Gmail sends off messages before they are completed

[hakumeester]

Hi,

Despite disabling all short-keys in Gmail, Gmail keeps sending off
uncompleted messages when one is a fast typist and hits the Tab then
Enter key by accident.This whereas the problem could easily be
resolved by having either an intermediate message pop up asking the
user whether one wants to send off the message. Or, even more
conveniently, by not having the tab key go directly to the Send
button, but, say to the Save key. In other words, change those
buttons's position.

Easy and convenient is something that Google, in this respect, seems
to disregard completely while hiding behind unacceptable IT sophisms
(if one manages to reach them). This despite countless users having
signalled the problem over several years.

When, oh when will this be corrected?

Hakumeester

[Zack (Doc)]

GMail does have a lab for delaying sending.  That should meet your requirements.

Hakumeester

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[Andy]

It is possible that Google/Gmail has little or no control over this.
Tabbing around a web page might be controlled entirely by your web
browser, and/or Windows (if that is your platform).

I would think that by now you might have gotten used to not pressing
Tab from within Gmail; but not everyone can train themselves out of
old habits.

In any event, you can use the Lab to Undo the Send, at least to stop
it when it happens (and avert embarrassment).

Andy

[Robert E. Carneal]

Could we install a button that will undo the last send?  -Robert

[Zack (Doc)]

They do have SOME control.  The web page code does contain tab orders, but I disagree that it's better to tab elsewhere, I think the tab order is good.

[Dodo]

What I don't like about tab/send is that on one of my computers, this
key combo frequently archives the message being sent, which I don't
want to do. ~Dodo

[RebootAgain]

Having made this mistake myself before the Undo Send feature became available (which is excellent), I used to avoid this mistake by leaving the To: field blank until I was ready to actually send the message.  (For a Reply, I cut and pasted the recipient's address as the first line of the message body, and moved it back to To: when ready to go...)

To enable Undo Send, go to the Gear icon -> Mail settings -> General tab -> tick "Enable Undo Send" (I opted for the full 30 second reprieve) -> Save Changes. Enjoy!

[Sarah]

Tab enter is not a Gmail shortcut. Turning off shortcuts in Gmail will not stop send if you tab to the send button then hit enter. It's normal keyboard navigation for most programs. I think you can turn off tab navigation in some browsers.

[Andy]

On Mon, Feb 13, 2012 at 22:53, RebootAgain <reboo...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Having made this mistake myself before the Undo Send feature became
> available (which is excellent), I used to avoid this mistake by leaving the
> To: field blank until I was ready to actually send the message.

That is an excellent suggestion!

I do something similar, but with the same effect. I often send emails
to multiple recipients (two to five), and I like to fill them in at
the start, before I forget. Then I add one more recipient within the
To: field, something like "qqqqqqqqqqq", which I am certain I don't
have in my Contacts list. Then, if I should accidentally hit the Send
button (or do anything else that causes it to send), Gmail will
complain about that address and refuse to send it until I fix it.
This works even if my computer crashes or goes haywire and I am unable
to use Undo Send.

I did see my computer lock up on me once and send an email I was
composing to hundreds of unintended recipients, and I couldn't stop
it. I had to do a lot of explaining. This happened years ago, using
Microsoft Outlook at work.

"Undo Send" does have one big disadvantage I don't like. If you
change the view in any way, you lose the ability to Undo, even though
your grace period hasn't timed out yet.

Andy

[DEP/Dodo]

Oops, I meant tab/enter.  Naturally, I thought it is a Gmail shortcut because it is listed among them, as you know:

Combo-keys - Use the following combinations of keys to navigate through Gmail.

Shortcut Key	Definition	Action
<Tab> then <Enter>	Send message	After composing your message, use this combination to send it automatically. (Supported in Internet Explorer and Firefox, on Windows.)

My preference is for it to be sent but not archived.  That key combo sometimes sends and sometimes sends + archives.  I don't know why it's not one or the other.  ~Dodo

[RebootAgain]

A very slick solution, indeed, better than my extra cut and paste steps... Many thanks!
I found I could just add a single letter "z" because none of my contacts contains that letter.

