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<chapter id="usage-mainwindow">
<title>The Main Window: Evolution Basics</title>
<para>
Start <application>Evolution</application> by selecting
<guimenuitem>Evolution</guimenuitem> from the
<guisubmenu>Applications</guisubmenu> of the <guimenu>Main Panel
Menu</guimenu>, or by typing <command>evolution</command> at the
command-line. After <application>Evolution</application> starts
up, you will see the <interface>main window</interface>, with the
<interface>Inbox</interface> open. It should look a lot like the
picture in <xref linkend="usage-mainwindow-fig">. On the left of
the <interface>main window</interface> is the <interface>shortcut
bar</interface>, with several buttons in it. Just underneath the
title bar is a series of menus in the <interface>menu
bar</interface>, and below that, the <interface>tool
bar</interface> with buttons for different functions. The largest
part of the <interface>main window</interface> is taken up by the
actual <interface>Inbox</interface>, with a listing of messages
you have recieved. If you're running the program for the first
time, you'll just have one: a welcome message from Helix Code.
<!-- ==============Figure=================================== -->
<!--
Make sure that this figure meets its descriptions.
Can these things be labelled with little arrows & stuff?
-->
<figure id="usage-mainwindow-fig">
<title>Evolution Main Window and Inbox</title>
<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Evolution Main Window</screeninfo>
<graphic fileref="fig/mainwindow-pic" format="png" srccredit="Aaron Weber">
</graphic>
</screenshot>
</figure>
<!-- ==============End of Figure=================================== -->
</para>
<para>
<note>
<title>The Way Evolution Looks</title>
<para>
The appearance of both
<application>Evolution</application> and
<application>GNOME</application> is very easy to
customize, so your screen might not look like this
picture. You might configure
<application>Evolution</application> to start with a
different view, or without the <interface>shortcut
bar</interface> or <interface>folder view</interface>.
</para>
</note>
</para>
<sect1 id="usage-mainwindow-shortcutbar">
<title>The Shortcut Bar</title>
<para>
<application>Evolution</application>'s most important job is
to give you access to your information, and help you use it
quickly. One way it does that is through the
<interface>shortcut bar</interface>, the column on the left
hand side of the main window. The shortcut bar has two types
of buttons: big ones with names like
<guilabel>Inbox</guilabel> and <guilabel>Calendar</guilabel>,
and small rectangular ones at the top and bottom, which are
called category buttons.
</para>
<para>
The category buttons are labelled <guilabel>Evolution
Shortcuts</guilabel> <guilabel>Internet Directories</guilabel>.
When you click on them, they'll slide up and down to give you
access to different sorts of shortcuts. When you first start
<application>Evolution</application>, you are looking at the
<guilabel>Evolution Shortcuts</guilabel> category. If you click
<guilabel>Internet Directories</guilabel>, it will slide up and
you'll see buttons for the <guilabel>Bigfoot</guilabel> and
<guilabel>Netcenter</guilabel> directories, as well as any
others you or your system administrator might have added.
Click on <guibutton>Evolution Shortcuts</guibutton> to look at
the shortcuts again.
</para>
<para>
They are:
<itemizedlist>
<!-- NOT IMPLEMENTED!
<listitem>
<para>
<guibutton>Today</guibutton>, which will bring up a summary
of any new messages you've recieved, along with the tasks and
appointments you have lined up for today.
</para>
</listitem>
-->
<listitem>
<para>
<guibutton>Inbox</guibutton>, which will show you all
of your email. Your Inbox is also where you can
access Evolution's tools to filter, sort, organize,
and search your mail.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
The <guibutton>Calendar</guibutton>, which can store
appointments for you. Connected to a network, you
can use it to keep a group of people on schedule and
up to date.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
The <guibutton>Contacts</guibutton> tool holds your
addresses, phone numbers, and contact information.
Like calendar information, contact data can be
synchronized with hand-held devices and shared over a
network.
</para>
</listitem>
<!-- NOT IMPLEMENTED YET
<listitem>
<para>
The <guibutton>Tasks</guibutton> tool combines a "to
do" list with reminders to help you keep track of
daily events.
