Email, Messaging, & Video Calls Email Learn to Filter Similar Messages in Gmail Be more productive with Gmail filters by Heinz Tschabitscher Writer A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997. our editorial process Heinz Tschabitscher Updated on May 27, 2020 Email Gmail Yahoo! Mail Tweet Share Email Gmail's filters simplify email management and are particularly useful for users who send and receive a lot of email. These custom filters direct and classify emails according to criteria you specify. The easiest way to set up a filter is to base it on an individual email you have received. Here's how: Open an email like tthose you want Gmail to filter automatically—for example, from a certain person or company, or with a subject that's common to all the emails in question. Click More (represented by three vertical dots) above the email. Select Filter messages like these from the menu. Adjust the filter criteria. If you want to filter messages from the same sender, you're all set. To filter messages to a mailing list or one of your addresses, enter it in the To line. Use the Subject field to filter for words and phrases in the subject line. Use Has the words and Doesn't have to look for or exclude words or phrases in the message body.Use quotation marks to match entire phrases.Use I or OR to make the rule match one or the other. For example, me@example.com|you@example.com filters messages received from either me@example.com or you@example.com.Place a check in the box next to Has attachment to filter only emails with attachments.Place a check in the box next to Don't include chats, if desired.Indicate any size limitations. Click Create filter. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up. Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit