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<chapter id="usage-mail">
<title>Evolution Mail</title>
<abstract>
<title> An Overview of the Evolution Mailer</title>
<para>
<application>Evolution</application> email is like other email
programs in all the ways you would hope:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
It can sort and organize your mail in a wide variety of ways with
folders, searches, and filters.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
It can send and receive mail in HTML or as plain text, and
supports file attachments.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
It supports multiple mail sources, including IMAP, POP3,
and local <filename>mbox</filename> files.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<para>
However, <application>Evolution</application> has some important
differences. First, it's built to handle very large amounts of
mail without slowing down or crashing. Both the <link
linkend="usage-mail-organize-filters">filtering</link> and <link
linkend="usage-mail-organize-search">searching</link> functions
were built for speed and efficiency on gargantuan mail
volumes. There's also the <application>Evolution</application>
<link linkend="usage-mail-organize-vFolders">vFolder</link>, an
advanced organizational feature not found in other mail clients.
If you get a lot of mail, or if you keep every message you get
in case you need to refer to it later, you'll find that feature
especially useful.
</para>
</abstract>
<sect1 id="usage-mail-getnsend">
<title>Reading, Getting and Sending Mail</title>
<sect2 id="usage-mail-getnsend-read">
<title>Reading Mail</title>
<para>
You can start reading email by clicking
<guibutton>Inbox</guibutton> in the shortcut bar. By
default, the <interface>Inbox</interface> is open when you
start <application>Evolution</application>, and the first
time you see your inbox, there's a message in it from Helix
Code welcoming you to the application.
</para>
<para>
The first time you open your
<application>Evolution</application>
<guilabel>Inbox</guilabel>, you will see a window like the one
in <xref linkend="usage-mail-intro-fig">, with a message from
Helix Code in the <interface>message list</interface>. The
message is displayed below that, in the <interface>view
pane</interface>. If you find the <interface>view
pane</interface> too small, you can double-click on the
message in the <interface>message list</interface> to have it
open in a new window. As is the case with folders, you can
right-click on messages in the message list and get a menu of
possible actions:
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Open in New Window</guimenuitem> </term>
<listitem><para>
Select this item to view the message in
a new <application>Evolution</application>
window.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Edit Message</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>
This item is available only for messages and drafts
that you have written. Select it to open the message
composer and make changes to the message.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Print Message</guimenuitem> </term>
<listitem><para>
Select this item to print a message.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Reply to Sender</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>
Use this item to reply only to the author of the message.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Reply to All</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>
Send a reply to the author of the message
and to all others on the recipient list. See <xref
linkend="usage-mail-getnsend-send-reply"> for more information.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Forward Message</guimenuitem> </term>
<listitem><para>
Send the message on to another person.
See <xref linkend="usage-mail-getnsend-fwd"> for
information about how to use the Forward feature.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Delete Message</guimenuitem> </term>
<listitem><para>
Mark the message for deletion. Choose <menuchoice>
<guimenu>Actions</guimenu><guimenuitem>Expunge</guimenuitem>
</menuchoice> to delete marked messages permanently.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Move Message</guimenuitem> </term>
<listitem><para>
Select this item to move the message to another folder.
This will open a dialog to let you choose the destination
from a folder tree.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>vFolder for Subject</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>
Select this item to create a pre-fabricated vFolder based on
the current message's Subject line.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>vFolder for Sender</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>
Select this item to create a pre-fabricated vFolder based on
who sent the current message.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>vFolder for Recipients</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>
Select this item to create a pre-fabricated vFolder based on
who the recipients are.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Filter for Subject</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>
Select this item to create a pre-fabricated filter based on
the current message's Subject line.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Filter for Sender</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>
Select this item to create a pre-fabricated filter based on
who sent the current message.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Filter for Recipients</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>
Select this item to create a pre-fabricated filter based on
who the recipients are.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</para>
<note id="usage-mail-listorder">
<title>The Order of the Message List</title>
<para>
You can also select the order in which messages appear in
that list. To sort by sender, subject, or date, click on the
bars with those labels at the top of the message list. If
you click twice, you'll sort them in reverse order.
</para>
<para>
Aside from sorting the messages, you can opt to have the
messages threaded. Select <menuchoice>
<guimenu>View</guimenu> <guimenuitem>Threaded Message
List</guimenuitem> </menuchoice> to turn the threaded view
on or off. If the option selected,
<application>Evolution</application> will attempt to
associate related messages by using the
<systemitem>References</systemitem>,
<systemitem>In-Reply-To</systemitem>, and
<systemitem>Subject</systemitem> message headers. Messages
which are related are then placed next to each other, so
that it's easier to follow the thread of a conversation from
message to message.
