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Often I start typing a question on SO and then figure out the answer halfway through. I used to just click discard, but lately it seems to have vanished. Where did it go?

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  • @Emrakul we have draft on questions too, and a special tag for draft.
    – Shadow Wizard Love Zelda
    Nov 17, 2013 at 8:01
  • @Sha Oh, cool, didn't realize. Thanks!
    – user206222
    Nov 17, 2013 at 8:04

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The discard link only appears after a draft has been saved.

If a draft hasn't yet been saved, there's nothing to discard so no need for it. Just type in some text in an answer box and wait for a minute (45 seconds in fact), you'll see the link appear.

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You need to have a few letters (even one letter as Mat explained) in the answer too alongwith some time for waiting.

A single line paragraph, such as my first paragraph won't make the answer to be (draft word appeared at this stage) saved as a draft.

But since this line, it appears! Saving the answer so that in case of any error your answer stays here safe. Which is a helpfull element for this website too! But, wait for it.

Try looking at the network tab to check all the network requests. And note the link that's known as answer. That is the link which ensures that the answer was sent. It is located at editor-heartbeat.

enter image description here

It generally takes 45 seconds for this request. So you need to wait atleast 45 seconds and check what happens. Discard will appear after the response from this link. Which is a result of whether you were writing an answer or not.

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  • I get a discard link even if I just type a single letter in the answer box.
    – Mat
    Nov 17, 2013 at 7:10
  • But you still have to wait for 45 seconds don't you! :) I kept writing the answer and the draft appeared at the spot I mentioned..
    – Afzaal Ahmad Zeeshan
    Nov 17, 2013 at 7:11
  • Yes, but your first line seems to indicate otherwise ("need to have a few words").
    – Mat
    Nov 17, 2013 at 7:13
  • Yes of course, :) I have edited the answer as per your suggestion :)
    – Afzaal Ahmad Zeeshan
    Nov 17, 2013 at 7:15
  • Body of a post must contain at least 30 characters (try to type less and see what happens when you submit) so no point saving draft before you reach 30 characters. :)
    – Shadow Wizard Love Zelda
    Nov 17, 2013 at 7:59
  • But @Mat corrected me out saying that only 1 letter would do the trick. Who's correct? ShaWizDowArd :/ ?
    – Afzaal Ahmad Zeeshan
    Nov 17, 2013 at 8:01
  • Just try it out, you'll see for yourself.
    – Mat
    Nov 17, 2013 at 8:16
  • Hey @ShaWizDowArd, Mat is right. I just wrote My Name is... and it got saved :/
    – Afzaal Ahmad Zeeshan
    Nov 17, 2013 at 8:18
  • Cool, glad to stand corrected!
    – Shadow Wizard Love Zelda
    Nov 17, 2013 at 8:37

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