<chapter id="usage-mainwindow">
<title>Getting Started with Ximian Evolution</title>
<sect1 id="what">
<title>What is Ximian Evolution, and What Can It Do for Me?</title>
<para>
Information is useless unless it's organized and accessible;
it's hardly even worth the name if you can't look at it and be
<emphasis>informed</emphasis>. The goal of
Ximian Evolution is to make the
tasks of storing, organizing, and retrieving your personal
information easier, so you can work and communicate with
others. That is, it's a highly evolved <glossterm
linkend="groupware">groupware</glossterm> program, an integral
part of the Internet-connected desktop.
</para>
<para>
In other words, Ximian Evolution is
a tool to help you get your work done. It can help you work in
a group by handling email, address and other contact
information, and one or more calendars. It can do that on one
or several computers, connected directly or over a network,
for one person or for large groups.
</para>
<para>
With Ximian Evolution, you can
accomplish your most common daily tasks faster. For example, it
takes only one or two clicks to enter appointment or
contact information sent to you by email, or to send email to a contact
or appointment. Ximian Evolution
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"><trademark>VFolders</trademark></link>,
which let you save searches as though they were ordinary mail
folders.
</para>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="usage-mainwindow-starting">
<title>The First Time you Start Ximian Evolution</title>
<para>
To start Ximian Evolution, do either
of the following:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
Select <menuchoice><guimenu>Programs</guimenu>
<guimenuitem>Evolution</guimenuitem> </menuchoice> from your
menu panel.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Type <command>evolution</command> at the command line.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<para>
<note>
<title>Command Line Options</title>
<para>
Evolution has a number of command-line options that you may
wish to make use of. You can find the full list by running
the commands <userinput>man evolution</userinput> or
<userinput>evolution --help</userinput>. The most
important ones are:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
To start Evolution in offline mode: <userinput>evolution --offline</userinput>
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
To start Evolution and begin composing a message to the email address you name: <userinput>evolution mailto:joe@somewhere.net</userinput>
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
To make your web browser use Evolution as the default
email client, enter <userinput>evolution "%s"</userinput> as the email
handler in your web browser or in the GNOME Control Center.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
</note>
</para>
<para>
The first time you run the program, it will create a directory
called <filename>.evolution</filename> in your home directory,
where it will store all of its local data. Then, it will open a
first-run assistant to help you set up mail accounts and import
data from other applications.
</para>
<para>
Using the first-run assistant will take approximately two to
five minutes.
</para>
<para>
Later on, if you want to change the account you are creating, or
if you want to create a new one,select
<menuchoice><guimenu>Tools</guimenu> <guimenuitem>Configure
</guimenuitem></menuchoice>, and click the <guilabel>Mail
Accounts</guilabel> button. Then, select the account you want
to change and click <guilabel>Edit</guilabel>, or click
<guilabel>Add</guilabel> to add a new account. See <xref
linkend="config-prefs-mail"/> for details.
</para>
<sect2 id="first-step">
<title>Defining Your Identity</title>
<para>
The Identity window is the first step in the assistant. Here,
you will enter some basic personal information. You can
define multiple identities later on with the
<menuchoice><guimenu>Tools</guimenu>
<guimenuitem>Settings</guimenuitem></menuchoice> tool and
clicking the <guilabel>Mail Accounts</guilabel> button.
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
Full Name: Your full name (Example: John Doe).
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Email Address: Your email address (Example: john@doe.com)
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Reply-To: If you want to have replies sent to another
email address, enter it here (optional).
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Organization: The company where you work, or the
organization you represent when you send email
(optional).
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="second-step">
<title>Receiving Email</title>
<para>
The <guilabel>Receiving Email</guilabel> lets you determine
which you will get your email.
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
Server Type: There are numerous types of servers
from which Ximian Evolution
can fetch your mail. Ask your system administrator if
you're not sure which of the following are available to
you:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
GroupWise: Select this option if you use a
GroupWise server. GroupWise keeps mail, calendar,
and contact information on the server.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Microsoft Exchange: Available only if you have
purchased the Ximian Connector for Microsoft
Exchange, this will allow you to connect to a
Microsoft Exchange 2000 or 2003 server, which
stores email, calendar, and contact information on
the server.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
IMAP: Keeps the email on your server so you can
access your email from multiple systems.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
POP: Downloads your email to your hard disk for
permanent storage.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Local Delivery: Choose this option if you want to
move mail from the spool and store it in your home
directory. If you would rather leave mail in your
system's spool files, choose the
<guimenuitem>Standard Unix mbox
spools</guimenuitem> option instead. You'll need
to provide the path to the mail spool you want to
use.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
MH format mail directories: If you download your
mail using mh or another MH-style program, you'll
want to use this option. You'll need to provide
the path to the mail directory you want to use.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Maildir format mail directories: If you download
your mail using qmail or another maildir-style
program, you'll want to use this option. You'll need
to provide the path to the mail directory you want to
use.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Standard Unix mbox spool or directory: If you want
to read and store mail in the mail spool on your
local system, choose this option. You'll need to
provide the path to the mail spool
you want to use.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
None: Select this if you do not plan to
check mail with this account.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<para>
If you selected POP, Microsoft Exchange, or IMAP as your mail
server, you'll need to enter some more information:
</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>The host name of your mail server. Ask
your system administrator if you're not
sure.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>The username for the account on that
system. </para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Whether you want to use a secure (SSL)
connection. If your server supports it, it's
best to enable this security option.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>The authentication options supported by
your server. If you're not sure, click the
<guilabel>Check for supported types</guilabel>
button or ask your system administrator.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Whether you'd like Evolution to remember
your password.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
<tip id="exchange-info">
<title>Use Ximian Evolution with Microsoft Exchange</title>
<para>
If you have purchased Ximian Connector for Microsoft
Exchange, you can access Microsoft Exchange 2000 servers
natively. If you do not have the Connector, or if you use
an older version of Microsoft Exchange, talk to your system
administrator about access to standard protocol services
like POP and IMAP.