</para>
</listitem>
-->
<listitem>
<para> <guibutton>Notes</guibutton> is your catch-all
notepad: write <glossterm>haiku</glossterm>, take down
messages from phone conversations, or keep small things
organized. This feature is not yet implemented, but will
be soon. See <xref linkend="usage-notes"> for more information.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<para>
If you prefer to use a keyboard shortcut, or <glossterm>hot
key</glossterm>, you can use those instead. They're shown next
to their equivalent menu items in the menu bar. You can also set
your own hot keys for functions that don't have any; this is
covered in <xref linkend="config">. If you're using the
keyboard shortcuts you may also want to hide the
<interface>shortcut bar</interface> by selecting
the <guimenuitem>Show Shortcut Bar</guimenuitem> toggle in the
<guimenu>View</guimenu> menu.
</para>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="usage-mainwindow-folderview">
<title>The Folder View</title>
<para>
The <interface>folder view</interface> is a more comprehensive
way to view the information you've stored with
<application>Evolution</application>. It displays all your
appointments, address cards, and email in a tree that's a lot
like a <glossterm>file tree</glossterm>— it starts small
at the top, and branches downwards. On my computer, I have only
one: <guilabel>Local</guilabel>. When I click on the plus sign
next to the label, I see the contents:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
<guilabel>Calendar</guilabel>, where I keep
appointments and event listings.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
<guilabel>Contacts</guilabel>, where address
cards are stored.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
<guilabel>Directories</guilabel>, for search directories, which
have not been implemented yet.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
<guilabel>Inbox</guilabel>, for incoming mail, and all
the rest of my mail folders.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
<guilabel>Outbox</guilabel>, which is for
drafts of messages and mail that's already been sent.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
<guilabel>Trash</guilabel>, which is for trash.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<para>
Right-clicking will bring up a menu for just about anything
in GNOME, and <application>Evolution</application> is no
exception. If you right-click on a folder, you'll have a
menu with the following options:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>Something</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Something</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Something</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>.
</para>
<tip>
<title>Context-Sensitive Help</title>
<para>
GNOME 2.0 supports context-sensitive help, which means you can
almost always get help on an item by right-clicking it. If
you're not sure what something is, or don't know what you can
do with it, choosing <guimenuitem>Help</guimenuitem> from the
right-click menu is a good way to find out.
</para>
</tip>
<para>
If a folder has other folders inside it, there will be a plus
sign next to it. Click on the plus sign, and the folder will
open to let you see the other folders inside. This may
change in the future to something more attractive, like
triangles that drop down as you click on them to display the
rest of the tree.
</para>
<para>
Any time new information arrives in a folder, that folder
will be highlighted, or its label displayed as bold
text. You can learn more about customizing
<application>Evolution</application> alerts and appearance
in <xref linkend="config">.
</para>
<para>
Moving and deleting folders and other items works in one of
two ways: using <glossterm>drag-and-drop</glossterm> or by
right-clicking and selecting an item from the
<interface>right-click menu</interface>. You can drag the
folders inside the folder view to change their order or put
one folder inside another. To delete a folder, drag it into
the trash folder or right-click it and select
<guimenuitem>Delete</guimenuitem> from the menu that pops
up. The same goes for individual messages, appointments,
and address cards, whether they're in the <interface>folder
view</interface> or not: drag them where you want them, and
they will go there. <!-- ****This paragraph could use some
work**** -->
</para>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="usage-mainwindow-menubar">
<title>The Menu Bar</title>
<para>
The <interface>menu bar</interface>'s contents will always
provide all the possible actions for any view of your data.
That means that, depending on the context, menu bar items will
change. If you're looking at your Inbox, most of the menu items
will relate to mail; some will relate to other components of
<application>Evolution</application> and some, especially those
in the <guimenu>File Menu</guimenu> will relate to the
application as a whole. You can probably guess that the
<guimenu>Help Menu</guimenu> is where to go for help, and that
the <guimenu>View</guimenu> menu controls the way that
<application>Evolution</application> looks. Other menu items
are a little less obvious, and change a little more, so we'll
cover them later on as we discuss the things you can do with
<application>Evolution</application>.
</para>
<para>
Once you've familiarized yourself with the <interface>main
window</interface> you can start doing things with it.
We'll start with your email inbox: you've got a letter
waiting for you already.
</para>
</sect1>
</chapter>
