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December 17, 2008 9:31 AM PST

Gmail gets one-button dump option

by Eric Franklin

(Credit: Eric Franklin/CBS Interactive)

Turning your Gmail into an editable document used to be as simple as one, two, three clicks. Thanks to a new Gmail feature, however, it's now as simple as, well, one click.

Created by Jeremie LE and David K, the new feature, when activated, lets you turn the contents of an e-mail into a Google document with the click of a button.

To activate this feature, from your Gmail account click on Settings, then click on the Labs link. Scroll down to the Create a Document section. Check Enable and click Save changes. Now, you'll see a Create a Document option to the right of whatever thread you're viewing. Clicking on it will dump the entire thread into a Google document. Simple, easy.

When I first read about this, I thought "Wow, how lazy do you have to be that you can't just copy and paste your e-mail into Google doc?" Well, you are very lazy if you can't just do that. However ,if dumping your e-mail into a doc is something you do on a regular basis, this feature makes this process much more convenient. I'm a person that makes Google Docs constantly and many of them are based on an e-mail--usually an idea I've sent myself, so for me a one button option makes idea dumping that much more efficient.

Eric Franklin refused to write a bio, saying, "Why are you bothering me about this bio business again? If I wanted people to know more about me, I'd send them to the Inside CNET Labs Podcast" (shameless plug). E-mail Eric.
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by hmdz105 December 17, 2008 10:49 AM PST
Gmail rocks, like always!
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by Philips December 17, 2008 11:14 AM PST
what about ability to attach several conversations to new message?

this is probably only feature I'm missing from the desktop UMAs.
Reply to this comment
by loose_screw December 17, 2008 11:34 AM PST
What are UMAs?
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