If you've received a message from an organisation through Dapple, but after following the link, you see a "Submission not found" message, the reason is that Dapple can't match it to a submission on the account you're currently signed into. Almost always, you're signed into a different account than the one you used to submit. Click Sign out and try a different account, go back to the original email, click the link again, and sign in with the same email address the notification was sent to. In rare cases the submission has been deleted or the link itself is broken — this article covers how to tell the difference and fix each one.
What does the "Submission not found" screen mean?
Dapple shows this screen when it can't locate the submission linked to the message you clicked. There are three possible causes, and the screen itself tells you which account you're currently signed in as (example below shows a partial email address like oz.wi...@gm...com) so you can check it against the notification.
Reason shown on screen | What it means | How common |
It was made using a different account | You're signed into a Dapple account that doesn't have this submission — usually because you signed in with a different email address than the one you used to submit. | By far the most common cause |
The submission has been deleted | The organisation has removed the submission from Dapple. | Rare |
The link is incorrect | The link in the email is malformed or no longer active. | Rare |
Why does Dapple sign me into the wrong account?
When you click a message link, Dapple opens a sign-in screen. If you authenticate with Google or Microsoft using a different email address than the one the notification was sent to, Dapple opens (or creates) a separate account — one with no record of your submission. Your original submission and its messages stay attached to the account tied to the email address you used when you first submitted.
This is the single most common cause of "Submission not found", and it's the easiest to fix — the wrong account, not a lost submission.
How do I fix a "Submission not found" error?
Dapple gives you a direct fix on the error screen itself:
On the "Submission not found" screen, click Sign out and try a different account.
Go back to the original email from the organisation and click the message link again.
On the sign-in screen, choose the same method you used originally — Google, Microsoft, or email.
Authenticate with the same email address the notification was sent to.
Dapple takes you straight to the submission and message once you're signed into the right account.
How do I know which email address to sign in with?
Open the notification email from the organisation and check the To field — that's the email address your Dapple account is registered under, and the one you need to authenticate with. If you have several Google or Microsoft accounts, it's easy to select the wrong one at the sign-in prompt without noticing. The "Submission not found" screen shows a partial version of the account you're currently signed in as, so you can compare it directly against the To field to confirm a mismatch.
What if I no longer have access to that email account?
Contact the organisation directly. Explain that you submitted using an email address you can no longer access, and provide whatever submission details you have (project name, submission title, approximate date). The organisation can locate your submission on their end and advise on next steps — Dapple itself can't reassign a submission to a different account.
What if I'm signed into the right account but still see the error?
Compare the partial email address on the error screen against the To field in the notification. If they match, the account isn't the problem — the submission has most likely been deleted by the organisation, or the link is broken. Either way, contact the organisation directly. They can confirm the submission's status and resend a working link if needed.
How do I avoid this in future?
Always use the same email address and sign-in method (Google, Microsoft, or email) every time you access Dapple.
Before clicking a sign-in button, check which account your browser or device currently has active.
If your browser auto-fills a different account at sign-in, close the prompt and switch to the correct one before continuing.
If you submit to several organisations, keep a note of the email address you used for each — it's the one that receives all message notifications.