There is a lot of confusion surrounding the differences between Apple mail, googles own mail application and the gmail service and sadly this moves people to use applications they don’t need making it a jarring experience to say the very least.
Essentially google and iCloud are the same service except one takes your privacy very seriously and the other one is google.
When you sign up for iCloud, the basic services gives you calendar, contacts and bookmark syncing and, if you need it, an iCloud email address that most Mac users access using Apple Mail (the envelope icon in your dock).
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If you have a gmail account you have access all the same services but most people have the idea that these can be accessed using a web page. The truth is you can continue to use Apple Mail (the envelope icon in your dock) and the built in calendar app to access your google services. Now, I am not suggesting you use these services as an alternative to iCloud but should you want to you can do so without using the gmail website.
If you have a gmail account and you use the ghastly Gmail app on your iPhone or iPad, or worse still, access it via a website then read on. There is a better way.
I am not one for re-inventing the food processor so here is a quick guide on how to set up gmail on a Mac using Apple Mail.
1. Open Apple Mail on your Mac.
NOTE: If this this the first timer you have used Apple Mail you’ll be taken straight to choosing an account, so go straight to step 2
2. Click on the Mail menu and choose Accounts.
3. Select the Google option, then click Continue
4. You’ll then be asked to open Safari and once you do this you’ll be asked to supply your email address and password.
5. Enter your password in the Google Welcome window and click Next. If prompted, select Allow to grant permissions to your account. Then Internet Accounts will ask you what services you’d like to use.
6. Choose your services and close the window
If all goes well your gmail email should start pouring in and from here you can use Apple Mail to access your gmail as you would any other email account.
If you chose to use calendar and contacts, you can open the Calendar app and your gmail calendars will be listed there. Contacts will also list all your contacts.
As I mentioned earlier, I am not a fan of gmail services instead of iCloud, but it can be useful to have a contacts list and calendar exclusively for a business or social group you belong too and they can all be listed in the same app.
So there you go, if you must use gmail you don’t have to suffer their app that looks like it was designed by someone wearing boxing gloves and you don’t have to suffer the minefield of trying to send an attachment via the gmail website.
