Emails disappearing as I type them

[richfool]

Over recent months, I have found that when typing a new email quickly, I often look up to find it has disappeared and I am either typing near the beginning of a completely new message, or typing a reply to a completely different older message. Many of the messages that disappear, I subsequently find in my Archives folder, (which I conclude is a clue). I usually manage to pick up roughly where I left off by going to Drafts, where hotmail maintains a periodically updated draft copy. Though on occasions I have lost the whole email.

Upon pondering the matter, the only thing I can think of is that, in my haste, when intending to type a capital letter, perhaps I hit the CTRL button, instead of the adjacent SHIFT button, along with the relevant letter, e.g. where I was intending to key a capital A, and thus fast track the message direct to the Archives folder. (I can't think of anything else). Other capital letters in conjunction with CTRL may presumably direct the email to other locations, or even Delete it.

I've just done a bit of quick typing to test it out, but it didn't happen, or hasn't happened so far. I correctly hit the Shift button when typing capital letters, though it could be when I get into full flow and am typing fast!

I wondered if anyone else has experienced the same or similar? This happens on my laptop when using hotmail.

[James]

Many questions before this can be answered.
What email application are you using to start with? Is it online (e.g. gmail) or offline (MS Exchange)
What type of computer are you using? If a laptop, are you brushing against the track pad, which could "select all" without you knowing it.
Are you sure you haven't toggled the 'insert' key to overwrite?

[DrFfybes]

Ctrl-N is often a shortcut for opening a new window or message, or going to the next one.

Ctrl-R could be a shortcut for reply.

Hitting ctrl and and arrow key might move you to the next message.

But as James says, it depends on your email client. There should be a list of shortcuts if you Google for "{email client} shortcut keys"

Paul

[Infrasonic]

Assuming you mean outlook.com (aka Hotmail) webmail as opposed to via a desktop email client like Thunderbird - the shortcuts are listed here and might clue you in to what you are doing to lose emails as you type..https://www.msoutlook.info/question/key ... outlookcom

[richfool]

Many questions before this can be answered.
What email application are you using to start with? Is it online (e.g. gmail) or offline (MS Exchange)
What type of computer are you using? If a laptop, are you brushing against the track pad, which could "select all" without you knowing it.
Are you sure you haven't toggled the 'insert' key to overwrite?

When this happens I am using hotmail (Outlook), through Firefox browser, on my Toshiba laptop. I am right handed and use a mouse (to the right of the laptop), not the touch pad.

My left hand is positioned over the left hand side of the keyboard (so over the Ctrl, Shift and Caps Lock keys), and my right hand is over the central and right hand side of the keyboard, fingers extended! My left wrist is over the left corner of the keyboard. Neither hand touches the touch pad.

To me that all points to the Ctrl key, which is in the bottom left corner of the keyboard immediately below the Shift key, as a possible cause. I use that left corner Shift key, (with my left hand) when shifting for capital letters.

[richfool]

I've just been experimenting a bit more. I guess I could also be accidentally hitting Ctrl and A (instead of Shift and A) and thereby highlighting/selecting ALL the text which is then deleted when I hit the next key.

[UncleEbenezer]

My guess would be delays in your operating system, so what you see on screen may be out of sync with what's received from your keyboard and mouse (or whatever devices you use). If you take your eyes off it, you might miss a relevant syncing event. Like for example an action that happened before you started typing the email, but that closes it.

[Infrasonic]

I've just been experimenting a bit more. I guess I could also be accidentally hitting Ctrl and A (instead of Shift and A) and thereby highlighting/selecting ALL the text which is then deleted when I hit the next key.

Because I use multiple OS I get similar problems when going between Windows and Chrome OS as the keyboard layouts are slightly different and touch typing causes errors.

You can remap keyboards - I take the easier route and just slow down initially until I adjust to the new OS layout and then speed up again.

