Use Gmail Undo Send to turn back an Email you may regret!
The Gmail Undo Send Feature lets you stop an Email from being sent for up to 30 seconds after hitting the “Send” button.
In the last post, we showed how to create an Outlook Delay Email Send Rule.
This use of the Outlook Rules feature gives you the ability to have a few minutes to revise an Email after you hit the “Send” button, or stop it from being sent entirely.
TheGmail Undo Send feature performs a similar function for Gmail users, although it is not quite as flexible as the Outlook Delay Send rule.
Like the Microsoft Outlook Delay Send Rule, the Gmail Undo Send just adds a small delay before an Email is sent.
It doesn't actually pull back a sent message, but instead just provides a small, built in delay before messages are actually sent.
This provides you with the ability to stop an Email from being sent out in case you change your mind right after hitting the “Send” button.
And you know we have ALL done that at one time or another.. some of us more then we would like to admit!
Sometimes, you realize you forgot something simple:
Did not copy someone you should have.
Forgot to add the required attachment to your Email..again!
Forgot to remove people that didn’t need to be copied on the message.
These sort of small mistakes are not critical, but can be annoying and often occur frequently!
Sometimes, it may be something you may regret later:
Copied someone that shouldn’t be privy to the message.
Forgot to remove information further down in the Email that shouldn’t be distributed further.
Sent something that was a bit on the... err... harsh side.
Gmail Undo Send to the rescue!
In the past, the Gmail Undo Send feature was hidden as one of the experimental “Labs” feature.
But just recently, Gmail has added this feature the “General” Gmail settings.
Here are the steps to activate Gmail Undo Send:
Select the “Gear” icon to select your Gmail Options.
Select the "Settings" option.
Select the “General Settings” tab.
Scroll down to the "Undo Send" option and select the “Enable Undo Send” checkbox.
Select your cancellation period. The options are 5, 10, 20 and 30 seconds. (Note: I highly recommend you select the longest - 30 seconds!)
Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and select "Save Changes".
That’s it!
Now the Gmail Undo Send feature is enabled!
So, how do you use the Gmail Undo Send Feature? Simple!
To use the Gmail Undo Send feature:
Once you activate this feature, anytime you “Send” a Gmail Email message, you will see a message at the top of the screen that will allow you to "Undo" the message.
You then have the number of seconds you selected when enabling this option to click on the “Undo" link.
If you select the “Undo Send” link then you will see a message stating that your Email message sending was "undone".
But if you wait and go past the time limit, then the "Undo" option will disappear and you will see the message will change to indicate that the Email was "Sent".
Also note that this feature only allows up to a maximum of a 30 second delay, which is much shorter then the several "minutes" you can configure for the Outlook Delay Send rule.... but it's certainly better then nothing!
I highly recommend you enable Undo Send if you are a Gmail user.
Just like the Outlook Delay Send Rule, it provides you with some greatly needed time to reconsider a message you may regret later.