender’s name and preview it if you cannot view the expanded message. Alternatively, you can press Expand all on the right of the thread to do the same.
- Click the three vertical dots next to Reply in the email header location. A dropdown menu should appear.
- From the dropdown menu, tap Mark Unread from here.
It’s possible to mark the entire email conversation by expanding the email, selecting the More button, and choosing Mark as unread.