[Arborbridge]

I've just been experimenting a bit more. I guess I could also be accidentally hitting Ctrl and A (instead of Shift and A) and thereby highlighting/selecting ALL the text which is then deleted when I hit the next key.

I am suffering a similar problem, again with Outlook - Hotmail used through Firefox. It's only been happening in the past few months.

I can be banging away quite happily, look up to find the email gone, and another blank message opened into which I am typing. I find a row of messages at the bottom of the screen, one of which will have the bulk of my typing in, the others being virtually blank or with an occasional word.

I've never managed to isolate what I am doing, but like you feel it is some key on the left hand side (maybe I'm overextending when hitting and "A") - though I've never caught myself doing it! This sort of thing only happens in Hotmail and not when typing in TLF or a document, for example.

I don't want to highjack your thread, but it's really interesting that we are experiencing similar events using the same Hotmail/Firefox combination - though I have a conventional keyboard on a PC. I am certain that this has only started to happen quite recently.

Arb.

[richfool]

I've just been experimenting a bit more. I guess I could also be accidentally hitting Ctrl and A (instead of Shift and A) and thereby highlighting/selecting ALL the text which is then deleted when I hit the next key.

I am suffering a similar problem, again with Outlook - Hotmail used through Firefox. It's only been happening in the past few months.

I can be banging away quite happily, look up to find the email gone, and another blank message opened into which I am typing. I find a row of messages at the bottom of the screen, one of which will have the bulk of my typing in, the others being virtually blank or with an occasional word.

I've never managed to isolate what I am doing, but like you feel it is some key on the left hand side (maybe I'm overextending when hitting and "A") - though I've never caught myself doing it! This sort of thing only happens in Hotmail and not when typing in TLF or a document, for example.

I don't want to highjack your thread, but it's really interesting that we are experiencing similar events using the same Hotmail/Firefox combination - though I have a conventional keyboard on a PC. I am certain that this has only started to happen quite recently.

Arb.

Yes, that is exactly how I would describe it, as I highlighted in your above post. I am vaguely aware of some screen changes which is what prompts me to look up, only to see, as you say, I am typing in a different email and my original one has disappeared. I have sometimes found the part typed new email in the Archives folder. I usually look in Drafts to pick up where I left off, though sometimes the email is nowhere to be found. I suspect on occasions I have done more than one thing in quick succession,- such as deleted the text and also done something else in quick succession, before I realise it.

[Infrasonic]

The suggestion here is to try turning off shortcuts to see if it still happens..https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/out ... c13086aebd

[richfool]

I meant to ask Arborbridge if he had looked in the Archives folder for any of his missing emails?

Infrasonic, Thanks, I've turned off the shortcuts within Outlook and will see how that goes.

[Arborbridge]

I meant to ask Arborbridge if he had looked in the Archives folder for any of his missing emails?

Infrasonic, Thanks, I've turned off the shortcuts within Outlook and will see how that goes.

Not in Archive, but there are a few in drafts. However, not as many as I have "lost". This might be because they mostly seemed to get parked in a horizontal row at the bottom of the message area (as they do if you just start a new message one after another), and I have deleted them on the hunt for the original which contains most of the message.

Arb.

PS I've just turned off shortcuts, too.

[richfool]

Well, I've just tried to re-create the situation, typing an extended email as fast as I could and including lots of capital letters in it. That went well, - no accidental hitting of the Ctrl key and no disappearances.

Though, when at the end, I deliberately hit the Ctrl key and A that still highlighted the whole text and as soon as I touched another key, deleted it all. I then found I couldn't recover the email at all, either by using the Undo Tab, or the back button, or from the Drafts folder (as the Draft had been updated with the deletion). So that is still a big risk when typing long emails.

I suppose an alternative option could be to type long emails in a word document first and then copy and paste, though that would be somewhat tedious and time consuming.

[Infrasonic]

I use Google Keep as a highlight /right click cloud based clipboard for LF posts as it sometimes has errors posting and will lose the entire post.

