Saving a Draft

Suppose you start a message but you are called away or need to do something else before you can finish it. You don't have to lose the message by canceling, forcing you to start over again later; you can save the message in the Drafts folder and then open it later to complete it. The easiest way to save a draft is to click the Save button on the message toolbar.

However, if you inadvertently close a message before you either send it or save it as a draft, follow these steps to save it:

1. When you click the Close button, a dialog box appears, asking whether you want to save changes, as shown in Figure 8.1.

   Figure 8.1. Click Yes to save the message in the Drafts folder for later completion.

   

2. Click Yes . Outlook places the current message into the Drafts Folder.

To open the message and continue working on it at another time, follow these steps:

1. Click the Drafts folder icon in the All Mail Folders group on the Navigation pane (when Mail is the selected group ), or choose Drafts from the Folder List.

2. The message will be listed in the Drafts pane. Double-click the message to open it. At the top of the Message tab, you'll see a reminder that reads: This Message Has Not Been Sent.

3. Continue your work on the message. If you need to store it again before you're finished, click the Close button and answer Yes to the message box that asks you to save the file. Alternatively, you can choose to save changes that you have made to the message by clicking the Save button on the message toolbar and then closing the message. The message remains in the Drafts folder until you move or send it.

4. When you've actually completed the entire message and are ready to send it, click the Send button to send the message.