Outlook emails get moved to drafts folder as I'm composing the email

Anonymous
2024-03-01T17:27:04+00:00

As I type an email on my desktop, my Outlook app closes the email and moves it to my Drafts folder. I then have to open up my Drafts folder, open the email, and continue typing. This happens when I've had an email open for 30 seconds or many minutes (e.g., it's not like I've been drafting an email for 30 minutes and have stepped away and Outlook moves it to drafts). I'm often in the middle of typing a sentence and the email disappears and it's gone to Drafts. I then have to go do Drafts and manually reopen the email I was literally just typing. Sometimes it opens immediately, other times it opens and says the email is being edited in another window (which, why???).

It doesn't happen with every email but happens many times per week. A cursory review seems like many people in different environments are having the same issue. I've restarted my computer, all apps are fully updated.

Outlook | Windows | Classic Outlook for Windows | For home

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  1. Anonymous
    2025-01-20T15:01:05+00:00

    Thanks, Anastasia! This is a good work-around that has the additional advantage that one can check one's calendar in full view while drafting the response. I'd been creating a separate reply window manually for each message by clicking the little icon in the top right-hand corner, but your's is a better way of doing it so it is automatic.

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  2. Anonymous
    2025-01-20T13:46:50+00:00

    Hi all,

    what fixed it for me was to go to Outlook Settings , click on Composing and check the box for 'Reply to new messages in a new window'. You can then work on the message on the new window and send it instead of going backwards and forwards to the Drafts folder.

    hope that helps!

    Anastasia

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-11-27T12:55:51+00:00

    Hi Belinda First I need to explain I'm not an employee of Microsoft but

    I feel your frustration. Perhaps I could suggest that you start a new thread on the topic of your problem. I've experienced the same problem before with emails ending up in drafts all the time and it was due to having it set to delay the sending of emails to enable me to edit or delete it before it went in case of accidental sending which I tend to do occasionally. I can't help with the settings on the Mac but I suggest you raise it as a new issue you might have more hope, best of luck. I put up with the problem of having to check in drafts and sent email and the occasional annoying editing conflict is a pain but is the lesser evil of the two issues.

    Steve

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  4. Anonymous
    2024-11-20T19:08:43+00:00

    This is instructions from like 2010. Please fix your software.

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  5. Anonymous
    2024-11-18T01:17:24+00:00

    Me too! I can't decide what is more annoying...drafts disappearing or re-wiring my brain to deal with conversation groupings. Ideally Microsoft will fix the draft bug.

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