If you reversed the methodology you could quickly copy and paste an email into Outlook.com using whatever Firefox clipboard substitute you prefer.

[James]

Well, I've just tried to re-create the situation, typing an extended email as fast as I could and including lots of capital letters in it. That went well, - no accidental hitting of the Ctrl key and no disappearances.

Though, when at the end, I deliberately hit the Ctrl key and A that still highlighted the whole text and as soon as I touched another key, deleted it all. I then found I couldn't recover the email at all, either by using the Undo Tab, or the back button, or from the Drafts folder (as the Draft had been updated with the deletion). So that is still a big risk when typing long emails.

For cases like that, try control-z if you're using a PC. Mac mileage may differ but I think there is a similar function there. Simply put, it undoes the last keystrokes.

[servodude]

Well, I've just tried to re-create the situation, typing an extended email as fast as I could and including lots of capital letters in it. That went well, - no accidental hitting of the Ctrl key and no disappearances.

Though, when at the end, I deliberately hit the Ctrl key and A that still highlighted the whole text and as soon as I touched another key, deleted it all. I then found I couldn't recover the email at all, either by using the Undo Tab, or the back button, or from the Drafts folder (as the Draft had been updated with the deletion). So that is still a big risk when typing long emails.

For cases like that, try control-z if you're using a PC. Mac mileage may differ but I think there is a similar function there. Simply put, it undoes the last keystrokes.

I was just about to post the same
- I'm pretty sure that macs will use Command in place of Control given I learned the existence of these when I used NeXTs (undo, cut, copy paste being written on the keys Z throug V)
Found a public domain image at https://deskthority.net/wiki/images/2/20/NeXT_Non-ADB_-_ABP_%28top%29_and_AAE_%28bottom%29_compared..jpg


-sd

[richfool]

Well, I've just tried to re-create the situation, typing an extended email as fast as I could and including lots of capital letters in it. That went well, - no accidental hitting of the Ctrl key and no disappearances.

Though, when at the end, I deliberately hit the Ctrl key and A that still highlighted the whole text and as soon as I touched another key, deleted it all. I then found I couldn't recover the email at all, either by using the Undo Tab, or the back button, or from the Drafts folder (as the Draft had been updated with the deletion). So that is still a big risk when typing long emails.

For cases like that, try control-z if you're using a PC. Mac mileage may differ but I think there is a similar function there. Simply put, it undoes the last keystrokes.

James, thanks. Just tested that out (using Ctrl Z) and it did work. Even if I had hit a couple more keys after the accidental deletion, by hitting CtrlZ a couple of times it got back to where I had been.

[stevensfo]

I've just been experimenting a bit more. I guess I could also be accidentally hitting Ctrl and A (instead of Shift and A) and thereby highlighting/selecting ALL the text which is then deleted when I hit the next key.

I am suffering a similar problem, again with Outlook - Hotmail used through Firefox. It's only been happening in the past few months.

I can be banging away quite happily, look up to find the email gone, and another blank message opened into which I am typing. I find a row of messages at the bottom of the screen, one of which will have the bulk of my typing in, the others being virtually blank or with an occasional word.

I've never managed to isolate what I am doing, but like you feel it is some key on the left hand side (maybe I'm overextending when hitting and "A") - though I've never caught myself doing it! This sort of thing only happens in Hotmail and not when typing in TLF or a document, for example.

I don't want to highjack your thread, but it's really interesting that we are experiencing similar events using the same Hotmail/Firefox combination - though I have a conventional keyboard on a PC. I am certain that this has only started to happen quite recently.

Arb.

Snap! Been happening quite a lot recently in Hotmail/Firefox. Fortunately, the email is still there, as you say, in the bottom row.


Steve

[Infrasonic]

If it's Firefox specific is there a keyboard shortcut there that is causing it rather than Outlook.com (Hotmail) shortcuts?

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/ke ... ks-quickly