# PC Gurus: Where did My Email Go? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 22, 2004, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gurus-where-did-my-email-go/251633 "2004-06-22T14:56:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gurus-where-did-my-email-go/251633/1 "2004-06-22T14:56:27Z")
I’m sure others have experienced this. I was creating an email when my fingers slipped. I bumped some combination of keys (including Ctrl or Alt, I’m sure) and my email disappeared. Now, I need to know everything the Gurus know about this. If it _sent_ itself, it does not appear in my “sent” box. If it _saved_ itself, it does not appear in “drafts”, and if it _closed_ itself, it did not warn “save changes”. So, with all these safeguards in place, where the heck did it go? Oh, and for the record, is it not sitting in the “outbox”, either. Us layfolk will say it vaporized into cyberspace. How would the gurus explain this phenomenon? Please help! - Jinx 😕 ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gurus-where-did-my-email-go/251633/2 "2004-06-22T15:07:06Z")
IANAPCG-Your mail went to the land of lost left sox. If I’m doing an email that I don’t want to lose-I start in Word, then Caste & Putt into the email pane to avoid the pain. ---
**Author:** ![larsenmtl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d78d45/32.png) [@larsenmtl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/larsenmtl)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gurus-where-did-my-email-go/251633/3 "2004-06-22T16:25:45Z")
What email client are you using? In Outlook Ctrl+D sends the email directly to your “Deleted Items” folder. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gurus-where-did-my-email-go/251633/4 "2004-06-24T16:03:22Z")
I think Larsen’s suggestion may be what happened, but IIRC, I was in the “Reply” mode which makes Ctrl+D act differently. Taking another look at this: If an email sent itself prematurely, it would undoubtedly appear in the Sent Box, right? Is there any possible way it could by-pass this? Thanks again, - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gurus-where-did-my-email-go/251633/5 "2004-06-24T16:53:32Z")
Ctrl SHIFT D, however, will delete without prompting, if I’m not mistaken. I don’t have Outlook on this machine, or I’d double check. ---
**Author:** ![Severian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@Severian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Severian)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gurus-where-did-my-email-go/251633/6 "2004-06-24T17:05:42Z")
> [@TellMeI'mNotCrazy](#): > > Ctrl SHIFT D, however, will delete without prompting, if I’m not mistaken. > > I don’t have Outlook on this machine, or I’d double check. Ctrl-Alt-D does that. Ctrl-Shift-D brings up the New Call dialing dialog. So is the message in your deleted items? ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gurus-where-did-my-email-go/251633/7 "2004-06-24T18:07:15Z")
> [@Severian](#): > > So is the message in your deleted items? I swore I was in the middle or composing a reply when I lost it. However, in the Deleted items, there is the email to which I trying to respond. Personally, I think Gates has a mind control button encoded in his software…set to detenate when the right keys are hit in combination. Just to drive the enduser nuts. Well, for me, that’d be a short putt! 😉 - Jinx