Mountain View, California — Users of several Gmail accounts, take note. Google on Thursday officially eliminated the pains of shuffling between multiple Gmail accounts. People with two or three Gmail addresses can now switch back and forth between their accounts quickly and easily without logging out.
According to Alex Chitu at Googler Operating System, who first noticed the new Google feature that should certainly please a lot of users. Google has just activated the new multi-account sign-in feature across its suite of webapps.
The company is in the process of activating a new feature that enables users shuffle through up to three of their authorized Google accounts without having to authenticate their credentials. In addition, they will be able to switch from one to another with a simple drop down menu. It available on most (but not all) of the popular Google apps.
“Lots of people have asked us for a better way to use multiple accounts at once in the same browser,” Macduff Hughes, Google engineering director, wrote in a blog post.
Interestingly, as with all new Google attributes, this feature too will be rolled out to everyone over a period of time. It is already accessible to most people, but if it is not visible for you as yet, the option to enable multi-account switching should show up in your account settings within a day or so.
Once activated, a multiple sign-in will include a drop-down menu next to your e-mail address on the top right-hand side of your Gmail inbox. You will then be able to toggle between accounts by clicking on the little arrow. Google will let you have up to three e-mail addresses on one account.
To activate it, go to the the new settings page for the feature. You can also reach that page from your Google Accounts management dashboard. Look for the “Multiple account sign-in” option. Click “Edit” and make your selections.
The new option shows up in a user’s Google account settings. (Credit: Screenshot by Gautam Joshi/CNET)
However, Multiple sign-in will affect any offline activity you have linked to a Google account. Google offers the following warning:
Enabling multiple sign-in will disable Offline products like Offline Gmail and Offline Calendar, as well as any browser bookmarks you have set to link to your accounts. If you use Offline Gmail, make sure to sync your offline mail before enabling multiple sign-in so you do not lose any messages in your outbox. If you would like to continue using Offline Gmail, Offline Calendar, and browser bookmarks linked to your accounts, do not enable the multiple sign-in option. If you have already enabled multiple sign-in, you may disable it.
The settings toggle and an explanation of what it does. (Credit: Screenshot by Gautam Joshi/CNET)
Once activated, it offers quick shuffling between Gmail, Calendar, Google Reader, Google Voice, Sites, App Engine and Google Code products by using the drop-down menu that resides atop right-hand corner of compatible Google sites. This enables users to keep multiple instances of something like Gmail open without the older page reverting to more recently signed in account.
Several other features are not yet compatible with multiple sign-in, like Blogger and Picasa Web Albums. Also, Google Docs is not yet supported, but Google says it is coming soon. You also would not be able to use it with Gmail or Calendar in offline mode. If you jump to one of those services, you will be defaulted to the first account you used to sign in.
The multiple sign-in feature will not work on the mobile version of Gmail just yet. Also, you can only sign in to three accounts at once, and whatever account you are signed into when you enable the feature will be assigned as your default account. More info is available here.