GMail Customize

Gmail

Customize the From: Address on Outgoing Mail

Many people use Gmail as a secondary e-mail account to, for example, send and receive mail when they're away from their office. That means that they may want to send mail from Gmail, but receive a response from the recipient using their normal or primary e-mail software.

There's a way to do it, by customizing your From address on outgoing mail from Gmail. So you can, for example, have your primary, non-Gmail address in the From field, so that when people respond to your mail, it will go to your primary account, not to Gmail.

Here's how to do it.

1. Click the Settings link along the top the page, and then click the Accounts tab.
2. Click "Add another email address." Enter your full name in the "Name:" field. In the Email Address box, enter the From address you'd like appear in your outgoing Gmail messages.
3. You also have the option of having the mail go to yet a third e-mail account, instead of to your Gmail account, or to the alternative From address. If you want to do this, click "Specify a different reply-to address" and then enter the e-mail address where you want the mail to go. Click "Next Step >>," and then click "Send Verification" to complete the process. Gmail will send a verification message to your other e-mail address to confirm that you'd like to add it to your Gmail account. You'll need to click the link in that message, or enter the confirmation code in the "Accounts" section of your Gmail account to complete the process.

Once you've verified that you'd like to add the address to your account, you can start sending messages using your custom From: address. Whenever you compose a piece of mail, in the From field, choose either your normal Gmail address or the new address you just added.