Try the example, then check the result.
Download the fictional material and follow the steps below. The video uses English illustrative diagrams; it does not present a live app recording. Product controls may vary by version.
Check the answer before applying the method to your own data. How we review guides ↗
Watch the complete lesson.
The video uses English illustrative diagrams; it does not present a live app recording. English captions. Product menus may differ in your account.
Quick answer. Gmail filters not working? Test search criteria, edit the filter and check the intended action on a new fictional message. This guide uses fictional data. The outcome must be checked in your own app; a settings screen alone does not prove it.
Use the original practice resource and independent answer check. Work only in an account you are permitted to use.
What success looks like. An authorized new digest message matches the criteria and gets the SOW Practice label; a nonmatching message stays unlabeled. Drafts alone cannot prove inbound filtering.
1. Check the starting state
Open Gmail Settings > See all settings > Filters and Blocked Addresses; edit the relevant rule.
Checkpoint: Inspect one filter, not the entire inbox.
2. Inspect the relevant setting
Check From, Subject and any other criteria; run Search to see what the rule selects.
Checkpoint: Search should select only intended examples.
3. Apply the focused correction
Continue and confirm Apply the label points to SOW Practice; choose Update filter.
Checkpoint: Save the revised rule.
4. Run the controlled check
For a permitted test, replace the reserved updates@example.test placeholder in the filter criteria with the address of your authorized test sender. Use a new incoming fictional digest to test the label and a nonmatching message as control.
Checkpoint: Positive and negative examples are both needed.
5. Record the result
Record the result; if no new mail was received, do not claim the automatic action was demonstrated.
Checkpoint: Do not send mail for this exercise without permission.
If it still does not work
An old message can validate search criteria but not new-mail behavior. A draft does not trigger an incoming-message filter. Do not send an email or alter unrelated filters as part of a demo.
Verify the result
Receive a new authorized digest that matches the criteria and confirm it gets the SOW Practice label. Check that a new nonmatching message stays unlabeled. Use the answer-check download to record both outcomes; an old message or draft checks neither automatic action.
Official sources
- Product help (checked 1 November 2026).
Any video panel without a marked actual-app capture is an illustrative diagram of fictional practice data.
Practice downloads.
The exercise files contain invented information. Save a local copy before editing.