</para>
</note>
<para>
Other actions you can perform are listed, appropriately, in
the <guimenu>Actions</guimenu> menu in the menu bar:
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Mark all Messages Read</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>
<application>Evolution</application> keeps track of which
messages you have read, and which ones you haven't:
When you've looked at a message for more than a few seconds,
it's no longer marked as new. If you want to mark all mail
in a folder as read, select this item.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>View Message</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>
<guimenuitem>View Message</guimenuitem> opens the selected message
in its own window.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Edit Message</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>
Only available for messages you have written (drafts and
mail in the <guilabel>Outbox</guilabel>, this item opens the message
in a new mail composition window.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Expunge</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>
Clicking the <guibutton>Delete</guibutton> button marks
messages for deleteion. <guimenuitem>Expunge</guimenuitem>
wipes them off the face of the earth.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</para>
<para>
Now that you've had a look around the
<interface>Inbox</interface>, select the welcome message in
the <interface>message list</interface> by clicking on it
once. Then click on the <guibutton>Delete</guibutton> button
in the tool bar. The message now has a line through it,
because you've marked it for deletion. If you really want to
get rid of it, choose <guimenuitem>Expunge</guimenuitem> from
the <guimenu>Actions</guimenu> menu. That will delete it
permanently. If you want to keep it, click
<guibutton>Delete</guibutton> again, and it will no longer be
marked as deleted. At some point in the future, this feature
will change to something a little less counter-intuitive.
</para>
<!-- ==============Figure=================================== -->
<figure id="usage-mail-intro-fig">
<title>Evolution Mail</title>
<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Inbox</screeninfo>
<graphic fileref="fig/mail-pic" format="png" srccredit="Aaron Weber">
</graphic>
</screenshot>
</figure>
<!-- ==============End of Figure============================== -->
</sect2>
<sect2 id="usage-mail-getnsend-get">
<title>Checking Mail</title>
<para>
To check your email, just click <guibutton>Get
mail</guibutton> in the toolbar. If this is the first time
you've done so, the <interface>mail setup
assistant</interface> will ask you for the information it
needs to check your mail (see <xref
linkend="config-setupassist"> for more information). If
you're checking mail over a network (instead of from local
<filename>mbox</filename> files), you'll need to enter your
email password. Type it in, click <guibutton>OK</guibutton> and
<application>Evolution</application> will download your mail.
New mail will appear in your <interface>Inbox</interface>.
<!-- FIXME: add mention of Today if Today feature appears -->
</para>
<para>
Once you've entered your password,
<application>Evolution</application> will hold it in memory so
that you don't have to retype it every time you want to check
mail. It will only remember the password until you quit the
application; each time you run
<application>Evolution</application>, you need to re-enter
your password. If you'd like
<application>Evolution</application> to forget your password
sooner, select
<menuchoice><guimenu>Actions</guimenu><guimenuitem>Forget
Passwords</guimenuitem></menuchoice>, and it will do so
immediately.
</para>
<para>
If you get an error message instead of mail, you probably
need to change your network settings. To learn how to
do that, have a look at <xref
linkend="config-prefs-mail-network">, or ask your system
administrator.
</para>
<sect3 id="usage-mail-getnsend-get-attach">
<title>Attachments, HTML Mail, and Live Documents</title>
<para>
If someone sends you a file attached to an email (an
"attachment"), <application>Evolution</application> will
display the file at the bottom of the message to which it's
attached. Text, HTML, and most images will be displayed in
the message itself. For other files,
<application>Evolution</application> will provide a link and
icon at the end of the message. Click on that, and
<application>Evolution</application> will ask you where you
want to put the file. Once you've chosen a location and
saved the file, you can open, move, copy, or execute it just
like any other, using <application>Nautilus</application> or
your favorite shell or file manager.
</para>
<para>
<application>Evolution</application> can also display
HTML-formatted mail, complete with graphics. HTML
formatting will display automatically, although you can
turn it off if you prefer.
</para>
<!-- ######## Feature will probably not be implemented ******
<para>
It can also display <glossterm>live
documents</glossterm>, which have scripted or
executable contents— for example, a working
spreadsheet page or a chess game.
