How to Edit a Draft in Outlook (Classic, New Outlook, Web, Mac and Mobile)

If you saved an email as a draft and need to finish it, go to the Drafts folder and open the message from there. That is how to edit a draft in Outlook on every client, with small differences in what you click or tap. In this guide, I’ll show the steps for each one, how often Outlook saves a draft, and what to check when a draft is missing or will not open.

Quick Answer: Select the Drafts folder in the folder pane, open the draft (double-click it on Windows and Mac), make your changes and select Send. Outlook saves unsent messages to Drafts by itself, so the draft is waiting there on any device signed in to the same Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com account.

Edit a Draft in Classic Outlook for Windows

Classic Outlook is the one with a File tab at the top left. If you are not sure which Outlook you have, my post on how to know if you have new Outlook or classic Outlook shows the difference in a minute. If you have more than one account in Outlook, make sure you open the Drafts folder under the right account.

1. In the folder pane on the left, select Drafts. If the folder pane is hidden, select the > near the upper-left corner, or go to View > Layout > Folder Pane > Normal.
2. Double-click the draft you want to edit. It opens in its own window.
3. Make your changes. You can edit the recipients and attachments as well as the text.
4. Select Send when it is ready, or save it again with Ctrl+S and leave it in Drafts.

The screenshot shows the Drafts folder selected and a draft showing in the reading pane. Microsoft’s steps for editing and sending a draft use the double-click method, and they are the same for new Outlook and Outlook for Mac.

Edit a Draft in New Outlook for Windows and Outlook for Mac

The steps are the same as classic Outlook, only the way to show a hidden folder pane changes.

• New Outlook: select Drafts in the folder pane. If the pane is hidden, go to the View tab, then in the Layout group select Folder pane > Show. Double-click the draft and make your changes. Select Send when it is ready.
• Outlook for Mac: select Drafts in the folder pane (the sidebar). If you cannot see it, select View > Sidebar. Double-click the draft and make your changes. Select Send when it is ready.

So to edit a draft email on a Mac, nothing extra is needed compared with Windows.

How to Edit a Draft in Outlook on the Web

In Outlook on the web (Outlook.com or the work or school version), select Drafts in the folder pane, then select the message or double-click it to open it in a new window. Make your changes and select Send. The web version saves the draft for you automatically, and there is no setting to change how often.

Edit a Draft in the Outlook Mobile App (iPhone, iPad and Android)

To find drafts on the Outlook mobile app, open the folder list first. Microsoft’s steps for viewing folders in Outlook for iOS and Android are these:

1. Tap the account icon at the top left of the mail view. Microsoft describes it as an icon with three lines, and on some app versions it shows your profile picture or logo, or a Menu icon.
2. Tap the drop-down arrow next to your account to expand its folders.
3. Tap Drafts, then open the draft you want to finish.

Microsoft says drafts synchronize to Outlook for iOS and Android, so you can finish a message you started at your computer. It works the other way round too, but only for the account types Microsoft lists: Microsoft 365 (Office 365) and Outlook.com accounts sync with Outlook on desktop and the web, and some Gmail accounts sync one way into Outlook for Android. Microsoft’s draft syncing page does not list IMAP or on-premises Exchange accounts, so if your phone drafts never reach the desktop, check which type of account you added.

Since March 2025, the app can also minimize a draft while you compose and bring it back without a search through the Drafts folder. Microsoft’s release notes for Outlook mobile call this Draft Docking.

How to Save a Draft Email in Outlook, and How Often Outlook Saves It

You rarely need to save by hand, because the desktop and web clients save for you, and the mobile app syncs drafts as described above. Microsoft’s pages on creating and saving drafts give these details:

Client	Automatic save	Manual save
Classic Outlook	Every 3 minutes by default, only after you stop typing for a few seconds	Save on the Quick Access Toolbar, File > Save, or Ctrl+S
New Outlook and Outlook on the web	Every 30 seconds, no setting to change it	Options on the ribbon > Save draft
Outlook for Mac	Every minute (see Microsoft’s create or save a draft page)	File > Save

In classic Outlook only, you can change the interval and the folder. Go to File > Options > Mail, and under Save messages set “Automatically save items that have not been sent after this many minutes” to a number from 1 to 99.

Why Can’t I Edit a Draft Email in Outlook, or Find It in Drafts?

If a draft is not showing in the Drafts folder, the message is usually somewhere else, or it is not a draft any more. Go through these in order.

It is in the Outbox. A message you already sent waits in the Outbox until it goes out. It stays there longer if Outlook cannot reach the mail server, and in new Outlook a message scheduled for later waits there until its time. In classic Outlook, look at the status bar. If it says Disconnected, Working Offline or Trying to connect, select the Send/Receive tab, then Work Offline in the Preferences group to switch back online, and open the message and send it again or select Send/Receive. If a large attachment is holding up the queue, open the stuck messages in the Outbox, oldest first, and remove an attachment over 20 MB or send a link instead. New Outlook has a Sync button on the View tab. Microsoft’s page on messages that will not send covers both clients. My posts on where the Outbox is in Outlook and what the orange clock means cover the rest.

Classic Outlook saves drafts to another folder. Go to File > Options > Mail > Save messages and check the “Save to this folder” list. The choices are Drafts, Inbox, Sent Mail and Outbox. Set it back to Drafts.

It is already sent. A message in Sent Items has gone out, so there is no draft left to edit. Copy the text into a new message.

It was deleted. Check Deleted Items first. My post on how to recover a deleted draft in Outlook has the steps.

It is a phone draft on an account that does not sync. See the sync note in the mobile section above.

Shortcuts for Working on a Draft

In classic Outlook, Ctrl+S saves the draft, and Ctrl+Enter or Alt+S sends it. In new Outlook and Outlook on the web, Ctrl+Enter sends, but Microsoft’s shortcut list shows no mail save shortcut there, so use Options > Save draft.

If drafts keep landing in the wrong place on classic Outlook, start with File > Options > Mail > Save messages.