How to write an email and leave it in my bosses drafts for him to review and send?

Daniella Bernacchi 0 Reputation points
2026-08-20T22:23:36.74+00:00

I have sending and delegator permissions for my bosses email. I would like to draft responses for him to review and send at his leisure, but when I write a response (even when I change who it is from), it saves in my draft folder versus his.

Outlook | Windows | New Outlook for Windows | For business
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  1. Hendrix 970 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-08-20T23:13:04.8066667+00:00

    Hi Daniella,

    In Outlook, changing the From address only changes who the message will appear to come from. It does not change the mailbox in which Outlook stores the draft. That explains why when you compose from your own Outlook session, Outlook commonly saves the message in your Drafts folder, even when your boss is selected in the From field.

    Therefore, if you want to save the message in your boss's draft, you can add your boss account into your Outlook as second delegated mailbox account and you can do either:

    1/ Manually save the draft to your manager’s drafts folder

    • While composing the email (ensure the "From" field is set to your manager’s address), click File > Save As.
    • In the Save dialog, navigate to your manager’s mailbox and select the Drafts folder > Save. This ensures the draft is stored directly in their mailbox.

    2/ Compose and save to your drafts, then move it

    • Compose the email as usual and then it will auto-save to your Drafts folder.
    • When ready, drag and drop the draft into your manager’s Drafts folder in the folder pane.
    • Alternatively, right-click the draft, choose Move > Other Folder, and select the Drafts folder of your boss mailbox

    In case your manager agrees and the workflow allows, there are a workaround of using a shared mailbox. A shared mailbox will simplify draft management as drafts composed from a shared mailbox are saved directly in that mailbox’s Drafts folder.

    Note: This is not suitable for personal mailboxes and requires setup by your IT administrator.

    Hope this information will help you move forward smoothly. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out in the comments of this post. I'm happy to assist you further.

    Thank you for your patience and understanding. 

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  2. AI answer

    2026-08-20T22:23:48.64+00:00

    Outlook desktop delegate drafts normally save in the delegate’s own Drafts folder, even when the From field is set to the boss’s mailbox. There is no direct Outlook setting in the provided material to automatically save those drafts into the boss’s Drafts folder.

    Supported workarounds:

    1. Save the draft into the boss’s Drafts folder manually
      • While composing the message, use File > Save As.
      • In the save dialog, choose the boss’s mailbox and select the Drafts folder.
      • Save the message there.
    2. Draft first, then move it
      • Compose the message normally.
      • It will save to the delegate’s Drafts folder.
      • Drag the draft to the boss’s Drafts folder, or right-click it and use Move > Other Folder to place it there.
    3. If the goal is ongoing shared draft management, consider a shared mailbox workflow
      • In the provided material, drafts composed from a shared mailbox are saved directly in that mailbox’s Drafts folder.
      • This requires setup by an administrator and is described as not suitable for personal mailboxes.

    If the boss only needs the delegate to send on their behalf after review, the documented delegate flow is:

    • the boss grants delegate access,
    • the delegate adds the boss’s mailbox to the Outlook profile,
    • then when sending, select the boss’s mailbox in the From field.
    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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