</para>
-->
</sect3>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="usage-mail-getnsend-send">
<title>Writing and Sending Mail</title>
<para>
You can start writing a new email message by selecting
<menuchoice> <guimenu>File</guimenu>
<guisubmenu>New</guisubmenu> <guimenuitem>
Mail</guimenuitem></menuchoice>, or by pressing the
<guibutton>Compose</guibutton> button in the Inbox toolbar.
When you do so, the <interface>New Message</interface> window
will open, as shown in <xref
linkend="usage-mail-newmsg-fig">.
</para>
<!-- ==============Figure=================================== -->
<figure id="usage-mail-newmsg-fig">
<title>New Message Window</title>
<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Evolution Main Window</screeninfo>
<graphic fileref="fig/newmsg-pic" format="png" srccredit="Kevin Breit">
</graphic>
</screenshot>
</figure>
<!-- ==============End of Figure=================================== -->
<!-- Check the alignment of the following paragraph in the PS and
HTML output: it's indented for no good reason -->
<para>
Enter an address in the <guilabel>To:</guilabel> field, a
subject in the <guilabel>Subject:</guilabel> and a message in
the big empty box at the bottom of the window, and press
<guibutton>Send</guibutton>. That's easy. It may even be
too easy, which is why I like to queue my messages up to be
sent a few minutes later.
</para>
<sect3 id="usage-mail-getnsend-send-delay">
<title>Saving Messages for Later</title>
<para>
Evolution will send mail immediately unless you tell it to
do otherwise by selecting <menuchoice>
<guimenu>File</guimenu> <guimenuitem>Send
Later</guimenuitem></menuchoice>. That will add messages to the
<guilabel>Outbox</guilabel> queue. Then, when you press
<guibutton>Send</guibutton> in another message, or
<guibutton>Get Mail</guibutton> in the main mail window,
all your unsent messages will go out at once. I like to
use "Send Later" because it gives me a chance to change my
mind about a message before it goes out. That way, I don't
send anything I'll regret the next day.
</para>
<para>
You can also choose to save messages as drafts or as text
files. Choose
<menuchoice>
<guimenu>File</guimenu>
<guimenuitem>Save</guimenuitem>
</menuchoice>
or <guimenuitem>Save As</guimenuitem> to save your message
as a text file. If you prefer to keep your message in a
folder (the <guilabel>Drafts</guilabel> folder would be the
obvious place), you can select <menuchoice>
<guimenu>File</guimenu> <guimenuitem>Save In
Folder</guimenuitem> </menuchoice>.
</para>
<para>
To learn more about how you can specify message queue and
filter behavior, see <xref linkend="config-prefs-mail">.
</para>
<para>
You can probably guess the purpose of the buttons labelled
<guibutton>Cut</guibutton>, <guibutton>Copy</guibutton>,
<guibutton>Paste</guibutton>, <guibutton>Undo</guibutton>
and <guibutton>Redo</guibutton> , but there's a bit more to
sending mail that's less obvious. In the next few sections,
you'll see how <application>Evolution</application> handles
additional features, including mailing lists, attachments,
and forwarding.
</para>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="usage-mail-getnsend-send-attach">
<title>Attachments</title>
<para>
If you want to attach a file to your email message, you
can drag it from your desktop into the message window, or
click the button in the toolbar with a paper clip on it,
labelled <guibutton>Attach</guibutton>. If you click the
<guibutton>Attach</guibutton> button,
<application>Evolution</application> will open a file
selection dialog box, to ask you which file you want to
send. Select the file and click <guilabel>OK</guilabel>.
</para>
<para>
To see what files you've attached to the message you're
composing, select <menuchoice> <guimenu>View</guimenu>
<guimenuitem>Show Attachments</guimenuitem> </menuchoice>.
</para>
<para>
When you send the message, a copy of the attached file
will go with it. Be aware that big attachments can take a
long time to download.
</para>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="usage-mail-getnsend-send-to">
<title>Choosing Recipients</title>
<para>
If you have created address cards in the contact manager,
you can also enter nicknames or other portions of address
data, and <application>Evolution</application> will complete
the address for you. <!-- (INSERT description of UI for this
feature, once it is decided upon). --> If you enter a name
or nickname that can go with more than one card, Evolution
will open a dialog box to ask you which person you meant.
