10

I just pressed the discard button on a long email draft I was editing. Where can I find it now? I tried to search in the bin folder, but it's not there...

| improve this question | |
  • Try looking in the draft folder – Jacob Jan Tuinstra Apr 25 '13 at 10:51
  • 1
    @JacobJanTuinstra, it disappeared from the draft folder after I pressed the discard button (by mistake obviously). – Grzenio Apr 25 '13 at 11:36
  • Then it's out of our hands. Now you need to focus on what you wanted to write....=) – Jacob Jan Tuinstra Apr 25 '13 at 11:39
  • and have a form recovery tool like Lazarus :) chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/lazarus-form-recovery/… – Sathyajith Bhat♦ Apr 25 '13 at 16:31
  • @Sathya - Yes, but Lazarus works in Chrome on PC, while, I have accidentally deleted a draft on an Android phone, in Gmail App. Isn't any tool to recover it? I mean, by connecting the phone to the computer? – Cristiana Nicolae Oct 26 '15 at 22:55
9

As soon as you've (accidentally) hit the discard button you have the option to undo discard in the alert that appears at the top of the page. Click that! Or hit z (undo last action) if you have keyboard shortcuts enabled.

Your message has been discarded. Undo discard

However, as soon as you start to navigate around Gmail this alert disappears and your draft is gone for good it seems. (The keyboard shortcut z no longer works either.)

| improve this answer | |
  • 7
    Yeah, it seems that way. Shame really, they could keep it in Trash for a few days. – Grzenio Apr 26 '13 at 8:38
  • 2
    super annoying! There should be a confirmation, or a way to reverse it...one or the other! – A.M. Jul 15 '13 at 0:22
  • 2
    This question has had 30,000 views in a year. You might expect that the alleged geniuses at Google could figure out that they are not doing it right, but they probably think they know what's best. – sdenham Feb 24 '15 at 2:56
  • 1
    I had pressed "discard" on a draft on Gmail for iOS, not focused 100% clearly, thinking I was discarding my current edit, not the entire draft. Now it's gone gone gone. I didn't see a momentary undo option in this app, so it's gone for good. Hear our cry, Google/Gmail! – TPoy Aug 5 '16 at 16:22
  • @TPoy You're right. On iOS/iPad, when closing an email you are editing ("draft" or "new" email) you get the option to "Discard" or "Save". Tapping "Discard" immediately discards that email with no option to "Undo". If this was a "new" email then there is no message at all, however, if it was a "draft" email I see a message at the bottom... "Your draft has been discarded x" (not "undo" option). You can't close it without saving. Only when "deleting" (trash icon) emails (inc. drafts) do you get the option to "Undo" (message at the bottom of the screen). – MrWhite Aug 5 '16 at 19:11
6

You can't find it. Once you click that discard button it is gone. Gmail doesn't even move it to Trash.

| improve this answer | |

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.