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PULL BACK E-MAILS WITH GMAIL'S "UNSEND" FEATURE: BUT YOU MUST ACT QUICKLY
Posted by Mark Rosch | Internet for Lawyers
April 1, 2009
Who among us hasn't regretted sending an e-mail? Maybe you were too hasty hitting the Send button on an angry tirade. Or maybe you were too quick to accept a suggested name from our contact list? You know the situation - there are three "Roberts" in your address book. One's a client. One's a vendor. One's a law school buddy who you share e-mail jokes with.
Gmail now offers an option for everyone who has ever wanted to "unsend" an e-mail as soon as they've sent it. Unfortunately, the option only available briefly.
To enable the new feature, Gmail users should click the Settings link and then click on the Labs tab. This will display a list of optional features you can add to your Gmail Inbox. Scroll down to Undo Send and click the
Enable radio button.
Once enabled, this feature adds two new functions to your Gmail Inbox. The first is the addition of a Cancel link next to the Sending notification that appears on screen while the email is being sent. Clicking Cancel stops the sending process and returns you to the composing screen so you can edit the e-mail's contents or the recipient's e-mail address, subject line, etc. The second addition is an Undo link that appears next the Your
message has been sent notification that appears after the sending process is complete.
It's important to note that this Undo link appears for only about 5-6 seconds then it's gone and there's no way to retrieve the message. This makes its use pretty limited but if you've ever had that pang of regret, or dread, after you've hit the send button, this offers some option if ever so brief.
It's also important to note that you have even less time to hit the Cancel link. In a number of test messages where I clicked the Cancel link, I apparently did not click it fast enough, because the message still went
through to the recipient. Unless you see a Sending was canceled message and are returned to the composition screen, the message is still being delivered. You¹ll still have 5-6 seconds to hit the Undo link though.
Other useful Labs features for Gmail include Offline (which makes your Inbox available when you're not connected to the Internet) and Email Addict (which lets you block access to your Inbox for 15 minute intervals
so you can concentrate on other tasks).
Gmail now offers an option for everyone who has ever wanted to "unsend" an e-mail as soon as they've sent it. Unfortunately, the option only available briefly.
To enable the new feature, Gmail users should click the Settings link and then click on the Labs tab. This will display a list of optional features you can add to your Gmail Inbox. Scroll down to Undo Send and click the
Enable radio button.
Once enabled, this feature adds two new functions to your Gmail Inbox. The first is the addition of a Cancel link next to the Sending notification that appears on screen while the email is being sent. Clicking Cancel stops the sending process and returns you to the composing screen so you can edit the e-mail's contents or the recipient's e-mail address, subject line, etc. The second addition is an Undo link that appears next the Your
message has been sent notification that appears after the sending process is complete.
It's important to note that this Undo link appears for only about 5-6 seconds then it's gone and there's no way to retrieve the message. This makes its use pretty limited but if you've ever had that pang of regret, or dread, after you've hit the send button, this offers some option if ever so brief.
It's also important to note that you have even less time to hit the Cancel link. In a number of test messages where I clicked the Cancel link, I apparently did not click it fast enough, because the message still went
through to the recipient. Unless you see a Sending was canceled message and are returned to the composition screen, the message is still being delivered. You¹ll still have 5-6 seconds to hit the Undo link though.
Other useful Labs features for Gmail include Offline (which makes your Inbox available when you're not connected to the Internet) and Email Addict (which lets you block access to your Inbox for 15 minute intervals
so you can concentrate on other tasks).