[Hilmy Hasanuddin]

I do too agree with Rebootagain.
And I also agree with Zack.
The tab button is in right order.
This is electronic mail. It is supposed to be zip.
Once finishing typing the contents, I believe I would want to hit the send button right away without having more thought.
There you go, the job is finished. Let's do another thing.

Believe me, when the email is to be waited 1 or 2 minutes after hit the send key, we tend to wonder, why email have to wait just to hit the undo. Is it arrived yet. What if the system had a glitch so it would have been delivered 10 minutes or hours. It's just aroused too many question. I believe it's us who have to workarround it. And, I believe we have found the answer using the rebootagain's solution.

[Sarah]

Thanks for posting that Dodo, and pointing out my error. I should have been more specific, because clearly what I said is wrong, without some qualification. It would have been better to say: Tab>-enter is not one of the extended shortcuts, the ones you can turn on or off; it's part of Gmail's standard keyboard navigation, and as such, turning off shortcuts will not stop it.

--

[DEP/Dodo]

Sarah, I didn't actually know I was pointing out an error on your part.  I thought I might have been confused or misinformed, not unusual for me.  Would you clarify what you mean by "extended shortcuts" and "Gmail's standard keyboard navigation"?  I am clear that disabling Gmail's keyboard shortcuts will render those useless.  Is there a list somewhere of the "extended shortcuts" that can be toggled on/off?  How do you turn them on/off?  And are these used universally; that is, could I use them in, say, my e-mail in Outlook at work?  Thanks.  ~Dodo

[Sarah]

Gmail has an extensive list of keyboard shortcuts that you need to enable in Gmail settings to be able to use. Those I refer to as extended (I'll put instructions, & links to the list below.)
However, there are some keyboard actions that work in Gmail even when you do not have "keyboard shortcuts" enabled in Gmail settings. For instance, the tab key takes you from the currently active field to the next field. This is typical browser keyboard navigation (not unique to Gmail), and allows you to move quickly around a web page using the m keyboard, without having to use a mouse or the pad on a laptop. It's still perfectly valid to call these shortcuts.
Gmail does not seem to make a distinction between the extended shortcuts that you can toggle on & off, and the basic shortcut functions that work regardless; there's nothing really wrong with that, except it's slightly confusing.

Gmail is responsible for the order that tab moves you around the Gmail page.
Hitting "enter" on the keyboard when a link (like "send") is highlighted has the same effect as clicking on the link. "Send" is the next field after the text entry box, when you are composing a message, so tab takes you to "send", and "enter" activates the "send" link.
You can use tab and enter to navigate on most webpages.

Gmail's list of shortcuts:
http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=6594

Using New Look:
To turn shortcuts on or off, click the gear icon at the top of any Gmail page, and then Mail settings. Choose the option next to "Keyboard
shortcuts" to turn them on.
You can also enable shortcuts automatically by going to: http://mail.google.com/mail/?kbd=1

About.com Guide's List of Gmail shortcuts:
http://email.about.com/od/gmailtips/qt/Use_Gmail_Keyboard_Shortcuts.htm
I have not verified these. Article amendment date is current with New Look Gmail.

Define your own shortcuts (not recommended for novices):
Turn on the "Custom Keyboard Shortcuts" lab in settings.
http://email.about.com/od/gmailtips/qt/custom_keyboard.htm

You will find that Windows, and many programs on your computer also have keyboard shortcuts; but the keystrokes and what function they perform will differ from Gmail.
There are shortcuts that you can use in Outlook, they differ from Gmail's shortcuts. There is a list here, look under the heading "Outlook shortcuts", click the + buttons to expand categories: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/keyboard-shortcuts-HP003084223.aspx
In Windows help, type keyboard shortcuts, and look for a topic like "Windows keyboard shortcuts overview" & you'll find out. Don't be daunted!
I'll send you a little more on the subject, soon - basic stuff.

Don't ya almost wish you hadn't asked now? ;-) :-)

Cheers,
Sarah

[DEP/Dodo]

Thank you for your detailed answer, Sarah.  Just wanted to say I already knew about Gmail's keyboard shortcuts, enabled this long ago, and even included a pertinent part via screen shot in my first post on this topic.  I also am familiar with how the tab key goes from field to field.

 I will need more time to read and absorb all the information you provided.  ~Dodo