In Apple mail I keep getting a 'this message cannot be saved' pop up when I'm not even trying to save a message. It happens constantly and is very annoying. Of course if I do try and save a message I have no probs.

What could be causing this and how do I get rid of it?

It happens when I am composing a message, usually when I move focus to anotheer app.
Cheers.

•does the message say why it can't be saved?
•what are your typing skills like?

I'd say you have an autosave preference enabled if your typing isn't the fault. However there is still the issue of why it can't be saved. I personally don't use Mail.app

I only see this on occasion when I'm using a non-Roman character set, specifically Japanese.

i get that aswell, mine are random one that decide to pop in during me typing an email.... strange.

I was wrong when I said I could save it even after I got the can't save message. This is what happens:
Type message.
Click 'save draft'. No message pops up, so assume it is fine.
Try to close window and get "would you like to save this message? save, cancel, don't save."
Click save.
"ERROR The message could not be saved"

The ERROR message also pops up when I change focus/open an app, as I said before.

I tried it with Helvetica and Times New Roman 12pt.

There is no autosave pref for Apple mail (that I could find)
What are my typing skills like? Average spose. How come?

It has been having trouble with the keychain too. It constantly asks me for keychain password because "mail wants to access keychain". I checked the keychain list and it seems fine. (Though I know nothing about computers, so who knows?)

Sounds like mail.app preferences are screwed somehow. These can be replaced by the traditional method.
Either that or permissions.Which also can be repaired. try both of those and see what happens.

is this for an IMAP account?

I have this issue with dreamhost as email host (not for my institutional email)

If it is for an IMAP account, select the account in the preferences window, the 'mailbox behaviors'. Deselect 'store draft messages on the server'.

This should resolve it.

Cheers,
c.

If it can't save something, it probably can't access its save folder: perhaps a permissions repair would fix it?

Yes - do a Permissions Repair:

With nothing open, click on top-centre menu: Go - and scroll down to click on: Utilities. In Utilities folder, double-click on: Disk Utilities, click select your HD on the left to highlight it and hit: Verify Disk Permissions button.

If anything apears in the main window, like: something/something/, should be drwxrwxr-x , they are drwxr-xr-x

- then wait for it to complete itself, and then hit the Repair Disk Permissions button.
The same reports will fly past, yet will now have been Repaired. Quit when your done.

If Mail still acts up, delete its Preferences:

Open Macintosh HD -> open YourHome -> open Library -> open Preferences -> locate: com.apple.mail.plist - Trash it and Empty Trash. Close all open windows.

When you go back to activate Mail it will only look like it's starting from scratch again by asking you if you want to import from another mail application. Just click No to everything it asks and bingo - you'll see all your Settings, Inbox / Sent Box etc stuff is there.

As to the Keychain problem, once again, with nought open, click on the top-centre menu item: Go - and scroll down to: Utilities.
In the Utilities window, double-click to open: Keychain Access.

In Keychain Access, click once on top-left menu item: Keychain Access and scroll down to click: Keychain First Aid. In the Keychain First Aid window, enter your Password in the Password panel, and with a dot in the Verify radio button, click once on the Start button.

Anything that appears in the list below in red text is obviously a problem, so then click a dot into the Repair radio button, and click the Start button again, and when it's done, click the Start button once again to double-check it's truly fixed. Then Quit Keychain Access.

Test Mail app again.

?

cheers,

cw

No, a permissions repair is unnecessary voodoo....please people, educate yourself as to what it does... it checks the permissions of files against the packages remaining in /Library/Receipts, which, of course, includes nothing at all in /Users as they are created after your system install.

A possibly useful question: Those of you with the error but not using IMAP, is your mail an import from another machine?

Thank you everyone. avolve's suggestion worked, ta.

currawong, I tried the keychain repair and nothing neded repairing, but I ran it anyway. I am still getting the "mail wants to access keychain "login" " pop up. Safari wants to use it now and then too. Any other ideas?

When either Mail or Safari asks you for your keychain password, are you clicking the: Always Allow button of choice ?

"mail wants to access keychain "login" " doesn't have an 'always allow' tick box. It wants my password all the time and in preferences there is nowhere to 'always allow' or similar option.

Safari only asks me for my password now and then. I remembered I shut down the computer, maybe tha was why Safari needed the password again?

Mai, I just can't figure out. I ran the connection doctor and everything was okay (after I had already given my keychain password when prompted at mail app. opening. If I run connection doctor before I am prompted to put in my keychain password, would that help? I try it later anyway. Gotta go.)

Cheers.