<!-- (NOT YET) Also, <application>Evolution</application>
will add a domain to any unqualified addresses. By default,
this is your domain, but you can choose which one mail
preferences dialog. -->
</para>
<para>
Alternately, you can click on the
<guibutton>To:</guibutton>, <guibutton>Cc:</guibutton>, or
<guibutton>Bcc:</guibutton> buttons to get a list of email
addresses. Click the check-boxes next to the addresses, then
click <guibutton>OK</guibutton>, and the address will be
added to the appropriate form field.
</para>
<para>
For more information about using email together with the
contact manager and the calendar, see <xref
linkend="usage-contact-automate"> and <xref
linkend="usage-calendar-apts">.
</para>
<sect4 id="usage-mail-getnsend-send-to-mult">
<title>Multiple Recipients</title>
<para>
You can address your email in three different ways. The
<guilabel>To:</guilabel> field is for the primary
recipients of the message you are going to send. However,
it is considered bad form to have more than a few email
addresses in this section.
</para>
<para>
If you're writing to one person, but want to keep a third
party up to date, you can use <guilabel>Cc:</guilabel>.
Hearkening back to the dark ages when people used
typewriters and there were no copy machines, "Cc" stands
for "Carbon Copy." Use it whenever you want to share a
message you've written to someone else.
<example>
<title>Using the Cc: field</title>
<para>
When Susan sends an email to a client, she puts her
co-worker, Tim, in the in the
<guilabel>Cc:</guilabel> field, so that he know
what's going on. The client can see that Tim also
received the message, and knows that he can talk to
Tim about the message as well.
</para>
</example>
</para>
<para>
If you have a large number of recipients, or if you want
to send mail to several people without sharing the
recipient list, you should use
<guilabel>Bcc:</guilabel>. "Bcc" stands for "Blind Carbon
Copy", and means that people you put in the
<guilabel>Bcc:</guilabel> field get the message, but
nobody else sees their email address. They will still see
the list of addresses from the <guilabel>To:</guilabel>
and <guilabel>Cc:</guilabel> fields, though.
<example id="ex-mail-bcc">
<title>Using the Bcc: field</title>
<para>
Tim is sending an email announcement to all of his
company's clients, some of whom are in competition
with each other, and all of whom value their
privacy. He needs to use the
<guilabel>Bcc:</guilabel> field here. If he puts
every address from his address book's "Clients"
category into the <guilabel>To:</guilabel> or
<guilabel>Cc:</guilabel> fields, he'll make the
company's <emphasis>entire</emphasis> client list
public. Don't assume it won't happen to you!
</para>
</example>
</para>
</sect4>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="usage-mail-getnsend-send-reply">
<title>Replying to Messages</title>
<para>
In order to reply to a message, click on it once in the
message list to select it. Then press the
<guibutton>Reply</guibutton> button. A window like the
<interface>New Message</interface> window will appear, but
the subject will already be present— the same subject
as the message to which you are replying, but with Re:
before it, to mark it as a reply. In addition, the full
text of the previous message is inserted into the new
message, either in italics (for HTML display) or with the
> character (in plain text mode) before each line. This
indicates quoting. You can intersperse your message with
the quoted material as shown in <xref
linkend="usage-mail-getnsend-reply-fig">
<!-- note that this figure should have a reply mail ready to send,
with quoted materials and the relevant replies interspersed-->
<!-- ==============Figure=================================== -->
<figure id="usage-mail-getnsend-reply-fig">
<title>Reply Message Window</title>
<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Evolution Main Window</screeninfo>
<graphic fileref="fig/replymsg" format="png" srccredit="Aaron Weber">
</graphic>
</screenshot>
</figure>
<!-- ==============End of Figure=================================== -->
</para>
<para>
If a message has several recipients, as in the case of
mailing lists or messages that have been carbon copied, you
may wish to click <guibutton>Reply to All</guibutton>
instead of <guibutton>Reply</guibutton>. If there are large
numbers of people in the <guilabel>Cc:</guilabel> or
<guilabel>To:</guilabel> fields, this can save substantial
amounts of time. But be careful, and always make sure you
know who is getting a message: it could be a mailing list
with thousands of subscribers.
<example>
<title>Using the Reply to All feature</title>
<para>
Susan sends an email to a client, and sends copies to
Tim and to an internal company mailing list of
co-workers. If Tim wants to make a comment to all of
them, he uses <guibutton>Reply to All</guibutton>, but
if he just wants to tell Susan that he agrees with her,
he uses <guibutton>Reply</guibutton>.
