As you probably know I do provide free tech support services here on this website.

I get lots of requests for help with various issues ranging from installing web applications and using various web services… to fixing computers and other tech tech stuff. I even occasionally receive requests for help with non-technical issues like study abroad programs, scholarship search, information about Ghana, etc.

While I’m always glad to help whenever I can, it’s pretty annoying answering the same questions over and over again. I’ve contemplated running a forum or a proper help desk software but, being the lazy person that I am, I haven’t gotten to doing it yet.

So I was trilled to find that Google’s Gmail service now has a brand new feature designed just to ease my pain… called “Canned Responses”. I jumped right in since the announcement to create a couple of canned messages, and already it’s saving me a whole lot of time!

New Gmail Canned Responses feature

Cannned Responses also work with Gmail’s filters, so you can use the combo as a smart autoresponse tool to automatically reply to incoming messages based on the various criteria supported by Gmail’s filters.

Gmail Filters With Canned Responses

Canned Responses is currently a Gmail Labs feature, so to use it you have to manually turn it on. Click on the green test tube at the upper-right corner of your Gmail screen, scroll through the list for “Canned Responses” and enable it. Don’t forget to save the changes afterwards