Toolbar
The row of buttons above an open email is fully yours to arrange. Put the actions you use most front and centre, tuck the rest into a menu, and hide what you never touch.
Customize it in Settings → Toolbar.
Primary vs. overflow
Every action lives in one of three places:
| Section | What it is |
|---|---|
| Primary | Buttons shown directly on the toolbar |
| Overflow | Tucked into the "more" (⋯) menu |
| Hidden | Not shown at all |
Drag actions between these sections to build the toolbar you want. To rearrange the order, drag a button up or down within its section.
Dynamic overflow
You don't have to guess how many buttons will fit. The toolbar measures its own width and automatically moves primary buttons into the overflow menu when the panel gets narrow — for example on a small screen, or when the reading pane is squeezed beside the list. Widen it again and the buttons come back out. Nothing is ever lost; it just moves.
Icon vs. icon + text
Each button has a display mode you can set per action:
| Mode | Shows |
|---|---|
| Icon + text | The icon and its label (e.g. a reply arrow + "Reply") |
| Icon only | Just the icon — more buttons fit in the same space |
| Text only | Just the label, no icon |
Split-button dropdowns
Some actions carry related options in a small dropdown arrow. For example, Reply All can hold Reply, Reply in Gmail, and Reply All in Gmail behind its chevron. You choose which actions appear inside each dropdown right in the toolbar editor.
Actions you can add
The editor offers the full set of email actions — reply, forward, archive, star, delete, mark read/unread, mark important, open in Gmail, response-tracking states, labels, run-a-rule, mark as (spam / cold email / newsletter), and more — plus Custom buttons you can name and point at any underlying action.
Not sure where to begin? Leave the default layout in place, then move just the one or two actions you reach for constantly into Primary. Hit Restore Defaults any time to start over.
Shortcuts live next door
The Toolbar settings cover which buttons appear and how they look. To attach a keyboard shortcut to an action, head to Quick Actions.
→ Related: Keyboard Shortcuts · Quick Actions