Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

silverweb

(16,402 posts)
Sun Aug 30, 2020, 11:53 PM Aug 2020

Question about Hotmail for my mom, please?

She's 95, amazing for her age, and we email all the time. The thing is, she occasionally loses an email in "drafts" and then doesn't know how to send it when she finds it again. She insists that in the current draft email, my address is present in the "to" section but there's no "send" button.

I haven't used Hotmail in decades and have no idea what she's looking at or how to talk her through it. I'm supposed to call her early tomorrow morning to straighten this all out. Can anyone here help, please?

16 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Question about Hotmail for my mom, please? (Original Post) silverweb Aug 2020 OP
A draft is not complete - therefore it needs by definition to be completed Pachamama Aug 2020 #1
That's got to be it! silverweb Aug 2020 #3
If she hasn't filled in a *recipient email address on that line appalachiablue Aug 2020 #2
That was the first thing I asked her: silverweb Aug 2020 #4
I saw Pachamama's note after mine; that pencil edit feature appalachiablue Aug 2020 #7
I'm glad it's solved, too. silverweb Aug 2020 #8
Good! Enjoy conversing with your mom, they're the best! appalachiablue Aug 2020 #10
I'm very sorry for your loss. silverweb Aug 2020 #11
That's terrific you're aware, appreciate and love all you can. appalachiablue Aug 2020 #14
Thanks! I suspected the need for clicking the "edit" pencil, but... LAS14 Aug 2020 #16
Along with the excellent suggestions above, does you guys know how to Zoom? mr_lebowski Aug 2020 #5
I can Zoom, she cannot. silverweb Aug 2020 #6
She doesn't need a camera to screen share with Zoom. mr_lebowski Aug 2020 #9
Interesting. silverweb Aug 2020 #12
It's really pretty easy ... mr_lebowski Aug 2020 #13
What OS is she running? LAS14 Aug 2020 #15

Pachamama

(17,013 posts)
1. A draft is not complete - therefore it needs by definition to be completed
Mon Aug 31, 2020, 12:05 AM
Aug 2020

There is in hotmail a little icon that is a pencil that is “edit”. It appears only in drafts. When your Mom opens the email in the draft folder she needs to click this icon to finish and complete the draft.

As soon as the edit “pencil” is clicked, a “send” button will appear in the email.

silverweb

(16,402 posts)
3. That's got to be it!
Mon Aug 31, 2020, 12:23 AM
Aug 2020

Thank you very much. I've been using Gmail for many years and even drafts have the "send" button available, so I couldn't figure out why she was having so much trouble. Now I can walk her through it in the morning and we'll both have learned something.

appalachiablue

(42,899 posts)
2. If she hasn't filled in a *recipient email address on that line
Mon Aug 31, 2020, 12:11 AM
Aug 2020

('send to'____), the message in the drafts folder does not have a 'send' button, just a faint 'reply' or 'forward' symbol.

I just tried and that's what happened in my system.

Make sure she has completed the message, fills in the subject line & recipient email address line before hitting 'send.'

I hope that helps, good luck, ~ A. Blue.

silverweb

(16,402 posts)
4. That was the first thing I asked her:
Mon Aug 31, 2020, 12:26 AM
Aug 2020

Is my email address in the "to" portion? She said it was, so that wasn't the problem. I think pachamama has it right: She needs to click on the pencil to edit and complete the email, then she'll be able to send it. Thanks for your input!

appalachiablue

(42,899 posts)
7. I saw Pachamama's note after mine; that pencil edit feature
Mon Aug 31, 2020, 12:34 AM
Aug 2020

is fairly new, to me at least. Now I recall futzing around once, finally clicking the pencil & I could finish & send.

Glad it's solved, and you both can communicate!

silverweb

(16,402 posts)
8. I'm glad it's solved, too.
Mon Aug 31, 2020, 12:42 AM
Aug 2020

She's on the other side of the country and email is how I share pictures and videos with her. I'd love to get her on Zoom or Hangouts or some other video service, but first she'd need a device that can handle it and that's an issue.

I'll take what I can get in terms of communication, though. Being able to retrieve a draft and actually send it is a big deal for her, so I'm happy.

appalachiablue

(42,899 posts)
10. Good! Enjoy conversing with your mom, they're the best!
Mon Aug 31, 2020, 12:47 AM
Aug 2020

How I wish I could be with mine, or talk to her but she's passed. Miss her every day.

silverweb

(16,402 posts)
11. I'm very sorry for your loss.
Mon Aug 31, 2020, 12:57 AM
Aug 2020

It's something I prepare myself for and I know how lucky we are that she's still here. We're both very aware that time is slipping away all too quickly.

LAS14

(14,675 posts)
16. Thanks! I suspected the need for clicking the "edit" pencil, but...
Mon Aug 31, 2020, 07:59 AM
Aug 2020

... I couldn't reproduce it! I created a whole bunch of drafts... no edit pencil. No I know why it shows up only "randomly." I've been wondering forever!

 

mr_lebowski

(33,643 posts)
5. Along with the excellent suggestions above, does you guys know how to Zoom?
Mon Aug 31, 2020, 12:27 AM
Aug 2020

Zoom allows screen sharing with a click of a button.

That way you can see what she's looking at

silverweb

(16,402 posts)
6. I can Zoom, she cannot.
Mon Aug 31, 2020, 12:32 AM
Aug 2020

She has a desktop PC that apparently doesn't have a camera and she refuses to own a cell phone (go figure!), so we can't Zoom or do any other kind of video call. It's all either voice-only calls or email, unfortunately. At least we've had help figuring out the email draft mystery!

 

mr_lebowski

(33,643 posts)
9. She doesn't need a camera to screen share with Zoom.
Mon Aug 31, 2020, 12:46 AM
Aug 2020

Maybe doesn't even need a mic ... Not sure, but quite possibly you can still connect a meeting with the app and use screen share with neither a mic nor camera. Then you talk on the phone at the same time.

It's worth a shot if the simpler instructions above don't work.

silverweb

(16,402 posts)
12. Interesting.
Mon Aug 31, 2020, 01:03 AM
Aug 2020

Long-distance instructions are a little harder than in-person ones, so I'm not sure how I'd help her set that up without being there. Something tells me she'd say it's "too complicated" and pass on the idea. What we've been doing works, so we'll probably just keep things the way they've been.

I'm sure the simple solution of using the pencil edit icon will work just fine. If not... well, I know where to find you helpful sorts when I need you. Bwahahaha!

 

mr_lebowski

(33,643 posts)
13. It's really pretty easy ...
Mon Aug 31, 2020, 01:22 AM
Aug 2020

And I'll just point out that if you set this up, you can then always help her with computer problems because she can share her screen with you any time.

Don't have to switch to using it for your talks (in fact if she has no mic either, you can't), just for computer issues. Talk on the phone while she shows you her screen with Zoom

https://zoom.us/client/latest/ZoomInstaller.exe

That's if the edit thing doesn't work.

Also, you can go through the same steps she would using that link, even if you already have Zoom on your machine.

LAS14

(14,675 posts)
15. What OS is she running?
Mon Aug 31, 2020, 07:54 AM
Aug 2020

Windows 8 and Windows 10 both have very easy to use screen capture features. Window's 10 has shift/windows-logo/S to capture then paste with good ol' ctrl/V. You'd need to walk her through getting to Snip in Windows 8. Anyway, she could take a picture of what she's seeing and send it to you. You could post it here if necessary.

Latest Discussions»Help & Search»Computer Help and Support»Question about Hotmail fo...