How to find your Gmail Contacts List (2024 Guide)

How to find your Gmail Contacts List (2024 Guide)

- Updated: January 18, 2024 - 15 minutes read

Your contacts list is one of the most important elements in Gmail. Everyone of your recipients’ details can be found in your Gmail contacts list, saving you time in having to memorize each email address for when you need to get in touch.

The Gmail address book is the best way to become much more efficient with the way you send and receive emails. Knowing how to reorganize your contact list into easy to manage and more efficient email groups is the next step after that to making your experience with Gmail as quick and as convenient as possible. In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to find your Google contacts lists and to create email groups for faster results.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this extensive guide:

Ready to find out more? Let’s get started!

How do I find my Google contacts?

Your Gmail list of email addresses is your direct access to the contacts you need to reach. They’re a big deal, so you’ll want to know where to find the contacts list from your desktop or laptop.

Fortunately, tracking down your addressees is quick and easy. There are several ways you can get hold of your Gmail mailing list: either via Gmail or through the Google homepage.

In this quick guide, we’ll take you through all those methods so you can access your Gmail contacts list.

How to find my contacts list using Gmail’s sidebar

  1. Open your Gmail inbox

    Gmail Inbox Screenshot

  2. On the right side, within the companion sidebar, click on the Google Contacts icon

    Gmail's sidebar focused on Google Contacts add-on

  3. You can then browse all your Google Contacts (without leaving Gmail!)

    Google Contacts add-on opened within Gmail's sidebar

Here’s a video that shows how to access your contacts list from Gmail’s companion sidebar:

How to find my contact list from Gmail’s inbox

  1. Your first step should be to head to your Gmail inbox. From here, navigate over to the top right of your screen where you’ll find a button that looks like a nine-dot grid. Click this button

  2. A drop-down menu should open up with your Google Apps, including your contacts, under a blue circular symbol with a person icon at its center. Click this icon.

    Gmail's inbox quick access to Google Apps

  3. A list of your Gmail contacts will appear just as before, ready to be messaged and contacted whenever you’re ready

    Gmail Contacts List

That’s everything! Quick and easy, perfect for fast and reliable mail merges.

How do I access my contact list through Google homepage?

  1. Open Google.com homepage

    Head straight for the Google homepage and just as before, head to the top right corner of your screen. You’ll find the same grid icon as before – click on it.

  2. Select the contacts page

    On the dropdown menu that appears, you’ll find the same icon as with the Gmail route – a blue circle with a white silhouette in the middle.

    Google.com - Search Homepage

  3. Browse your contacts

    Click on the icon and you’ll be taken through to your contacts again – all set up just as you left them!

    Gmail Contacts List

As you can see, getting to your contact list through the Google homepage is just as simple as going through Gmail.

You can also find you contact lists by going through the search bar on your browser. This can be the quickest way to get to your address book:

  1. Click on the search bar Click on the search bar of your browser, found at the top of the page.

    Google Chrome focus on the omnibar

  2. Type in the Google Contacts address Enter in contacts.google.com and hit enter. Your contact list will load and you’ll be all set.

    Google Chrome searching for contacts.google.com in omnibar

So those were three handy ways for getting to the contacts list! All of your contacts you’ve already added should be there, so you’ll have everything you need to get your emails on the go.

How to manage your Gmail contacts?

Now that you know where to access your Gmail contacts list, let’s see how to add, import, export, manage duplicates and delete your contacts.

How do you add contacts in Gmail?

  1. Open Google Contacts

    Google Contacts Homepage

  2. In the upper left, click on the Create contact button, then click on “Create a contact”

    Create a new contact button in Google Contacts

  3. A new page opens where you can fill the details of your new contact

    New contact form in Google Contacts interface

  4. Once you are ready, click on Save

    Saving a new contact in Google Contacts interface

You can add as much details as you want to your Google contact, including first name, last name, company name, job title, email address, phone number. That’s just a handful of all the details you can add, as more fields likelike birthday, website can be added or even custom fields.

One powerful feature is that you can label contacts to make it easier to find people of the same interest (e.g. skateboarders that you’ve met recently).

How do you import multiple contacts in Gmail?

  1. Open Google Contacts

    Google Contacts Homepage

  2. On the left sidebar, click on the Import option

    Import contacts option in Google Contacts sidebar

  3. Select a file to upload in CSV format or vCard

    Import contacts in Google Contacts interface

  4. Once you are ready, click on Import to upload the file

    Contacts import in Google Contacts interface

  5. Your contacts will be imported shortly after

    Google Contacts toast notification about contacts import

How do you export all your Gmail contacts?

  1. Open Google Contacts

    Google Contacts Homepage

  2. On the left sidebar, click on the Export option

    Export contacts option in Google Contacts sidebar

  3. Select which contacts you want to export and how to export them

    Export contacts from Google Contacts interface

  4. As soon as you click on Export button, a file with the selected contacts will be downloaded to your desktop

Exporting all your Gmail contacts is regularly used before sending a grouped email, for example when you want to invite everyone to an event, a party or to your wedding! To send personalized emails that feel unique, think about using a mail merge solution such as Mailmeteor.

How do you edit a contact in Gmail?

