Autosave option in a modal dialog with Save & Cancel buttons

Question

Scenario - A modal dialog where a user can type in anything (basically, Notes) with Save & Cancel buttons present, and Auto Save implemented. Auto Save has a purpose - it will avoid the messy situation of the user who might lose out a really long written text.

Now, what if the user types in something > it gets auto saved > user hits the Cancel button.

What would be the potential outcome and expected results out of this?

Answer 1

In short

For a new entry: All input should be dismissed and the auto save deleted

For when editing an existing entry: The new input should be saved to a separate file. If the user hits OK then overwrite the old file with the new. If the user hits Cancel the new file should be deleted and the value of the entry should load the value of the old file.

Eg. Existing entry: "I like bananas." Hit Edit -> open modal, begin typing after existing text "because they are bent". IF hit OK -> Entry: "I like bananas. because they are bent". OR if hit Cancel -> Entry: "I like bananas."

Answer 2

While I can see it working without adding a step to the process, I would go the extra mile and:

Ask the user.

A simple popup saying "Commit changes?" with [yes] and [no] will do, or perhaps allow answers like [yes], [no] and a [cancel] for when it was pressed accidentally.

Ideally, offer the option to save whatever answer they gave and use that next time as well, to make their future experience water-tight as well.