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<!-- <!DOCTYPE preface PUBLIC "-//GNOME//DTD DocBook PNG Variant V1.1//EN"> -->
<preface id="introduction">
<!-- =============Introduction ============================= -->
<title>Introduction</title>
<section id="what">
<title> What is Evolution, and What Can It Do for Me?</title>
<para>
The word "evolution" means "a process of improvement and
development." The GNOME application
<application>Evolution</application> is meant to be a more
evolved <glossterm>groupware</glossterm> program, and an
integral part of the Internet-connected desktop.
</para>
<para>
As part of the GNOME project,
<application>Evolution</application> is free software, and is
released under the terms of the GNU Public License (GPL). As
stated previously, the documentation falls under the Free
Documentation License (FDL), which is included with this
document in <xref linkend="fdl">. For more information about
the GPL and the FDL, visit the Free Software Foundation's
website at <ulink
url="http://www.fsf.org">http://www.fsf.org</ulink>.
</para>
<para>
<application>Evolution</application> is a suite of tools to
help you work in a group. You can use it to send, receive,
and organize email, manage address and other contact
information, and maintain a calendar. It enables you to do
those things on one or several computers, connected directly
or over a network, for one person or for large groups.
<application>Evolution</application> can handle almost all
your communications tasks with the power and flexibility of
the GNOME desktop environment.
</para>
<para>
The developers of <application>Evolution</application> had
four major goals for their project:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
The application must be <emphasis>both powerful and easy
to use</emphasis>. That means a familiar and intuitive
interface that users could customize to their liking, and
the development of shortcuts for complex tasks.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
<application>Evolution</application> must meet and
exceed the standards set by other groupware products.
It must include support for most major network protocols
so that it can integrate seamlessly with existing
hardware and network environments.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
The project must support open standards and protocols
to turn <application>Evolution</application> into an
advanced development platform. From the simplest
scripting to the most complex network and component
programming, <application>Evolution</application>
needed to offer developers an environment for
cutting-edge application development.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Data must be safe: <application>Evolution</application>
must not lose mail or corrupt mailbox files. It will
not execute scripts, automatically forward a virus to
your entire contacts list, or delete files from your
hard disk.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<para>
<application>Evolution</application> is designed to make most
daily tasks faster. For example, it takes only one or two
clicks to enter an appointment or an address card sent to you
by email, or to send email to a contact or appointment.
<application>Evolution</application> makes displays faster and
more efficient, so searches are faster and memory usage is
lower. People who get lots of mail will appreciate advanced
features like <link
linkend="usage-mail-organize-vFolders">vFolders</link>, which
let you save searches as though they were ordinary mail
folders.
</para>
</section>
<section id="aboutbook">
<title>About This Book</title>
<!-- ************** FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH FOR DRAFT ONLY ************* -->
<para>
This version of the <application>Evolution</application>
User's Guide is a <emphasis>draft</emphasis>. It is missing
huge chunks of information, and many of the features it
describes are unimplemented. All the content is subject to
change, especially if you help. Please send comments on the
guide to <email>aaron@helixcode.com</email>. If you would like
to work on the guide please contact me or see the GNOME
Documentation project <ulink
url="http://www.gnome.org/gdp">web site</ulink>. This
paragraph will be removed in later versions of the manual.
</para>
<!-- ************* END DRAFT ONLY PARAGRAPH ************** -->
<para>
This book is divided into two sections. The first section is a
<link linkend="usage">guided tour</link>— it will
explain how to use <application>Evolution</application>. If
you are new to <application>Evolution</application> or to
groupware in general, this is the section for you. The second
section, covering <link linkend="config">configuration</link>,
is targeted at more advanced users, but anyone who wants to
change the way <application>Evolution</application> looks or
acts can benefit from reading it.
</para>
<formalpara>
<title>Typographical conventions</title>
<para>
Some kinds of words are marked off with special typography.
It's listed below:
<simplelist>
<member><application>Applications</application></member>
<member><command>Commands</command> typed at the command line</member>
<member><guilabel>Labels</guilabel> for interface items</member>
<member> Menu selections look like this:
<menuchoice>
<guimenu>Menu</guimenu>
<guisubmenu>Submenu</guisubmenu>
<guimenuitem>Menu Item</guimenuitem>
</menuchoice>
</member>
<member><guibutton>Buttons</guibutton> you can click</member>
<member><userinput>Anything you type in</userinput></member>
<member><computeroutput>Text output from a computer</computeroutput></member>
</simplelist>
</para>
</formalpara>
</section>
</preface>
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