Manually clear saved question drafts

Question

I've seen lately that new question editing is stored somewhere for later use if we wander off the new question without posting it and then return back to the page. Which is a good functionality addition in it's own right.

What I'd like to also have is the Discard this draft functionality that would clear form data and forget it. Somehow we find an answer in the meantime and the question isn't valid any more.

So having a Discard saved draft or something similar would be a nice contra-functionality to auto-save to remove stored data. The way it's implemented now seems too hidden hidden and unpredictable to users.

Additional edit

When adding hidden auto functionality usually means creating the opposite as well by either giving the possibility to preference of not having automatism at all or giving the possibility to clear what's been auto saved.

Let's see how GMail doesn't work (and I think we all agree that from UX perspective it does the job as expected:

1. User clicks Compose message
2. User starts writing a new email message
3. User decides to not send the message and checks their inbox
4. User clicks Compose message again
5. A clean form is presented to user (old one being part of drafts)

I'm not suggesting we should have something like Saved drafts but we surely should have the possibility to clear previous question draft.

Since this new functionality was introduced I should point out that I would use the discard functionality more frequently than the saved one. I do welcome saving messages, but discarding of saved drafts is anything but a rare situation one might want to do. It wouldn't be a problem if this was a 1% against 99%. To me it's more like 50/50.

Best possible solution

When providing saved drafts there should (from the UX perspective) be the opposite functionality as well. Namely discarding of it. But first thing we should be asking ourselves is:

• do users more frequently need pre-filled saved question draft or
• do users more frequently need empty form with the possibility to populate it with a saved draft

User testing should provide the usage frequency between the two and the one that's more likely to happen (my guess is that there would be a big difference between the two) should be implemented. So one of these:

1. Pre-populate question fields with saved draft on question form load, while also providing a button to clear the draft and start writing anew without the need to manually clear all the fields (which would be the optimal solution in case of a single field form)
2. Question form should always load empty while also having a button that would pre-populate it with a saved draft.

I think this would be the best consensus related to saved question drafts and their usage. But as we've seen this issue has been swept under the rug for an indefinite time.

Answer 1

For those fastidious about clearing drafts (for whatever reason) this will be avaible in the next build.

_{Also available on answer drafts}

Answer 2

This is really bad UI design.

I'm always getting caught in the trap, where I start answer, realize that I don't want to finish, but then everytime I go to that page (until I answer another question) it brings up the text. There have been times when I've automatically posted an answer that I then had to delete, because I'm moving fast and didn't think of my ghost answer being there.

What's so hard about a cancel button for the draft (like the one for the Edit)?

Answer 3

Data for only one question is stored for you. If you navigate to another question and start answering, you will loose what was stored of your last answer. You don't even have to worry about it.

More info here.

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The closest thing you have to discarding the draft right now is replacing everything with garbage text, or just a single space. As it stands, you cannot save a blank draft. When attempting to save it, it will flash "saving draft..." and stay there instead of eventually changing to "draft saved". Attempting to save a blank draft prevents saving until the page is reloaded. If there was ever an option to save a blank draft, then it's bugged. (a "null message exception" or something)

Answer 4

This is now possible with a UserScript I wrote:

Manual Draft Save - Save a draft on demand

It adds a 'save' and 'clear' button to the bottom of the editor.

Answer 5

While I totally understand your want of a reset button having one is bad UI design. However, this will cause more cognitive friction than clearing the text area manually. Having a clear or rest form button was never a good idea and has been mostly eliminated from modern web sites. What you are asking for is equivalent.

Having to focus on the question text area and then press:

CTRL + A then del

seeems like a really small price to pay for a backed up question. The only other way to allow you to clear a draft without a clear button would require going to another page (probably your profile) to remove cached answers / questions. The way things are implemented now seems much more in line with Don't Make Me Think.

Answer 6

My workaround is Ctrl+a Space. And then Tab Ctrl+w Enter if i want to close the tab.

Explanation:

• The Discard draft button only appears after (re)loading the page, which is too slow for my liking.
• Space instead of Del because empty drafts do not get saved.
• Tab because drafts get saved immediately when you leave the text field, unless if you’re closing the tab while in the text field. (Switching tabs saves, though.)
• Enter for the Changes you made may not be saved popup. (A minor bug.)