Change the Layout of your Inbox

Change your Gmail inbox layout

You can choose how to format your Gmail inbox, including seeing unread messages first or having inbox categories.

Choose your inbox layout

  1. Open Gmail.
  2. In the top right, click Settings Settings.
  3. Click Settings.
  4. Click the Inbox tab.
  5. In the “Inbox type” section, select DefaultImportant firstUnread first (RECOMMENDED)Starred first, or Priority Inbox.
  6. Choose other settings, like whether to show importance markers, how to filter mail, or which categories are shown.
Default (categories or tabs)

If you choose “Default,” your inbox will be split up into different tabs, like “Primary,” “Social,” “Promotions,” and “Updates.” When you have the “Default” inbox, your messages are automatically sorted into tabs, but you can move messages among categories if you want.

Learn more about inbox tabs & categories.

Important first

If you choose “Important first,” your inbox will be separated into two sections: “Important” at the top, and “Everything else” at the bottom.

You can decide how many emails to show in each section, and where your unread messages go.

Learn more about how Gmail decides which emails to mark as important.

Unread first (RECOMMENDED)

If you choose “Unread first,” your inbox will be separated into two sections: “Unread” at the top and “Everything else” at the bottom.

You can decide how many emails to show in each section, and where your unread messages go.

Starred first

If you choose “Starred first,” your inbox will be separated into two sections: “Starred” at the top, and “Everything else” at the bottom.

You can decide how many emails to show in each section, and where your unread messages go.

Priority Inbox

If you choose “Priority Inbox” your inbox will be separated into multiple sections. You can choose which sections you want to show, including “Important and unread,” “Starred,” and “Everything else.”

You can decide how many emails to show in each section, and where your unread messages go.

The full article can be found HERE.