</para>
</example>
</para>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="usage-mail-getnsend-send-find">
<title>Searching and Replacing with the Composer</title>
<para>
You're probably familiar with search and replace features,
and if you come from a Linux or Unix background, you
probably know what <guimenuitem>Find Regex</guimenuitem>
does. If you aren't among the lucky who already know,
here's a quick rundown of an important section of the
<guimenu>Edit</guimenu> menu.
</para>
<para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Find</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para> Enter a word or phrase, and
<application>Evolution</application> will find it
in your message.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Find Regex</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Regular expressions, often called "regex" for short,
are a powerful way of expressing complicated
statements using metacharacters or wildcard symbols.
For example, the statement
<userinput>fly*so[a|u]p</userinput> means "any
phrase beginning with 'fly' and ending in 'soup' or
'soap'", so you'd find both "fly in my soup" and
"fly in my soap." There's not room here to go into
depth here, but if you want, have a look at the
documentation for the <command>grep</command>
command.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Find Again</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>
Select this item to repeat the last search you performed.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Replace</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para> Find something, replace it with
something else. </para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</para>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="usage-mail-getnsend-send-html">
<title>Embellish your email with HTML</title>
<para>
You can't normally use text treatments or pictures in
emails, which is why you've probably seen people use
asterisks for emphasis or use
<glossterm>emoticons</glossterm> to convey their
feelings. However, most of the newer email programs can
include and display images and text treatments as well as
basic alignment and paragraph formatting.
</para>
<note>
<title>HTML Mail is not a Default Setting</title>
<para>
Some people do not have HTML-capable mail clients, or
prefer not to receive HTML-enhanced mail because it is
slower to download and display. <emphasis>Some</emphasis>
people refer to HTML mail as "the root of all evil" and
get very angry if you send them HTML mail, which is why
<application>Evolution</application> sends plain text
unless you explicitly ask for HTML. To send HTML mail,
you will need to select <menuchoice>
<guimenu>Format</guimenu> <guimenuitem>
HTML</guimenuitem></menuchoice>. Alternately, you can set
your default mail format preferences in the mail
configuration dialog. See <xref
linkend="config-prefs-mail-other"> for more information.
</para>
</note>
<para>
HTML formatting tools are located just above the
composition frame, and in the <guimenu>Insert</guimenu> and
<guimenu>Format</guimenu> menus. Your message text will
appear formatted in the composer window, and the message
will be sent as HTML.
</para>
<para>
The icons in the toolbar are explained in tool-tips, which
appear when you hold your mouse over the buttons. The
buttons fall into four categories:
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>Headers and lists</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Choose <guilabel>Normal</guilabel> for a default
text style, or <guilabel>Header 1</guilabel> through
<guilabel>Header 6</guilabel> for varying sizes of
header. You can also select
<guilabel>pre</guilabel> for preformatted text
blocks, and three types of <guilabel>List
Item</guilabel>.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Text style</term>
<listitem>
<para>
<itemizedlist mark="none">
<listitem><para><guibutton>B</guibutton> is for bold text</para></listitem>
<listitem><para><guibutton>I</guibutton> for italics</para></listitem>
<listitem><para><guibutton>U</guibutton> to underline</para></listitem>
<listitem><para><guibutton>S</guibutton> for a strikethrough.</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Alignment</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Located next to the text style buttons,
these three paragraph icons should be familiar to
users of most word processing software. The
leftmost button will make your text left-justified,
the center button, centered, and the right hand
button, right-justified.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Indentation rules</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The button with the arrow pointing left will reduce
a paragraph's indentation, and the right arrow will
increase its indentation.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</para>
<para>
There are three tools that you can find only in the
<guimenu>Insert</guimenu> menu.
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Insert Link</guimenuitem>:</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Use this tool to
put hyperlinks in your HTML messages. When you
select it, <application>Evolution</application> will
prompt you for the <guilabel>Text</guilabel> that
will appear, and the <guilabel>Link</guilabel>, where
you should enter the actual web address (URL).
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term> <guimenuitem>Insert Image</guimenuitem>:</term>
<listitem>
<para>
<guimenuitem>Insert Image</guimenuitem>: Select this item to
embed an image into your email, as was done in the welcome
message. Images will appear at the location of the
cursor.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Insert Rule</guimenuitem>:</term>
<listitem><para>
This will insert a horizontal line, or rule, into your document.
