It could be a number of things.

While writing an email - in compose mode - if you :

-- Hit the [Esc] key the email will disappear and be saved in Drafts

-- click on the top bar - the one that ends at the right with the close X, the same thing will happen.

-- Hit [Cnrl] + [a] , everything will be selected, and the next key you hit will overwrite everything.

Kent

Many strange things happen with laptops users where the mouse pad has not been disabled. Even though you are not using it, if it is still active and you unknowingly brush it while typing on the keypad, the laptop can do things you don't want it to. If you really don't use the mouse pad, you should go into your settings and see if there is an option to disable the mouse pad when an external mouse is being used. Otherwise, keep well clear of it or tape something over it so you can't enter accidental inputs via the mouse pad.

Kent, it is not any of those. My top line has esc, but I would have to stretch to get to it. I don't have an x to close, and my Ctrl is a stretch at the bottom. Thanks.

Kudzu, I don't often us the mouse pad, but want to if I need it. That can always be a possibility, but I have made huge attempts to avoid it.

If I pause a minute, and sometimes even if I do not pause, my cursor goes to a different place on the page.

I am afraid that gmail is not truly aligned with Windows 8.1. Without even pausing my cursor went to the upper paragraph and was after the word even. However, since I am on the Garden Web, gmail might not even be in control.

Thanks for trying to help.

Sammy

sammy-
A mouse that jumps around on a laptop is a key symptom of interaction with the mouse pad; many people are unaware that they have lightly brushed it. If you have the option to disable it, you can easily go in and re-enable it. Some laptops have the option: "Disable mouse pad when external mouse is plugged in," so, once you select this, you never have to go back in to change the settings; the mouse pad is off when you are using the mouse and, when you unplug the mouse, the mouse pad becomes active again. Have you gone into your settings to see what you have?

Kudzu, thanks. I found it in the control panel, and the wording was as you stated. I clicked it, selected apply and ok. I have high hopes now that this problem will be fixed. Perhaps in the future I will be able to handle a pad better than I can now.

Sammy

Sammy-
I have high hopes, too: if that doesn't work I'm going to be really stumped!

I hope that fixed it for you.

When I was using gmail I started getting emails that were blank and when I googled for solutions I found a lot of others had the same problem. I finally gave up on gmail.

This only addresses one small part of your trouble, but I may have a tip regarding the mouse cursor moving on it's own. I encountered this problem on a machine that I helped to maintain. The solution in that case was to open the mouse settings in control panel and uncheck "pointer precision". That was years ago, Windoze XP SP2. I don't have access to Windoze 8, so I don't know if the same option exists now. Might be worth a look.