How to Sort Gmail by Sender (the Search Trick That Works)

If you've come from Outlook or an older email app, you probably expect to click a From column and see your inbox lined up alphabetically by sender. Gmail simply doesn't work that way. There's no sort by sender button, and Google's own help on searching doesn't list one.

What Gmail does instead is let you pull up every email from one person in seconds, and then act on them all at once. For most jobs, that's what people were after anyway: finding that supplier's order confirmations, clearing out a shop's promotions, or reading a client's whole history. Here's how, using the routes Google's help describes.

What Gmail lets you sort by

Google's help says that after you search, you can switch the results between Most relevant and Most recent. That's the only sort control it mentions. So the way to see one sender's emails together is to search for that sender, not to sort the inbox.

Showing every email from one sender in Gmail

The quickest way on a computer is a search operator:

1. Click the search bar at the top of Gmail.
2. Type from: followed by the person's email address, with no space after the colon.
3. Press Enter.

Gmail lists every conversation from that sender. Google notes that putting the address in quotes limits the results to that exact address rather than any aliases. You can also type from: and just a name, which works well if you can't remember their exact address.

Using Gmail's search options box to find a sender

If you'd rather not type operators, Gmail has a form for it:

1. Click the Show search options icon at the right of the search box. It looks like a set of sliders.
2. Type the sender's address or name in the From field.
3. Add anything else you need, such as words in the subject, a date range or a size.
4. Click Search.

Narrowing Gmail sender results with search chips

Once you've searched and pressed Enter, Google says a row of chips appears under the search box. You can use From and To, Any time for a date range, Has attachment, Is unread and a few others. So searching a supplier's name and then tapping Has attachment is a fast way to find every document they've sent.

What you want	Type this in Gmail search
Everything from one sender	from: plus their address
Unread emails from them	from: plus their address, then is:unread
Their emails with attachments	from: plus their address, then has:attachment
Emails from either of two people	from: one address OR from: the other
Include Spam and Trash too	in:anywhere plus your search

Grouping a sender's emails automatically with a label

If you want a sender's emails gathered in one place permanently, turn the search into a filter. In Show search options, enter the sender in From, then click Create filter instead of Search. Choose to apply a label, and from then on every email from them lands under that label in the left-hand menu. It's the nearest thing Gmail has to a sorted-by-sender folder.

I've set out the full filter options, including skipping the inbox and starring, in my guide to creating a filter in Gmail.

Clearing out a sender's emails in bulk

Searching by sender is also the fastest tidy-up there is. Search from: and the address, tick the select box at the top of the list to choose everything on screen, and then archive, delete or mark them read. If you're having a big clear-out, my walkthrough on deleting emails in Gmail in bulk covers selecting all conversations, not just the first page.

Remember that Google says normal searches leave out Spam and Trash. If you're looking for everything a person has ever sent, choose Mail & Spam & Trash in Show search options, or add in:anywhere to your search.

Finding emails from a sender on your phone

In the Gmail app, tap the search bar at the top, type the sender's name or address and tap search. The from: operator works there too. Google's main search help links to separate pages for Android and iPhone, and menus vary by app version, but the search bar is always the starting point.

Sorting by sender for a small business inbox

• Give each key supplier or client a label through a filter, so their emails always group together.
• Search from: plus a sender before a call, so their recent history is in front of you.
• Use from: with older_than to find old threads from a customer you haven't heard from in a while.
• Clear out shops and newsletters you never read with one search and one archive.

If an email from a regular sender has gone missing, it may have been archived rather than deleted. My guide to finding archived emails in Gmail shows where it'll be.

Frequently asked questions

Can you sort Gmail by sender?

Not in the way you might expect. Google's help only mentions switching search results between Most relevant and Most recent. To see one sender's emails together, search for them with from: plus their address.

How do I see all emails from one person in Gmail?

Type from: followed by their email address in the search bar and press Enter. Gmail shows every conversation from that sender.

How do I group emails from a sender automatically?

Open Show search options, put the sender in From, click Create filter and choose to apply a label. Future emails from them go under that label.

Why can't I find an old email from a sender?

Google says standard searches exclude Spam and Trash. Choose Mail & Spam & Trash in Show search options, or add in:anywhere to the search.

Can I find emails from two senders at once?

Yes. Google's search operators let you type from: one address OR from: another to see both together.