Mail.app leaves copy of sent email in Drafts mailbox

[marcnyc]

I have been experiencing this issue on and off for a while...
Sometimes when I type an email and save it as I type, after I send it I see a copy of the email in the Sent folder, as I expect, but I still see a duplicate of the email in my drafts folder, as if it was waiting to be sent...
Most of the times the copy in the drafts folder seems to be an incomplete copy, like a copy that's truncated half way through (possibly when I hit save on my keyboard during the composition of the message?).
Does anybody experience this also? Is this a bug? Is there a way to fix it? Thanks.

[tbsingleton73]

I don't experience this. I can start a new email, start the message, hit "save as draft" and finish the message and then send. The complete email gets sent with no left over copy in Drafts.
Using Tiger 10.4.6 with all updates and Mail 2.0.7

What happens is you don't "save as draft" while you type the message and just finish it and send?

Try sending a test email where you type part of your message, mark a save spot in the email with something like "save as draft here", hit save, finish the message and then send. Is the truncated message where you marked the save or some other place in the message?

What OS and version of Mail.app are you using?

[marcnyc]

it's hard for me to make tests because it doesn't happen all the time...
anyway...
I use 10.4.6 with all the updates and 2.0.7, just like you...

[hayne]

it's hard for me to make tests because it doesn't happen all the time...
Are you sometimes "offline" while composing the email messages? Maybe that's part of the trigger for this bug.

[stfi]

I just experienced the same. Quite odd.

[Peachie]

I have the problem consistently on my MBP since installing Leopard. The problem is also consistent on an iMac G5 since i upgraded to leopard too. Both machines use an IMAP server (each a different one) and both machines are set to save Drafts to the server. Mail.app 3.0 (and now 3.1) save drafts quite often as I am composing, however it does not replace/append the draft already saved. instead it makes a new copy, and I end up with XX email drafts in the drafts folder, where XX is proportional to the length of time I spent composing. The drafts do not disappear when the email is sent or canceled, and they remain in the drafts folder on the server (and locally cached as well) until I manually go into the drafts folder and select the tens or hundreds of drafts and delete them all by hand.
The problem is very consistent and very annoying. I am right now on hold with AppleCare to discuss the issue. unfortunately due to AppleCare phone issues, I was lost in their queue system for an hour, and this second attempt has been 40 minutes so far - and I need to leave here in 20 minutes from now so i doubt I am getting an answer today. I will post back if/when I get some info on this.

[PeterS]

I believe that after a set period of time [I don't know what it is] while you are still typing your message, Mail automatically saves it [whatever you have written so far] as a draft. Presumably as a safety measure. That is why the draft message is [in your case] incomplete because you completed your message and sent it before the next "save" to Draft occurred.

This is easy to test. Open a new mail window, type something and then do nothing for a few minutes and I think you will find that message in your Draft mailbox.

[Peachie]

I finally managed to get through to applecare - they say they are very busy (i noticed by the hour+ hold times again), and they have no immediate answer. They are forwarding this to their engineering, and expect to contact me in about a week...

I'll update as I find out more.

[markashley]

Same problem here. Also using IMAP boxes, and I get the same buildup of partial drafts which are not deleted when the message is sent. Draft folder is on the IMAP server. Had this problem under Tiger and now Leopard (fresh install, not an upgrade). I wonder what effect a local drafts folder would have?

[marcnyc]

I saw that same behavior as well...
I really hope we find a solution. Peachie please let us know if they actually do call you back in a week (which I'd be surprised if they did!)

[rusto]

Have you tried rebuilding the Drafts mailbox? I recently had a "phantom" email stuck in my drafts folder. It had the addressee and subject line but no body. Could not delete it. Rebuilding the mailbox did the trick.

[Peachie]

Apple finally called me back.
The response was that this is a bug known to the engineering team and they are working on it for a future update.

Until then, they suggest disabling the save drafts on the server, so that it saves them locally for the time being.

[marcnyc]

Thanks for posting!

[Peachie]

no problem! Hope we all see a fix for this soon, its frustrating!

[marcnyc]

actually, lately I have stopped using Mail.app all together in favor of Gmail... I was a little faster on Mail.app but because the sync-ing with IMAP takes so long the productivity/time when using gmail via web is actually the same

[Las_Vegas]

What syncing? When do you sync an IMAP account? Since everything stays on the server, there shouldn't be any syncing necessary.

[dawesten]

I use Apple's Mail, and have an IMAP account, I started experiencing this problem for the first time on 11/17/2007. I never saw it before.

I believe this is what is happening: As you work on an email, Mail periodically puts a copy in Drafts, so that if you have a problem, there is an automatic backup in Drafts. I think if you compose and send an email quickly, the problem never occurs.

What I am seeing is that multiple drafts of a single email are being created (not just the latest version). To test this, open the drafts folder, and then start working on a new email. At some point you'll see it pop up into the Drafts folder. But as you keep working on the draft, other copies will be added, not supplanting the prior copy. (I assume there should be only one draft--the latest.)

The problem I'm seeing is that as I work on it longer and longer, multiple copies are appearing in the Drafts folder. Then when I finally send the email, only one is being purged as having been sent. The other copies remain. I haven't been able to figure out which of the multiple ones is being deleted.

If anyone figures this out, let me know.

Derek

[marcnyc]

dawesten, I believe that it is clear at this point that it is a bug apple is working on (Peachie informed us of that after Apple said so to him on the phone).

Also, Las Vegas, yes I was talking about when sync-ing an IMAP account. The sync-ing is so slow I am using only gmail.com online as it is pretty much the same in speed