Nifty new Gmail feature lets you search attachments

Look, there are a couple of reasons Gmail is so many people’s email service of choice. One of those reasons is the features it continues to roll out, making our email lives easier.

The latest such feature allows you to search for content in email attachment from within Gmail.

The new feature allows you to search for attachments such as .doc, .pdf, and .ppt. All you have to do is add the prefix “has:attachment” before your search. You can also search for a specific type of file by typing “has:attachment filename:extension” (“has:attachment filename:exe” for example).

According to Google Operating System, which first noticed the feature, some older attachments may not have been indexed yet.

Back in June, Gmail had an estimated 425-million users. At that point its user base was growing at around 15-million users a month, so it should be well north of the 450-million mark by now.

A large part of that growth is driven by Android activations.