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The Best Gmail IFTTT Recipes


Gmail and If This Then That are already two of our favorite services. When you combine the two together they become seriously powerful. Here are a few of our favorite IFTTT recipes that make Gmail even more awesome.

One of the things we've always loved about Gmail is how easy it is to beef it up and turn it into a powerful email app if you want to. When you hook Gmail into the amazing IFTTT, then the magic really happens.

Add Email Receipts to a Google Drive Spreadsheet

If you need to keep track of your online purchases, then this IFTTT recipe is one of the best. It scans your inbox, and any time it finds a receipt, it automatically adds it to a Google Drive spreadsheet so you can easily keep track of your purchases.

Send Attachments to Dropbox or Evernote

If you get a lot of attachments in your Gmail, but you don't really use Google Drive, then it's kind of a pain to manually get those attachments over to a service you actually use. So, with either the Gmail to Dropbox or Gmail to Evernote recipes you can send all attachments to the service of your choice automatically as they come in.

Send Starred Emails to Evernote

If you like to star important emails so you follow up on them later and you're an Evernote user, then this recipe is what you need. When you star an email, it creates a note in Evernote so you can work on it there. This way you'll actually follow up on it.

Leave a Transcribed Note to Yourself in Gmail

Are you the type to leave audio "notes to self?" If so, then the note to self recipe is incredibly handy. With it set up, you just call the number, leave your message to yourself, and the message is transcribed and put in your Gmail inbox.

Use Gmail to Find Your Phone

Losing your phone when you're alone sucks. This find my lost phone recipe leverages your Gmail account to send a text message to your phone so you can hopefully find it quickly.

Remind Yourself to Review Starred Emails

If you use the starring feature in Gmail as a reminder to follow-up on emails, then this recipe that reminds you to actually follow up on those emails once a day is incredibly helpful. Just make sure you unstar as you complete them.

Get SMS Alerts from Specific Email Addresses

If you don't want to turn on push notifications (or you just don't have a smart phone), but still need to get alerts when certain people email you, then this specific gmail sender to SMS recipe is great. With it set up, you'll get a text message when an important contact emails you. It's pretty handy for someone like your boss, or if you're waiting for a specific email.

Turn Emails into Calendar To-Dos with a Label

If you use your Google Calendar as a makeshift to-do list, then this recipe that turns any email message labeled as "todo" into an event on Google Calendar is a must have. It's simple, but it's really effective for organization.

Turn Starred Emails Into Todo.txt Items

Alternately, if you're more of a todo.txt fan, then the append starred emails to todo.txt recipe created by former Lifehacker writer Kevin Purdy is likely up your alley. When you star an email, IFTTT appends a note onto a todo.txt file that's in your Dropbox as an easy reminder.

Automatically Add Reservation Emails to Your Calendar

Make a lot of reservations with a service like Open Table? This recipe takes those reservation confirmation emails from Gmail and automatically turns them into Google Calendar events for you.