Wallpaper Search

Wallpaper Search

Let's use the latest features added to Google Image Search to find a beautiful wallpaper for your desktop.

1. Go to Google Image Search and click on "Advanced Image Search".

2. Enter your query in the first input box, for example: flower.

3. Select "photo content" from the list of content types.

4. Click on "Use my desktop size" to find images appropriate for your desktop.

5. Perform the search.

6. If you have a favorite color, click on "All colors" and pick one of the 12 options.

Add Photos to Gmail Messages

Add Photos to Gmail Messages

Gmail's rich-text editor has never been very powerful, especially if you look at other web applications like Google Docs or Zoho. An important missing feature is inserting images in a message: you can attach photos, but they're usually displayed at the bottom of the message and not all mail clients show thumbnails. One workaround was to upload the images to a website, open it in a different window and then drag it to Gmail's editor.

Now you no longer have to do this since Gmail added inserting images as a Labs feature. After enabling the feature, you'll notice a new photo icon when you compose a message using the rich editor. You can insert images from your computer and images published online, by typing their addresses. Unfortunately, Gmail doesn't use the new Flash uploader, so you can't select more than one photo at a time.

"Keep in mind that Gmail doesn't show URL-based images in messages by default to protect you from spammers, so if you're sending mail to other Gmail users, they'll still have to click Display images below or Always display images from ... to see images you embed," mentions the Gmail blog.


To enable the new feature, go to Gmail Labs, search for "inserting images", select the "Enable" radio button and don't forget to click on "Save changes".

Tip: if the uploaded image is too large, click on it and choose from the available sizes (small, medium, large) or resize the image by dragging one of the corners.

Gmail Search Autocomplete

Gmail Search Autocomplete

Gmail added yet another Labs feature, this time related to searching. If you enable "Search Autocomplete", Gmail will try to finish your query using names and email addresses from your contact list, built-in Gmail sections like "starred messages" and more advanced searches like "has photos" or "unread messages".

The new feature is especially useful if your search includes advanced operators like to: or from: because it's easier to enter the sender or the recipient.



Since Gmail doesn't show in the list of suggestions previous queries or common patterns from your messages, the feature has a limited use. You could get similar suggestions by typing names in the Gmail chat box and clicking on "View recent conversations".

Some other search-related Labs feature you should enable: Quick Links, which lets you bookmark Gmail pages, including frequent searches, Go to label, that autocompletes the name of a Gmail label, and Multiple Inboxes, which allows you to create a dashboard from different Gmail views.

Another quick way to view your contacts is to use the standalone page for Google Contacts available at google.com/contacts or google.com/contacts/a/domain.com. According to the Apps Update blog, "the new standalone contact manager allows you to manage your contacts within Google Apps without enabling Gmail". You can also use it with a regular Google account that doesn't include access to Gmail.