You'll be presented with a dialog box which gives you
the choice of size, percentage of screen, shading, and
alignment; if you leave everything at the default
values you'll get a thin black rule all the way across
the screen.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</para>
<note>
<title>A Technical note on HTML Tags</title>
<para>
The composer is a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get)
editor for HTML. That means that if you enter HTML
directly into the composer— say, <markup
role="html"><B>Bold Text</B></markup>, the
the composer will assume you meant exactly that string
of characters, and not "make this text bold," as an HTML
composition tool or text editor would.
</para>
</note>
</sect3>
<!-- Function not implemented,
possibly never will be due to security evil. -->
<!--
<sect3 id="usage-mail-getnsend-send-live">
<title>Live Documents</title>
<para>
Later versions of <application>Evolution</application>
will allow you to enliven your email with almost any
sort of document, and even with entire
applications. At this point, however, this feature has not
yet been implemented.
</para>
</sect3>
-->
<sect3 id="usage-mail-getnsend-fwd">
<title>Forwarding Mail</title>
<para>
The post office forwards your mail for you when you change
addresses, and you can forward mail when you get a letter by
mistake. The email <guilabel>Forward</guilabel> button
works in much the same way. It's particularly useful if you
have received a message and you think someone else would
like to see it. You can forward a message as an attachment
to a new message (this is the default) or
you can send it <glossterm>inline</glossterm> as a quoted
portion of the message you are sending. Attachment
forwarding is best if you want to send the full, unaltered
message on to someone else. Inline forwarding is best if
you want to send portions of a message, or if you have a
large number of comments on different sections of the
message you are forwarding. Remember to note from whom the
message came, and where, if at all, you have removed or
altered content.
</para>
<para>
To forward a message you are reading, press
<guibutton>Forward</guibutton> on the toolbar, or select
<menuchoice> <guimenu>Message</guimenu>
<guimenuitem>Forward</guimenuitem> </menuchoice>. If you
prefer to forward the message <glossterm>inline</glossterm>
instead of attached, select <menuchoice>
<guimenu>Message</guimenu> <guimenuitem>Forward
Inline</guimenuitem> </menuchoice> from the menu. Choose an
addressee as you would when sending a new message; the
subject will already be entered, but you can alter it.
Enter your comments on the message in the
<interface>composition frame</interface>, and press
<guibutton>Send</guibutton>.
</para>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="usage-mail-getnsend-ettiquette">
<title>Seven Tips for Email Usage</title>
<para>
I started with ten, but four were "Don't send
<glossterm>spam</glossterm>."
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
Don't send spam or forward chain mail. If you must,
watch out for hoaxes and urban legends, and make sure
the message doesn't have multiple layers of
greater-than signs, (>) indicating multiple layers
of careless inline forwarding.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Always begin and close with a salutation. Say
"please" and "thank you", just like you do in real
life. You can keep your pleasantries short, but be pleasant!
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
ALL CAPS MEANS YOU'RE SHOUTING! Don't write a whole
message in capital letters. It hurts people's ears.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Never write anything in email you wouldn't say in
public. Old messages have a nasty habit of
resurfacing when you least expect.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Check your spelling and use complete sentences.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Don't send nasty emails (flames). If you get one,
don't write back.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
When you reply or forward, include just enough of
the previous message to provide context: not too
much, not too little.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<para> Happy mailing! </para>
</sect3>
</sect2>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="usage-mail-organize">
<title>Organizing Your Mail</title>
<para>
Even if you only get a few email messages a day, you probably
want to sort and organize them. When you get a hundred a day
and you want to refer to a message you received six weeks ago,
you <emphasis>need</emphasis> to sort and organize them.
Fortunately, <application>Evolution</application> has the tools
to help you do it.
</para>
<sect2 id="usage-mail-organize-folders">
<title>Getting Organized with Folders</title>
<para>
<application>Evolution</application> keeps mail, as well as
address cards and calendars, in folders. You start out with a
few, like <guilabel>Inbox</guilabel>,
<guilabel>Outbox</guilabel>, and <guilabel>Drafts</guilabel>,
but you can create as many as you like. Create new folders by
selecting <guisubmenu>New</guisubmenu> and then
<guimenuitem>Folder</guimenuitem> from the
<guimenu>File</guimenu> menu.
<application>Evolution</application> will as you for the name
and the type of the folder, and will provide you with a folder
tree so you can pick where it goes.
