Prepare and save a complete email draft

Review the sender, recipients and full message before saving work you intend to send later.

Before you start: Know the correct sending account, intended recipients and answer you need to give. Keep a copy of the complete text while preparing the draft.

Write the response

Answer the actual question first. Include the reason or result the sender needs, then name the next action only when it is agreed. Check dates, time zones, version names and any quoted earlier messages. A vague “Looks good” is not enough when someone asked for a specific decision.

Save the draft

1. Open Inbox → Mail → Compose to create a new message. If you are continuing an existing conversation, review its Reply or Reply All choice and the recipients it fills in.
2. In New Message, check From and To. Open Cc/Bcc only when you intend to include those recipients. Preserve the useful reference in Subject.
3. Enter the complete body in Message. Read every paragraph and the selected signature. Confirm that any attachment or linked material is the intended version and suitable for everyone addressed.
4. Select Save draft. Find the exact item in Drafts, using its subject, account and recipients to distinguish it from similar work.
5. Reopen the draft and compare the full body with the text you prepared. Before continuing to edit, check that the editor also contains the complete message.

Expected result

You have a retrievable draft with the intended sender, audience, subject and full response, ready for a final review before sending.

Remember

If the draft’s reading view and editing view disagree, preserve your copy and resolve that discrepancy before overwriting or sending. Saving a draft does not send it, and an outgoing item is not proof that the recipient has read or accepted it.

Continue learning

In this series: Manage email in Inbox — guide 3 of 7.

• Previous: Triage an incoming request
• Next: Check the audience and material before sending
• Browse tutorials