  1. Open Google Contacts

    Google Contacts Homepage

  2. Search for the contact in the search bar

    Searching a contact in Google Contacts interface

  3. To edit a contact, click on its name in the list

    Edit a contact by clicking on its name

  4. The contact profile shows up. Now, click on the Edit button

    A contact profile in Google Contacts

  5. Make changes to your profile. Once you’re ready, click on the Save button

    Editing a contact in Google Contacts

  6. Your contact is now modified

    Just modified contact in Google Contacts

How do you delete contacts in Gmail?

  1. Open Google Contacts

    Google Contacts Homepage

  2. Search for the contact in the search bar

    Searching a contact in Google Contacts interface

  3. Open the contact profile page by clicking on its name in the list

    Edit a contact by clicking on its name

  4. The contact profile shows up. Now, click on the “” button to show more options

    Delete a contact in Google Contacts

  5. Select the Delete option to delete the contact definitely

How to go further with Gmail Contacts list?

How do you search contacts in Gmail?

  1. Open Google Contacts

    Google Contacts Homepage

  2. Search for the contact in the search bar. You can search just as you would search in Google. Email address, first name, last name, you named it. Google Contacts will show you the best results according to your query.

    Searching a contact in Google Contacts interface

  3. To learn more about a contact, click on its name in the search results

    Edit a contact by clicking on its name

  4. The contact profile shows up

    A contact profile in Google Contacts

Now that you have find a contact, learn how to edit it, add a label or delete it.

How to do an advanced search in Google Contacts?

While Google Contacts is really powerful to look for string in all your contacts, such as first name or last name, it definitely lacks of advanced search operators.

Here are all the available advanced queries you can perform in Google Contacts:

  • Search contacts by first name, last name
  • Search for all contacts having the email domain with: *@company.com
  • Search for any string present in your contacts details (e.g. New York)

Here are all the search operations you can NOT perform as of today:

  • Searching within a group of contacts (aka labels)
  • Searching for contact created after/before a date
  • Searching for all contacts living in a city or a country

How do you create contact group in Google Contacts?

  1. Open Google Contacts

    Google Contacts Homepage

  2. Select the contacts you want to group together

    Searching for contacts in Google Contacts interface

  3. Now, click on the label icon in the topbar

    Applying label to group contacts in Google Contacts

  4. Apply a label already created or click on Create label

    Create new label to group contacts in Google Contacts

  5. Name your new group of contacts and click Save

    Name a new label to group contacts in Google Contacts

Your contact group is now created. You can access it anytime from the left sidebar. You can also export it and send personalized emails to each recipient using a mail merge for Gmail.

How do you manage duplicates in your contacts list?

  1. Open Google Contacts

    Google Contacts Homepage

  2. On the left sidebar, click on the Merge & fix option

    Manage duplicates option in Google Contacts sidebar

  3. Google Contacts makes suggestions on which contacts seems duplicates. Review the suggestions and merge duplicates one by one by clicking on Merge or Dimiss

    Review suggestions of duplicate contacts in Google Contacts

  4. If you are happy with all the suggestions, you can click on Merge all

    Merge all duplicates in Google Contacts

How do I create an email group in Gmail?

Now you’ve got your contact lists prepped and sorted, you might be thinking about creating an email group so that you can get everything organized for when you need to start sending emails.

Email groups are handy ways of collecting categories of recipient into one group. Say, for example, you regularly send emails to your family – without email groups, you’d have to enter each member’s email addresses into the recipient bar, one after the other.

With an email group, you can place all of your family in one group, called ‘family’ for example, and then all you need to do is type in family into the Gmail recipient bar and you can send emails to all members quickly and efficiently.

Creating email groups in Gmail takes only a few short steps. We’ve provided a step-by-step guide below on how to create a group email in Gmail to help you get started:

  1. Head to your contacts Just like we saw in the previous guide, make your way to your contacts list through either the Gmail interface, the Google homepage or through your browser.

    Open Google Contacts

  2. Pick the contacts from the group Check through your contacts and pick the ones you want to include as part of the group.

    Select Google contacts

  3. Add labels to each contact Once you’ve chosen your contacts, click the label icon and choose create label.

    Add labels to Google Contacts

  4. Name the label Give the label a name like family, or students for example.

    Name the label in Google Contacts

  5. Send your group an email Whenever you’re ready, click on the email icon in the menu bar. A new Gmail window will pop up. Write up your first email and enter the name of your group into the recipients box. The group should automatically appear and your email will be all ready to go!

    Send emails to a group in Gmail

It's possible to export your group to Google Sheets in order to send them personalized emails using a mail merge. To export your group, click on the three vertically aligned dots then "Export". You will be able to export your group to a CSV file that you can then import to Google Sheets.

What’s next?

So now you’re all ready to go with your group emails from Gmail – but the best, most efficient and most reliable way to reach multiple recipients with one click is to go with a mail merge in Gmail.

A mail merge in Gmail lets you send the one email to hundreds of recipients all at the same time. Using a mail merge solution, like Mailmeteor, the top-rated Google mail merge add-on, will allow you to personalize each email for each contact, making every message feel unique and individual.

Better yet, with Mailmeteor, you can source all your contacts for your mail merge emails using Google Sheets. With extra importance placed on privacy, you’ll know your in safe and reliable hands with Mailmeteor.

This guide was written by Jean Dubrulle, founder at Mailmeteor. Mailmeteor is a simple & privacy-focused emailing software. Trusted by millions of users worldwide, it is often considered as the best Gmail mail merge to send mass personalized emails. Give us a try and let us know what you think!

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