Google adds autocomplete to Gmail searches

Gmail now offers a number of advanced search tools

A new feature under development in Google Labs should make it easier for Gmail users to find emails.

Search Autocomplete offers suggestions as the user types, meaning that name fields and search entries are completed more quickly, and spelling errors can be corrected and common mistakes avoided, according to a Google blog post.

For example, the user needs to type only a couple of letters of an email address for a drop down box containing suggestions to appear.

Google software engineer Ibrahim Bokharouss said that advanced search features will let users search for certain types of content, such as photographs, within their mail folders.

"Gmail also offers a bunch of advanced search operators, which provide a powerful way to find that one message you have in mind," he said.

"You can search in specific places (e.g. in chats or sent items), or search for messages with attachments of a certain type (e.g. docs or photos). Similarly, you can type in the word 'attachment' and Search Autocomplete will list the most common attachment types for you."

vnunet.com carried out a quick test of the new feature by typing in the letters 'ph'. The search returned all email address beginning with these letters, and offered the option to view emails with photographs attached.