How to Send a Reply and Archive With One Click in Gmail

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Karolina van Schrojenstein Lantman - Orlinska/Queridian Solutions/CC BY 2.0 license

by Heinz Tschabitscher
An independent writer who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
Updated September 25, 2018

Keyboard shortcuts are a boon for saving time, but sometimes they are unnecessary. Take the keyboard shortcut e in Gmail, for example. When you are through with an email but don't want to trash it, you just click e to archive it.

Bored With Send, E?

Click Send. Press e. Click Send. Press e. Click Send. Press e.

This works, but you can deliver the reply and archive the conversation all with a single click, which would make your Gmail experience even more effective. You need to look no further than Gmail's settings to do just that.

How to Send a Reply and Archive With One Click in Gmail

To enable the Send & Archive button in Gmail:

  1. Click the Settings gear in the top right corner of your Gmail screen.

  2. Select Settings from the menu that appears.

  3. In the Send and Archive section, click the radio button next to Show "Send & Archive" button in reply to activate this feature.

  4. Click Save Changes.

Now, to send a message and archive its conversation in one go:

  1. Compose your reply to an email you received.

  2. Click the Send and archive button located immediately beneath your reply and next to the Send button.

  3. Your reply is sent, and the email is moved to a label called All Mail. If someone replies to that email, it is moved back to your inbox for your attention.