</para>
<para>
When you click <guibutton>OK</guibutton>, your new folder will
appear in the <interface>folder view</interface>. You can
then put messages in it by dragging and dropping them, or by
using the <guibutton>Move</guibutton> button in the toolbar.
If you create a filter with the <interface>filter
assistant</interface>, you can have mail moved to your folder
automatically.
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="usage-mail-organize-search">
<title>Searching for Messages</title>
<para>
Most mail clients can search through your messages for you,
but <application>Evolution</application> does it faster. You
can search through just the message subjects, just the message
body, or both body and subject.
</para>
<para>
To start searching, enter a word or phrase in the text area
right below the toolbar, and choose a search type:
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Body or subject contains:</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
This will search message subjects and the messages
themselves for the word or phrase you've entered in
the search field.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term> <guilabel>Body contains:</guilabel> </term>
<listitem>
<para>
This will search only in message text, not the subject
lines.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Subject contains:</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
This will show you messages where the search text is
in the subject line. It will not search in the
message body.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Body does not contain:</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
This finds every email message that does not have the
search text in the message body. It will still show
messages that have the search text in the subject
line, if it is not also in the body.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Subject does not contain:</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
This finds every mail whose subject does not contain
the search text.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
Then, press <keycap>Enter</keycap>.
<application>Evolution</application> will show your search
results in the message list.
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="usage-mail-organize-filters">
<title>Staying organized: Mail Filters in Evolution</title>
<para>
Filters sort your email for you as it arrives. Most often,
you'll want to have <application>Evolution</application> put
mail into different folders, but you can have it do anything
you like. People who subscribe to multiple mailing lists, or
who often need to refer to messages they have sent, find
filters especially helpful to separate personal from
list-related mail, but they're good for anybody who gets more
than a few messages a day. To create a filter, select
<menuchoice>
<guimenu>Tools</guimenu> <guimenuitem>Filter
Assistant</guimenuitem> </menuchoice>. This will bring up a
window which will guide you through filter creation. The
<interface>filter assistant</interface> is shown in <xref
linkend="usage-mail-filters-fig-new">
<figure id="usage-mail-filters-fig-new">
<title>Creating a new Filter</title>
<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Creating a new Filter</screeninfo>
<graphic fileref="fig/filter-new-fig" format="png" srccredit="Aaron Weber">
</graphic>
</screenshot>
</figure>
</para>
<para> The <interface>filter assistant</interface> window
contains a window listing rules, and an option to create a
new rule. To start filtering your mail, click
<guibutton>Add</guibutton> to add a filtering rule.
You'll decide when it should take place:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
<guilabel>When mail arrives:</guilabel> Select
this option to have messages filtered as they
arrive.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
<guilabel>When mail is sent:</guilabel> Select
this option to filter your outgoing mail. You
can use this feature to keep your
<interface>Outbox</interface> as organized as
your <interface>Inbox</interface>.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<para>
Then, the filter assistant will ask you which emails it should
act upon. You can set criteria based on message size, the
sender, primary addressee or Cc: list, words in the subject or
body of the message, or any combination of criteria. Check the
boxes next to each criterion you would like to use.
</para>
<para>
Once you've decided which messages to filter, the assistant
will ask you the sort of action you wish to take. You can
file, delete, or forward the message, and you can also have it
be exempted from other filters which would otherwise have
acted upon it.
</para>
<note>
<title>Two Notable Filter Features</title>
<para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>Any incoming email that does not meet
filter action criteria remains in the Inbox. </para>
</listitem>
<listitem><para>If you move a folder, your filters
will follow it. </para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
</note>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="usage-mail-organize-vFolders">
<title>Getting Really Organized with Virtual Folders</title>
<para>
If filters aren't flexible enough for you, or you find
yourself performing the same search again and again, consider
a virtual folder. Virtual folders, or vFolders, are an
advanced way of viewing your email messages within
<application>Evolution</application>. If you get a lot of
mail or often forget where you put messages, vFolders can help
you stay on top of things.
</para>
<para>
A vFolder is really a hybrid of all the other organizational
tools: it looks like a folder, it acts like a search, and you
set it up like a filter. Once you've set it up, you'll be
able to open it and read the messages in it as though it were
a normal mail folder. It's not a folder, though, because when
you open a vFolder, <application>Evolution</application>
performs a search for you. It's not a regular search, though,
because you can build a vFolder with a very complicated set of
criteria with multiple inclusions and exclusions, as though
you were setting up a filter.
