Gmail archive vs. label: which one to use?

In Gmail, both "Archive" and "Label" are used to categorize and manage your emails, but they serve slightly different purposes. Here's a brief explanation to help you decide which one to use:

Archive:

• Archives an email, effectively removing it from your inbox and moving it to the "All Mail" label.
• The email is still stored in your Gmail account, but it's no longer visible in your inbox.
• Archiving an email doesn't apply a label to it, so you won't be able to search for it using a label.
• Use Archive when:
  • You want to remove an email from your inbox but still keep it in your account.
  • You don't need to reference the email frequently, but you don't want to delete it either.

Label:

• Labels an email with a specific category or topic, allowing you to search for it later.
• A label is like a tag or a keyword that you can apply to multiple emails.
• You can have multiple labels on a single email, and you can search for emails using any combination of labels.
• Use Label when:
  • You want to categorize an email by topic, project, or category.
  • You need to be able to search for an email using a specific keyword or phrase.
  • You want to keep an email in your inbox but also want to be able to filter or search for it later.

Here are some examples to illustrate the difference:

• If you receive a newsletter that you don't need to act on immediately, you might Archive it to remove it from your inbox.
• If you're working on a project and receive multiple emails related to that project, you might Label them with the project name to easily find them later.
• If you're tracking a specific topic or issue, you might Label emails related to that topic to keep them organized and easily searchable.

In summary:

• Use Archive when you want to remove an email from your inbox but still keep it in your account.
• Use Label when you want to categorize an email by topic, project, or category, and be able to search for it later.