Google Suite FAQ

Why is SUNY Broome using Google Mail (Google Workspace) related services?

Gmail: 30 GB of storage space built in, along with instant messenger, better mobile access, and superior email search features.

Google Calendar: Take your calendar with you on your mobile phone or any mobile device and have it automatically sync to your computer. Share calendars with fellow faculty and staff members. Easy scheduling of department and division meetings and events.

Google Drive: Allows a user to create, share, and collaborate on documents, spreadsheets, forms, presentations, images and other files.

Google Sites: Create websites as a team or solo with built in video, image, gadget and document integration.

Do I need to do anything if I already have a Gmail account?

Your personal Gmail account is not your SUNY Broome Gmail account. They are separate. However, you can forward your personal email to your SUNY Broome Gmail account or the other way around if you want to. (Not recommended for Faculty/Staff, as your personal email account may become legally discoverable.) See how to get exact instructions for how to forward mails.

What do I need to do to create my Gmail account?

Nothing. SUNY Broome ITS will create your Gmail account for you when your department completes a new employee authorization form or when you register as a student. Your account will always follow the format of (employee) username@sunybroome.edu or (student) username@acad.sunybroome.edu. Username is typically your last name and your first initial, sometimes a number is added if multiple people share your naming format. Look up your email address and password. This will show you your SUNY Broome email address and the initial password used to login. Please change it to a password of a minimum of 8 characters as soon as possible.

For difficulties accessing your account, call 607-778-5011 or visit Business Building room 121 for assistance.

Where do I go to access my Gmail account?

You go right to Google Mail and put in your full username (including the @sunybroome.edu or @acad.sunybroome.edu part) and password for access.

Where do I access all the other Google features like drive and calendar?

Log into your SUNY Broome Gmail account and look for a black checkerboard ▦ across the top of your mail page. You should now see options for drive, calendar, and contacts among other selections.

How much storage space do I have with Gmail?

Each user has access to 30 GB of storage space.

What is conversation view and why should I use it?

Conversation view is the Gmail default email view. What it does is nest conversations (emails back and forth with a person or a group of people) into one thread. It then sorts it in order of oldest messages at the top and newest at the bottom. The advantage of this feature is it helps sort emails into an easier to find format. Many people prefer to turn conversation view off when using a work computer as it does cause confusion when searching for specific emails. Find tips of how you can search for emails.

What is the size limit of messages I can send through Gmail?

You can send messages, including the attachment, up to 25 MB in size.

I used to be able to retrieve messages from my trash; I have noticed messages have started to go missing from there, what is going on?

When you delete a message Gmail removes the message from EVERY label (folder) the message was contained in, the conversation is then moved to the trash folder. After 30 days the trash is automatically deleted, unless you delete it yourself beforehand. After 30 days, deleted emails cannot be recovered.

Before the 30-day time limit, mail can be moved back to its original location.

I want to set up my smart phone to receive Gmail how do I do this?

Select your type of smartphone and follow the instructions.

How do I delete folders (labels in Gmail)?

Find your labels on the left hand side of the mail pane. Scroll down until you see more. Select that.

Then select Manage Labels.

Select “remove” to the right of a label to remove it, or “edit” to change the name or nest the label (make it a subfolder).

I am using a distribution list, but am not receiving the message I sent to the group. Why not?

Look in your sent mail or all mail labels. You should see the message here. You can also cc yourself if you know you are not part of the distribution list and want to see this message in your inbox.

As a note even if you cc yourself, this does not verify that the message reached people on the distribution list. Email someone on that list if you need to check to be sure.

I shared my calendar with a group, but nobody in the group can see it. Why?

When you share a calendar with a group of people, they will still have to add you manually to their list of calendars.

I am not seeing invitations that people are sending me to events. What is going on?

The first thing you want to check is your notification options in google calendar.

How do I set reminders for calendar events? I want more than just a blanket notification.

You can set a blanket notification setting for calendar events through the notifications section on calendar. You can also set notifications for specific events in addition to your normal settings.

I have deleted a calendar event. Can I recover it?

Once deleted the event cannot be recovered. You will have to remake the event.

How can I change my password?

To change your Gmail password, please login into My Account. Go to the Security tab and scroll down to “How you sign into Google”

Choose password and follow the steps to set up the new password

I received a spam/virus email, what should I do?

Open Gmail in your browser
Open the message
Next to the Reply , select the Down arrow
Select “Report Phishing”

Google then will directly put this email into the spam folder or will give you a warning. It also learns from these reports and will get better in separating good mail from Spam mail.