# g-mail question - changing subject lines for archives **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 15, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g-mail-question-changing-subject-lines-for-archives/707319 "2014-12-15T19:09:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g-mail-question-changing-subject-lines-for-archives/707319/1 "2014-12-15T19:09:22Z")
I can’t find anything on line to help me, but maybe one of the Dopers has the info I need. When I archive or save or deal with mail I’ve sent or received, I am forced to save it with the original subject line. Sometimes, it would be much more helpful to me to be able to re-label the mail so that I can identify it later in a search. I know I can do it when replying or forwarding. What about when I keep the mail? Is that a possibility in G-mail? ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g-mail-question-changing-subject-lines-for-archives/707319/2 "2014-12-15T19:13:44Z")
I don’t think so. But you can create a label and then archive it. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g-mail-question-changing-subject-lines-for-archives/707319/3 "2014-12-15T19:26:29Z")
Yeah, that’s not practical, really. I’d wind up with hundreds of folders. I want to, say, search for mail from a particular person on a particular topic we’ve been discussing. Example: George and I are discussing politics. We exchange a series of e-mails. In one, George comes up with a solution to a problem we’ve been talking about. He may not even use the word, solution, in his e-mail. But if I could archive the mail with “George’s solution” in the subject, I could more easily find what I’m looking for, especially cross-checking for rough dates sent, etc. (That’s the kind of thing I used to be able to do when we used AOL. The most excellent mail system was the reason we hung on to AOL for so long. ) ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g-mail-question-changing-subject-lines-for-archives/707319/4 "2014-12-15T19:29:24Z")
The thing I’ve done when I really wanted to save something like that with a specific subject line is to forward it to myself (or reply all) with the change. ---
**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g-mail-question-changing-subject-lines-for-archives/707319/5 "2014-12-15T20:02:58Z")
I just looked through the Google Groups for Google Mail and Labs: This is a rather popular feature request, but it is still just a request at the moment. The general concept is adding one-off tags to an email rather than changing specifically the email subject. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g-mail-question-changing-subject-lines-for-archives/707319/6 "2014-12-15T20:15:39Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > The thing I’ve done when I really wanted to save something like that with a specific subject line is to forward it to myself (or reply all) with the change. I thought about that, but then, I wouldn’t know who sent it originally. I’m hoping Google with figure out an easy fix to a simple issue. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g-mail-question-changing-subject-lines-for-archives/707319/7 "2014-12-15T21:31:24Z")
> [@CC](#): > > I thought about that, but then, I wouldn’t know who sent it originally. Yes, you would. GMail shows everything in threads. George sends you his idea for lubricating the meat slicer. His e-mail has the title “My suggestion” and the text is only “Mineral castor oil”. So he doesn’t say “meat” or “slicer” anywhere. You forward this e-mail to yourself and, in the text, you write “solution meat slicer lube”. Now, in GMail, you search for “Solution meat” and it gives you the thread containing George’s original e-mail. (Note: I don’t do this myself, I use labels.) Nice username / subject combo, BTW! ETA: I didn’t even know you could change the subject when forwarding. Ya learn something new every day… ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g-mail-question-changing-subject-lines-for-archives/707319/8 "2014-12-15T21:42:56Z")
I’d love to be able to do this in Thunderbird. I have hundreds of emails in my saved inbox, but it’s a royal PITA when, for example, that really important email or spreadsheet has the subject line Re:No Subject or “Here ya go” or “Hi”. Sometimes searching helps, sometimes it doesn’t. Often times I’ll sort by sender so at least if I know who it came from I’m not scanning hundreds of emails, just a few. I’ll have to try forwarding it to myself with the ‘correct’ subject, but then I lose the sender’s name. Also, something I’ve done in the past, when I’ve called someone and asked them to send me something that I know I’m going to store in my inbox I’ll ask them to use a good subject line for just this reason. For example, a few months back a worker’s comp case was closed and the agent told me she was going to send me a letter stating just that. It’s not something I’m likely to need again, I’m not going to print it, I don’t need it saved on my computer, but I was going to keep it saved on Thuderbird, so I asked her to send it with the subject like “[employee’s name] Worker’s Comp Case” or something like that. I told her if she just sent it with the subject like “Here’s that file”, I’d never be able to find it again. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2014, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/g-mail-question-changing-subject-lines-for-archives/707319/9 "2014-12-16T07:51:52Z")
Note, though, that if you have an on-going conversation with several e-mails back-and-forth, and you reply or forward to yourself and change the title, it starts a new separate conversation.