This post is not an Outlook vs Gmail comparison, maybe a few more posts for that. Here we will explain how you can have the Gmail split panel view to enhance your email reading experience.
I have gone a lot from Gmail to Outlook over the past few years. While I like some Outlook features, I love Gmail for other features. I recently discovered a Gmail feature that I was missing a lot compared to Microsoft Outlook. Outlook offers a split pane view.
In this view, my email window is split into three columns with the first column containing the folder name such as "Inbox, Sent Items, Drafts, etc." , the second column contains my email list, and when I click any email in the second column, the email is loaded into the third column.
I really like this feature as I can instantly see what an email is about and I don't need to click the back button to read another email. This really increases the speed at which I can scan my emails. Better, in fact, I can navigate my inbox using my up and down arrow keys.
Seeing all the benefits of the split window, I was very happy when I recently discovered that I can also have Gmail's split pane view, just like in Outlook, and enjoy the same kind of experience.
1. Open your inbox
2. In the upper right corner you will find a button right next to the settings icon (highlighted by the arrow in the image below)
3. Click the down arrow. A menu will appear under the arrow.
4. Choose the vertical split option. You can also choose Horizontal Division.
5. Voila! You are ready. It's that easy
Tip: You can resize the single column simply by placing the mouse on the respective column division and dragging it as you like.
Just for fun, choose the "Horizontal Split" option to see what it does. Don't worry, you can choose “Don't split” again to remove the split panel from Gmail.
If you want to experiment more with Gmail, you can visit Gmail Labs
I know there are tons of great features that Gmail offers, but out of all the features, this feature has really made my life easier and I can now scan tons of office emails in 15-20 minutes. This saves me precious time so I thought I'd share it with the readers.
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