How to unsend an Outlook email on a Mac
How to unsend an Outlook email on a Mac
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How to unsend an Outlook email on a Mac
Manuel Breva Colmeiro/Getty Images
There’s nothing like the panic that comes after scanning an email, pressing send, and your brain only seeing that typo after your hand releases from the cursor. Do you send a follow-up to apologize or will that just call attention to the error?
I’ve often just crossed my fingers hoping that if my brain scanned over the missing “the” in a sentence, the recipient’s will, too — that was until I found out I could leverage Outlook’s “Undo send” feature on my Mac.
While Mac users can’t completely recall or entirely replace an Outlook email, enabling the “Undo send” feature does give a 10-second grace period. That means for 10 seconds after hitting “Send,” you have the option to run interference, edit your email completely, and send it out without the original draft ever getting to another inbox.
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Sound like the recovery option you need? Here’s how to set up “Undo send” for Outlook on a Mac.
How to unsend an Outlook email on a Mac
1. Go to Settings
At the top of your mailbox, go to the Settings icon (gear) and then select the “View all Outlook Settings” option.
2. Select the “Compose and reply” option
Once you see the menu of settings options, select the “Compose and reply” tab. Scroll to find the “Undo send” option.
Screenshot by Christina Darby/ZDNET
3. Set your grace period and save
Under the “Undo send” tab, move the notch on the line to adjust how much time you want to be able to undo a message.
Now, press “Save.” If you find yourself occasionally making typos or mistakes, then setting the meter to the maximum (10 seconds) is best — I personally need all the grace I can get.
4. Select Undo
As a test, you can send an email to a friend or to yourself to get a sense of how long the grace period actually lasts.
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If you don’t want the message to go through, select “Undo” and the email will reappear as an unsent draft.
Screenshot by Christina Darby/ZDNET
FAQs
Can you recall an Outlook email on a Mac?
While you can’t completely recall an email in Mac as you would be able to on a PC, you can enable a 10-second revising grace period known as the “Undo send” feature. As shown in the images above, you can, however, enable the “Undo send” option by going to Settings > View all Outlook Settings > Compose and reply > Undo send > Set the seconds you have to undo > Save.
Can I “Undo send” an email I sent an hour ago?
Unfortunately, no. The “Undo send” feature is only active for up to 10 seconds before you can keep your unedited email from sliding into an inbox. Usually, this means you have to sit and monitor the email as it’s being sent out. So, don’t get too lax when composing a draft. Do make sure to take the time and look it over, only using the “Undo send,” feature for what it is: A grace period.
Can I delete a sent email on Outlook?
Outlook lets PC users recall or resend emails. Mac users can enable the “Undo send” feature to stop an error-ridden email before it goes out.
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