When is a right click more than just a right click?  When Google reveals its latest changes to Gmail, of course!

The tech giant has recently announced that they’re going to be overhauling Gmail’s right click menu options. This will enhance its value by adding more and better functionality, with an eye toward improving the overall user experience.

The current right click menu offers the following functionality:

  • Move to Tab
  • Archive
  • Mark as Read
  • Delete

The coming changes will expand to include:

  • Search options
  • Reply and Forward functionality
  • Snooze
  • Mark as Unread
  • Movement Options
  • Labeling
  • The option to open an email in a new tab

You won’t have to take any action to gain the benefits of these new features.  The pending update will make them available to all Gmail users automatically.

In terms of a time frame, Rapid Release domains will begin receiving the update on February 11th 2019 although it can take up to fifteen days for the new features to become visible. The roll-out to the general public is slated for February 22nd, although it could be up to three days before the new menu options become visible to all users.

These are fantastic additions and we can hardly wait to start using them.  Odds are excellent that Google’s recent changes will have ripple effects that extend far beyond Gmail, too.  The reality is that menu functions tend to get taken for granted.  At this point, they’re so well established and entrenched that most people don’t even consider the possibility of tweaking them to improve overall functionality.

That’s unfortunate, but given the coming changes, the hope is that it will prompt other email providers and software vendors in general to go back to the drawing board and reassess their time-honored menu options to see what other improvements can be realized.

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