Computer and Web Articles

Surely you’ve experienced something along the lines of this before? You’re sitting at your computer, type-type-typing away. You finish up the email you’re writing and tap the Send button in your email program–only to experience an instant, horrible, all-encompassing sensation of dread. In the fraction of the second it’s taken your finger to begin lifting off your left mouse button – the very mouse button you clicked to depress the “Send” button on your screen – your brain starts shooting off massive red fireworks because SOMETHING IS WRONG.

You sent the email to the wrong David. You forgot to remove the notes from the top of the email. You accidentally cc’d that explicit, horrible, dirty video to your ailing grandmother. You attached your tax-return form instead of your resume and sent it to your potential employer. You sent the lengthy, venting, smack-talking email about Sarah …. to Sarah.

What you wouldn’t give to go back in time – even just a few seconds back – so you could unsend that email and make the growing pit in your stomach disappear. Well, as you may have guessed by now, there *is* a way. This particular solution doesn’t work after a long delay, and it’s specifically for gmail users, but I have a hunch it just might be the type of functionality that could really make someone’s day.

In Gmail Labs under Settings, just turn on “Undo Send” and you’ll then see an Undo link on every sent email confirmation. Click “Undo” while the send request is processing or within 5 seconds of the email being sent through and Gmail will reopen the email for editing without sending it off to its intended (or potentially unintended) recipient(s).