How to Forward Emails in Gmail the Right Way

People often ask how to forward emails in Gmail​ because they want to share existing inbox data with someone else.

The problem is not a lack of options but rather the opposite. Gmail gives you many different methods with which you can send emails currently in your mailbox to a different email address.

This confuses a lot of users, especially when they can’t find the same option on other platforms like the Gmail mobile app.

Don’t worry, I have been assisting users like yourself in handling forward requests daily. So you can fully trust my guidelines, let’s start with the most direct method first.

How to Forward Emails in Gmail​ Manually

This step-by-step tutorial is all you need:

• Step 1. Log in to your @gmail.com account
• Step 2. Open a message you want to forward somewhere else.
• Step 3. Look at the bottom of your screen; there should be a big “Forward” button. Click it.
• Step 4. Type the recipient’s email address into the “To” field.
• Step 5. Add any additional text or context to the body of the email if necessary.
• Step 6. Click the “Send” button.

Bulk Forward Messages as Attachment

Gmail is one of the few email service providers that lets its users forward multiple messages at once. Here is how it works:

• Step 1. Log in to your @gmail account.
• Step 2. Inside your inbox, you should see a square check box next to the messages. Mark them to select the messages.
• Note that if you hold the shift key, you can make a continuous selection by just clicking on the first and last message.
• There is also a select all box at the top, which will auto-select all messages currently on your screen (50 by default)
• Step 4. Then click the 3 vertical dot icon, a dropdown appears, choose Forward as attachment.
• Step 5. Gmail will form a draft with all the selected messages as attachments.
• Step 6. Once the attachment has fully loaded, add a recipient’s name and hit send.

This is how to forward emails in Gmail. Moreover, you can select toggle to select even more messages (settings > See all settings > General > Maximum Page size > 100), but most of the time selecting this many at once and trying to forward them as attachments leads to the formation of messages that are larger than 25 MB, the maximum size of email you can send out of Gmail.

So you are not able to complete the forwarding. I suggest that if you still want to mass forward as an attachment, keep the batch size manageable, 10-20 messages. This is also easier for your recipient when they get such a large volume of mail from your side.

Automatically Forward all Upcoming Gmail Emails

If you want to re-route all upcoming messages without even being online or relying on manual intervention every time, use this method to learn how to forward emails in Gmail​:

• Step 1. Sign in to Gmail if you haven’t already. Towards the top right, you should see a cog-like settings icon; click it.
• Step 2. Default settings don’t have all the options we need, so click the See all settings.
• Step 3. Go to the “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” tab.
• Step 4. Tap the “Add a forwarding address,” type the destination email, and click “Next.” (You may be asked to sign in again as adding a forwarding address is a sensitive option).
• Step 5. Now go and login to the address you are forwarding the emails to (or ask the recipient if you are not the account holder) and confirm the account as the recipient.
• Step 6. Once done, return to the same settings page and save changes.

This method is viable in other scenarios as well. I used it as one of my remedies in the case of the recent Evertek email ending announcement.

Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Forward Faster

Keyboard shortcuts are disabled by default in your Gmail account. So, to use this method, enable them (Settings > See all settings > General > Keyboard shortcuts on).

Once enabled, this is how to forward emails in Gmail​:

• Step 1. Go back to the Gmail home page, use “J”/“K” or the up-down arrow keys to highlight the target email.
• Step 2. Press “Enter” to open the message.
• Step 3. Press “F” to open the forwarding screen, enter the recipient address, and hit Enter to send the message.

Forward Emails from Gmail Mobile App

It’s fairly simple, and it’s practically the same for both iOS and Android. All you have to do is follow the steps explained below:

• Step 1. Install and set up the Gmail app and add your account.
• Step 2. Open a message.
• Step 3. A forward button should appear near the bottom part of your screen. Tap it.
• Step 4. Inside the new draft, type your recipient’s email address and hit send.

Watch Out While You Forward Messages in Gmail Account

You can only forward 100 messages in an hour (not counting the Forward as attachment option), and the full day limit is 500 messages. This limit applies regardless of the Google One plan you subscribe to. Here is a more in-depth explanation of the official sending limits in Gmail.

Once you reach that limit, it’s a dead end. Not only can you not forward, but you also cannot send any message, period. This is the case until the timer resets.

Every Gmail account (or should I say all email accounts in general) has this speed breaker to prevent misuse and control spamming.

So if you planned to forward your entire message history to a new account, I suggest you use a different approach.

When you forward messages, you unknowingly pollute the metadata. It is a hidden portion of an email message that is useful for compliance and digital investigations.

That is why, before you ask how to forward emails in Gmail​ again, if you use Gmail professionally, you should check with your IT Team if it’s ok to mass forward messages. Most likely, you will be preemptively blocked, as any sort of mass transfer usually triggers internal monitoring systems.

Moreover, the act of forwarding a Gmail email confuses the recipient’s inbox and triggers security warnings. Moreover, it is a well-known fact that forwarded emails have a significantly higher chance of triggering spam filters. That is why the auto-forward only works when you verify the recipient account.

If still facing issues, troubleshoot Gmail forwarding not working in a few easy ways.

If your real intention was not to forward all of your messages, but rather it was to move all data, then you must try this alternative approach.

No Need to Forward Emails in Gmail with this Alternative

The SysTools Gmail to Gmail tool is the best in-class solution to move all messages from an existing Gmail account to a different one.

 

You can skip over the need to forward entirely, as this tool performs direct server-to-server translation without compromising on speed or accuracy.

So download your copy today and get started immediately.

My Verdict

Now I believe you fully understand how to forward emails in Gmail​ under any circumstance. Whether you want to send a single email, mass forward multiple emails as attachments, set auto-forward for all upcoming data, or use the mobile app.

Please keep in mind that there are several restrictions if you try to forward all of your mailbox content. If total transfer is what you need, use the professional tool that is the best fit for the job.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I bulk forward emails in the Gmail mobile app?

No, there is no option for bulk forward like you see on the web app.

Q: Is it possible to forward emails directly from the Gmail spam folder?

Yes, you can forward messages right from inside the spam folder.

Q: Do forwarded messages remain in my original account?

Yes, they do. However, if you set up an auto-forward rule, you may accidentally select the option that bypasses your account and directly puts the message into the recipient’s mailbox. If you wish to retain copies of messages, make sure you keep the option to keep a copy in my account enabled.

Q: Is a forwarded message larger than the original message?

Yes, Gmail adds a bit of extra context inside the messages that you forward in Gmail, which enlarges the size of the messages. Although the message content remains as is, only the metadata is what changes.