New Outlook - Stop automatically saving email Drafts

Dear Steve Kimbler,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A. 

Thank you for sharing your question. Based on the information I’ve found, New Outlook currently does not provide an option to disable automatic draft saving. In the classic Outlook experience, you could go to: Settings > Mail > Compose and reply > Save messages

There you would find the option “Automatically save items that have not been sent after this many minutes” to adjust or turn off autosave. Unfortunately, this setting is not available in New Outlook at the moment.

I’ve seen many community reports about this issue, and honestly, I’ve experienced the same inconvenience with drafts myself. I completely agree that Microsoft should consider bringing this feature back. I strongly recommend submitting feedback directly through Help > Feedback > Report a Problem in New Outlook. Microsoft is actively collecting user input to improve the product, and I will also raise this internally.

Please understand that as a moderator, I cannot intervene in the product development process, but I’m committed to making sure your concerns are heard.

I hope this information helps point you in the right direction. If you need any further assistance or have additional questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out again. I’ll do my best to support you however I can.  

Looking forward to hearing back from you with any updates or additional details. 

Warm regards, 

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Dear Steve,

First of all, I’m truly sorry for the frustration you’ve experienced, I completely understand how inconvenient this is. I also agree with you: New Outlook still needs improvement, as several features that existed in Classic Outlook (including the ability to disable automatic draft saving) are not yet supported in the new experience.

You can still use Classic Outlook alongside New Outlook if you prefer the older experience. Here’s how:

1. Switch back to Classic Outlook

In New Outlook, click the Toggle “New Outlook” in the top-right corner.

Scroll down and look for Switch to Classic Outlook.

Open Help > Go to Classic Outlook (this option often appears if the toggle is missing in Settings).

2. Configure autosave in Classic Outlook

Once you’re back in Classic Outlook:

Go to File > Options > Mail > Save messages.

Uncheck Automatically save items that have not been sent after X minutes, or adjust the time as needed.

As a moderator, I don’t have the ability to change product features, but I can make sure your concerns are heard. I will also escalate this feedback internally because this is a feature many users want back.
If you encounter any difficulties with the steps above, please feel free to reach out again and share more details or screenshots, I’ll do my best to assist you further.

I truly hope these steps help you regain control over your Outlook experience. Once again, I apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for sharing your feedback, it’s extremely valuable for improving New Outlook. If you have any other questions or run into issues while switching back to Classic Outlook, please feel free to post here. We’re always happy to assist.

Warm regards,
Liora.

To stop New Outlook from automatically saving drafts, you can adjust the Autosave feature settings. Here’s how to do it:

1. Go to File > Options.
2. Select the Mail tab.
3. In the Save Messages section, either clear the Automatically save checkbox or increase the amount of delay time before items are autosaved into Drafts. The value range for AutoSave is from 1 to 99 minutes. Consider increasing the value to allow more time to change the message contents before it is saved as a draft.

By adjusting these settings, you can have more control over when drafts are saved, reducing the number of copies in the Drafts folder.

References:

• The operation cannot be performed because the message has been changed error when a delegate creates a Skype or Teams meeting in Outlook

Dear Steve,

Thank you for sharing this update. I sincerely apologize that my earlier response didn’t fully resolve your concern, and I truly appreciate your patience and effort in explaining the situation.

Classic Outlook uses IMAP or POP for Gmail accounts. If Gmail is not connecting, it’s usually because:

IMAP is not enabled in your Gmail settings.

Two-factor authentication (2FA) is enabled on your Google account, which requires an App Password instead of your regular password.

Incorrect server settings or missing OAuth configuration.

Please follow these steps:

1. Enable IMAP in Gmail

Sign in to Gmail on the web.

• Go to Settings > See all settings > Forwarding and POP/IMAP.
• Under IMAP Access, select Enable IMAP.
• Save changes.

1. Generate an App Password (if 2FA is enabled)

• Go to your Google Account > Security > App Passwords.
• Select Mail and Windows Computer, then click Generate.
• Copy the 16-character password, this will replace your normal password in Outlook.

1. Add Gmail to Classic Outlook

• Open Outlook > File > Account Settings > New Account.
• Choose IMAP and enter: Incoming server: imap.gmail.com, Port 993, Encryption: SSL/TLS. Outgoing server: smtp.gmail.com, Port 465 or 587, Encryption: SSL/TLS.
• Username: your Gmail address.
• Password: the App Password you generated.

Here is a similar tutorial on connecting Gmail in classic outlook: Has anyone successfully got Gmail connected via POP/IMAP?
If you still encounter errors, you can refer to this article: Unable to add a Gmail account to classic Outlook