FAQ: About Google

What features come with the move to Gmail?

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Google Mail provides two key features that alums have been asking for: increased email storage and instant mobile access. You'll get that and more, including:

• 25GB of storage
• Mobile (e.g. iPhone, Droid, Blackberry) and desktop access (e.g. Outlook)
• Industry-leading virus protection and spam filters
• No ads

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What applications are being offered?

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Google Email (including Chat), Google Calendar and Google Docs are being offered. Note that the Stanford Google Email, Google Calendar and Google Docs cannot be integrated with existing consumer Google accounts.

If you do not see an Application listed here, we do not support it. You will have to access any App not listed here through a personal Gmail account.

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Do I need to log out of Google mail separately when I log out of the Stanford Alumni Association website?

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Yes, make sure you log out of Google mail separately. Logging out of the Stanford Alumni Association website will not log you out of your Alumni Email. In addition, closing the Alumni Email browser/tab without signing out will not log you out. If you don't log out, others that use your computer can get into your email. Learn more

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Where do I go to log out of Google?

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To sign out of your email account, select your email address in the upper right hand corner of the page and select "Sign out". You will be directed to the Stanford Alumni home page.

Logging out of Alumni Email does not log you out of the Stanford Alumni website. To complete the Stanford Alumni log out, select the "Log Out" link.

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How does my personal Gmail account relate to my Alumni Email account?

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Your personal Gmail account is completely separate from your Alumni Email account.

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Can I merge an existing Google account with my Alumni Email account?

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Google does not allow you to merge separate Google Accounts. You can, however, set up one account to forward to another account. Learn how to set up forward settings.

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Can I keep both my personal Google account and my Alumni Email account open in the same browser?

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Unfortunately, this is not possible (Google offers "multiple sign-in", but it doesn't seem to work). If you do not want to constantly get the "Switch Accounts" message which signs you out of one of your accounts, we suggest using one browser for your personal Google account and a different browser for Alumni Email. Learn more

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I have an @stanfordalumni.org email address. Why does the email address in the right corner of my mail screen say username@alumni.stanford.edu?

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The short answer: don't worry about it. Your Alumni Email is set up for whichever address you use; the address in the right corner isn't important (but it is confusing!).
The longer answer: @alumni.stanford.edu is the Stanford Alumni Association's primary domain and was used to set up Google. Because it is the primary domain, it automatically displays (despite our efforts to change it!).

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How long does it take to learn to use Google mail?

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Expect that it could take about one week to get comfortable with the service. Labels and conversation view are two key new features that you will likely want to learn to use.

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Why can't I use my @stanfordalumni.org email address to log in to other Google products?

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Stanford is using Google's "Apps for Edu" product. Google does not allow users to log in to a consumer Google product with the email address used in Apps for Edu. As a result, if you have used your @stanfordalumni.org account to log in to your Google accounts in the past, it will no longer work. When you try to log in, you will get a message telling you that you need to associate your account with a different email address. You will be given three options: (1) create a new Gmail address, (2) associate a different email address with this account (ie., username@yahoo.com), (3) continue to log in with a temporary password assigned by Google. Learn more

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How much storage do I get with my Google Apps account?

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Google provides 25GB of storage for Gmail.
Google Docs has maximum storage of 1 GB per user.

Learn about size limits.

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