</para>
<!-- potentially useful, but doesn't fit at the moment:
<para>
An important difference between a folder and a virtual folder
is that a conventional folder actually contains messages, but
a vFolder is a view of messages that may be in several
different folders. This means that while a message may fall
into several vFolders, it can be in only one conventional
folder. Also, it means that you cannot remove a message from
a vFolder unless you delete it, and you cannot add a message
to a vFolder unless you change the vFolder's search criteria.
</para>
-->
<para>
As messages that meet the vFolder criteria arrive or are
deleted, <application>Evolution</application> will
automatically place them in and and remove them from the
vFolder contents list. When you delete a message, it gets
erased from the folder in which it actually exists, as well as
any vFolders which include it.
</para>
<para>
That's pretty complicated, but it can be useful. For example,
if I have a folder for all the email from one person, and
another folder for all the email on a given topic, I
<emphasis>feel</emphasis> organized. But when the person
sends me mail about the topic, my whole email filing universe
becomes chaotic, and I need vFolders to save the day for me.
</para>
<para>
That sounds silly, but imagine a business trying to keep track
of mail from hundreds of vendors and clients, or a university
with overlapping and changing groups of faculty, staff,
administrators and students. The more mail you need to organize, the less
you can afford the sort of confusion that stems from an
organizational system that's not flexible enough. vFolders
make for better organization because they can accept
overlapping groups in a way that regular folders and filing
systems can't.
</para>
<example id="usage-mail-organize-vFolders-ex">
<title>Using Folders, Searches, and vFolders</title>
<para>
To organize my mail box, I can set up a vFolder for emails
from my friend Vince. Then, whenever I want to see the
messages Vince has sent me, I open the vFolder, and every
message he's sent me shows up, no matter where I've
actually filed it. If I want, I can also create a vFolder
containing any message from my list of co-workers which
also has the name of the project in it. That way, when
Vince sends me mail about the project, I can see that
message both in the "Vince" vFolder and in the "Project"
vFolder. That's because when I open up the "Vince" folder,
I'm really performing a search for all the mail from Vince,
and when I open the "Project" folder I'm really performing
a search for all the mail about the project.
<!-- (INSERT SCREENSHOT HERE: vFolders in action) -->
</para>
</example>
<para>
To create a vFolder, select <guimenuitem>VFolder
Assistant</guimenuitem> from the <guimenu>Tools</guimenu>
menu in the <interface>main window</interface>. This
will bring up a dialog box that looks suspiciously like
the Filter Assistant (for more information on filters, see
<xref linkend="usage-mail-organize-filters">), and which
presents you with a list of vFolders you have previously
created. If you have already created vFolders, you can
click on them in the frame labelled <guilabel>Select Rule
Type</guilabel>, and edit or remove them. If you have
not created any, there will be only one available option:
click <guibutton>Add</guibutton> to add a new vFolder.
</para>
<para>
You'll be prompted to create a filtering rule. You can build
your own from the ground up, or select one of several base
rules to customize. Your options are:
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>For matching messages:</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Choose this to create your own set of rules for the
vFolder. You may select one or more search criteria;
the vFolder you create will contain messages that
match all of them.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Messages from a certain person:</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
The remaining three rules are simpler. Select this
one to create a vFolder that will contain only
messages from an address you enter.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Messages to a certain address:</guilabel</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Any messages sent directly to this address will be in
the vFolder you create. This vFolder is an absolute
must for people with multiple email addresses.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Messages with a given subject:</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Enter a subject, and the vFolder will contain messages
with that subject.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
The selection window is shown in <xref
linkend="usage-mail-vfolder-fig-createrule">
<figure id="usage-mail-vfolder-fig-createrule">
<title>Selecting a vFolder Rule</title>
<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Selecting a vFolder Rule</screeninfo>
<graphic fileref="fig/vfolder-createrule-fig" format="png" srccredit="Aaron Weber">
</graphic>
</screenshot>
</figure>
</para>
<para>
Once you click <guibutton>Next</guibutton>, you'll customize
the vFolder rule. The rules for the vFolder you're creating
will appear as phrases in the bottom pane of the window. You
can click on the blue underlined text in the phrase to alter
it to your liking. For example, when I create a vFolder to
contain all messages from <email>rupert@helixcode.com</email>
that have the word "evolution" in the message body, the bottom
frame says: <computeroutput>The From address matches
rupert@helixcode.com and the body contains
"evolution".</computeroutput>.
</para>
</sect2>
</sect1>
</chapter>
