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Post Gmail Migration Instructions

Congratulations for migrating to Gmail! You will receive an email when your migration is complete. Below are some things you will want to do post-migration. We have also documented some important notes about Gmail.

Re-create your mail filters

Unfortunately, existing mail filters cannot be migrated to Gmail. We recommend you re-create mail filters in Gmail once your migration is complete.

Gmail's default spam filtering is very good. It is not necessary for you to re-create your spam filter, rather you can mark emails that arrive in your Inbox as spam. To setup other filters, such as a rule that moves email to a specified folder, please follow the steps below.

  1. To view your old filters, log into Reed's old Webmail, and click on Settings > Filters and Vacation
  2. Click on a filter on the left, and then make note of how it's defined (or leave this window open in its own tab so you can easily come back to it)
  3. Log into Gmail's web interface at mail.reed.edu
  4. Click on the Gear icon in the upper right, then choose Settings
  5. Click on the Filters link and then the Create a new filter link
  6. Enter the desired criteria (From address, To address, Subject, Has the words, Doesn't have) and then click the Create filter with this search link
  7. Choose the appropriate action(s)
  8. If existing emails matching your criteria are found, you can check the box to Also apply filter to X matching conversations
  9. Click Create Filter

Example: Redirecting email to a specified folder

This example shows how to create a filter to moves email to a specified folder.

  1. Log into Gmail's web interface at mail.reed.edu
  2. Click on the Gear icon in the upper right, then choose Settings
  3. Click on the Filters link and then the Create a new filter link
  4. Enter the desired criteria (From address, To address, Subject, etc.) and then click the Create filter with this search link
  5. Check the box to Skip the Inbox (Archive it) (this step ensures the message does not remain in your Inbox)
  6. Check the box to Apply the label and select the desired label/folder (note: Gmail uses the term label instead of folder)
  7. If existing emails matching your criteria are found, you can check the box to Also apply filter to X matching conversations
  8. Click Create Filter

Export your address book from the old Webmail to Gmail

If you have personal contacts stored in your Webmail address book, you can easily export them to Gmail's web interface.

  1. Log into Reed's old Webmail
  2. Click Address Book in the upper right
  3. Click the Personal Addresses group on the left
  4. Click the folder icon Export Contacts to export the contacts in vcard format. Save the file to your computer.
  5. Log into Gmail's web interface at mail.reed.edu
  6. Click the Contacts link at the top
  7. From the list on the left, click Import Contacts...
  8. Browse to the file you saved earlier (called rcube_contacts.vcf) and click Import
  9. Your contacts are automatically added to a new group under My Contacts, called Imported <date>

Learn the new Gmail web interface

Gmail's web interface is robust and easy to use. To learn how to do common tasks, such as setup a vacation message, report spam, and more, visit our Gmail page.

Important notes about Gmail

  • Don't forget to check your Spam folder regularly for false positives. Though Gmail's spam filtering is very good, just like Reed's mail server, it is possible for legitimate messages to be incorrectly tagged as spam. When this happens, the message will be moved automatically to your [Gmail]/Spam folder. If a message is incorrectly tagged as spam, you can move the email back to your Inbox from your mail client (or use the Not Spam button from the Gmail web interface). Messages that have been in your Spam folder for more than 30 days will automatically be purged.
  • Gmail uses labels instead of folders. When your mail was migrated, all your folders were preserved and are now considered labels in Gmail. Folders viewed in a mail client such as Thunderbird or Apple Mail are still present after the migration. Learn more about labels.
  • When you send an email to a list that you are also a member of, the email will not appear in your Inbox. The message will appear in your [Gmail]/Sent Mail folder.
  • Messages that have been in your Spam and Trash folders for more than 30 days will be automatically purged. There is no way to turn this off. Monitor those two folders carefully and move emails out of them that you need to keep.

Need additional help? Call 503-777-7525 or email the Help Desk at cus@reed.edu.