Learn how to install, connect to, and start using the Gmail Pack in your Coda doc.
The Gmail Pack is an innovative tool designed to help Gmail users streamline their workflow and increase productivity. With the Gmail Pack, you can easily access and manage your inbox right from your Coda doc.
Whether you're a freelancer or part of a larger team, the Gmail Pack is a powerful integration that can help you stay organized, save time, and get more done.
Within this article, you’ll find...
Add the Gmail Pack to your doc
If this is your first time installing a Pack, we recommend you check out these intro articles on installing a Pack and connecting to a Pack account.
To install the Gmail Pack in your doc, just follow these steps:
On any blank line in your doc’s canvas, type a forward slash, followed by “Gmail” (e.g. /Gmail )
From the drop-down menu, select Gmail (under the More Packs header)
Then click the Add to doc button in the upper right.
That's it - the Gmail Pack is now installed. To start putting it to use, check out the following section.
💡 Tip: As an alternative to the slash command, you can browse and install Packs by clicking on Insert (upper-right corner of your doc), and selecting Packs.
Put the Gmail Pack to use
Once you’ve installed the Pack, you’re ready to start using any of its many building blocks. To see what this Pack has to offer, head to the Pack page by following these steps:
Click on Insert in the upper right corner of your doc
Select Packs
Under Installed Packs, select Gmail
Scroll through the Building blocks tab to see all the ways you can start using the Pack. You’ll see templates, tables, buttons, columns, formulas, and more.
To add any of these building blocks to your doc, simply click and drag onto the page. You will then be prompted to connect to your Gmail account in order to access that data. Follow the prompts to connect your account. If this is your first time connecting to the Gmail Pack, you'll be prompted to sign in to your Gmail account. And if you need a refresher on connecting to Pack accounts, check out this article.
Gmail Pack settings
In the settings tab of each Pack, you can set the default refresh rate for Pack data, as well as add, remove, and manage connected accounts. To locate these settings for the Gmail Pack:
Click on Insert in the upper right corner of your doc
Select Packs
Under Installed Packs, select Gmail
Click Settings. From here you’ll be able to select the refresh rate (Manually, Daily and Hourly) and select the account you’re using. You can use private or shared accounts with this Pack. Learn more about shared vs. private accounts here.
Examples, tips, and tricks
While there are countless ways to use the Gmail Pack, we want to share some helpful resources that demonstrate some of the most common and most useful applications.
To learn about any applications not described here, check out our Getting Started Guide, or you can search our gallery of published docs, and explore the listing page for this Pack here.
Sync in Messages and Threads
A common use of the Gmail Pack is bringing in a table of all your messages or threads associated with a given Gmail account. This can help you and your team stay organized, save time, and get more done.
Once you’ve added the Gmail Pack to your doc and logged in, you can follow the steps below to bring in either your Messages table, Threads table, or both!
Open the Gmail Pack
In scroll to the the Tables section of the building blocks
You’ll see two options: Messages and Threads. To start, drag and drop one of these options into your doc.
In the side-panel, you can configure the sync table settings. Be sure to check out the additional criteria available here with the + Add Criteria button.
Once you’ve configured your settings, click the Sync Now button in your table!
Once it loads, you’ll have a table containing all the messages or threads that meet your sync criteria.
Send Emails and Create Drafts
The Gmail Pack allows for seamless communication and collaboration between team members, eliminating the need for constant switching between different tools and platforms.
With Gmail buttons, you can create drafts and send out emails of your meeting summaries, to-dos, reminders and more, right from inside your Coda doc.
You don’t have to leave Coda to send out an email or create a draft, simply use the Send Email or Create Draft button actions in your Coda tables!
💡 Need a refresher on Coda buttons? Check this article out.
To set up a Send Email button:
Either in your table or on the canvas, create your button column or singular button.
In the On Click section of the button settings, select Packs > Gmail > Send Email
Configure the rest of the button settings as described in the next section.
Required inputs
Account: The Gmail account used to take this action.
To: The email address you are sending the message to. For example, "name@example.com".
Subject: The subject line of the email.
Content: The text of the email.
Optional inputs
Cc: An email address to CC.
Bcc: An email address to BCC.
From: The email address to send the email from.
Reply to: The email's reply-to address. This is where replies to the email should be sent.
Hide Signature: Should the email include the document link, yes or no?
Thread Id: The thread to send the email reply to.
Results: Select a column to record the result of the button action (ie: did the button action succeed or fail)
To set up a Create Draft button, you can follow the above instructions, but select Create Draft in step 2 instead!
💡 Because this application is so common, we’ve created an entire guide to walk you through the setup, share some helpful tips, and some of our favorite Gmail Pack use cases and templates. Be sure to check it out!
FAQs
How can I remove "Sent via this Coda doc" from the bottom of an email?
If you send an email via the Gmail pack, you may have noticed a small footer at the bottom that says “Sent via this Coda doc.”
You can easily remove this within the button configuration options. To do so, follow these steps:
Right click on the header of the button column, and select Edit column
Scroll to the first +Add More button in the button settings
From the available options, select Hide signature
Check the box for Hide Signature
Can I have multiple instances of my Messages or Threads table in the same doc?
No, but you can add in an additional account to sync from and create filtered views for each account. Here’s how:
Go to your sync table settings > + Add another sync > set up your secondary account:
Click Sync now to sync in your secondary account messages or threads. You’ve now created a “master table” of messages or threads.
Create a connected view of your master sync table for each account.
For each table, apply a filter to view messages/threads from a specific account.
How should I configure my Pack settings? What are private vs shared accounts?
Check out this article for more details on this topic, but here’s a quick breakdown:
Private account settings
The private account setting is your account and only you can take actions with this.
This is the most secure setting, but since it’s private, you can’t use it to display syncs or Gmail info in the doc.
Shared account settings
A shared account is required to display Gmail data in a doc.
Setting this to “Take actions and view data” will mean that anyone who has edit access to the doc will be able to act as you when taking actions from Coda to Gmail.
Can I use a template in combination with the Send Email button action?
Yes! You can do this with the help of our Compose column feature, or with the help of the Format() formula. Learn more about that formula here.
How can I make the email I send out display my name as the “From” contact?
In the From field of your Send Email action, add the following:
My Name
This will force Gmail to display your name instead of just your email.
Can I add HTML formatting to my emails sent via the Gmail Pack?
Not at this time, however, a great Pack to combine with our Gmail Pack is the HTML Builder Pack. Be sure to check out the getting started guide for this Pack!
How do I see the contents of emails in the Threads sync table?
To see the contents of emails in your Threads sync table, you’ll need to sync in your Messages table as well. You can create a relation column between the two tables to then bring in the text content of each message.
Tip: If you sync your Messages table in first, the Threads table will automatically create this relation column for you!
Can I get the link to an specific Gmail message from gmail Pack?
You can create a button to open a specific message from your Messages sync table with a formula!
Hover over your Message chip and insert the ID column in your table if it is not already synced.
Create a button column in your table.
In the On Click section of the button settings, select Open Hyperlink
In the URL section of the button settings, add this formula:
Concatenate("https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/",thisRow.[insert message ID column name here]))
Related resources
Gmail Pack | Pack listing page
HTML Email Builder Pack, extend Coda with HTML | Coda Packs
Overview: Use Packs in Coda | Coda Help Center
Take actions with Pack buttons | Coda Help Center
Sync data with Pack tables | Coda Help Center