</para>
</tip>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="more-mail-options">
<title>More Mail Configuration Options</title>
<para>
Once you have selected a mail delivery mechanism, you may
set some preferences for its behavior:
</para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>If you chose POP mail:</term>
<listitem><para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>Checking for new mail: If you would like
Evolution to check for new mail
automatically, check the box and select a frequency in
minutes.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Message Storage: If you'd like to store copies of your
mail on the server, check this option.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>If you chose Microsoft Exchange:</term>
<listitem><para>
<itemizedlist> <listitem>
<para>Checking for new mail: If you would like
Evolution to check for new mail
automatically, check the box and select a frequency in
minutes.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Global Address List/Active Directory: Enter the name of
your global catalog server here. You may also choose to
limit the server's responses and select a maximum number
of results for an address search. A maximum number of
results limits the load on your system and on your
network.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Mailbox Name: If your active directory user name is
different from your Exchange mailbox name, enter the
mailbox name here.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Outlook Web Access (OWA) Path: In most cases, the URL
for web access is "http://server.company.com/exchange."
If your system has a path that is not "exchange," enter
the appropriate value here.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Public Folder Server: Enter the name of your organization's public folder server, if any, here.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Apply filters to new messages in Inbox on this
server: Check this box to use filters when you visit the
Inbox for this account.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>If you chose IMAP:</term>
<listitem>
<para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>Checking for new mail: If you would like
Evolution to check for new mail
automatically, check the box and select a frequency in
minutes.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>If you want Evolution
to check for new messages in <emphasis>all</emphasis> your
IMAP folders, make sure the <guilabel>Check for new
messages in all folders</guilabel> box is selected.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Show only subscribed folders: Check this box if you
have more folders in your IMAP view than you want to
read.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Override server-supplied namespace: If you like, enter a
specific directory where your server stores mail for
you. Typical values are "mail" and "Mail." For more
information about how to use IMAP mail, see <xref
linkend="usage-mail-subscriptions"/>.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Apply filters to new messages in INBOX on this
server: If you'd like your filters to work on this account
as well as on locally downloaded mail, check this box.</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
<note id="imap-namespace">
<title>What's an IMAP Namespace?</title>
<para>
For IMAP mail servers, your sysadmin may provide
you with a specific namespace, the directory on
where your server stores mail for you. If you
check your IMAP mail and your folder list includes
files that don't look like mail folders, you
probably need to change your mail
namespace. Typical values are "mail" and "Mail."
If you prefer, you can choose to subscribe to
individual mail folders one at a time. For more
information about how to use IMAP mail, see <xref
linkend="usage-mail-subscriptions"/>.
</para>
</note>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="third-step">
<title>Sending Email</title>
<para>
The <guilabel>Sending Email</guilabel> step lets you configure sending
email.
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
Server Type: There are numerous server types that
Ximian Evolution supports for sending your
mail.
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
SMTP: Sends mail using an outbound mail
server. This is the most common choice for sending
mail.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Microsoft Exchange: Sends mail through a Microsoft
Exchange server using the Microsoft Exchange 2000
protocol. Available only if you have are using the
Ximian Connector for Microsoft Exchange. You must
have a valid license key purchased from <ulink
url="http://store.ximian.com">store.ximian.com</ulink>.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Groupwise: Sends mail through your GroupWise server.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Sendmail: Uses the Sendmail program to send mail
from your system. Sendmail is more flexible, but
is not as easy to configure, so you should only
select this option if you know how to set up a
Sendmail service.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<para>
If you choose SMTP, there are a few additional items to enter:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
Host: enter your mail sending server's name or IP
address here.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Server requires authentication: If your server
requires you to enter a password to send mail, check
this box.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Authentication Type: Unless you've been told otherwise,
your best bet is to leave this set at
<guilabel>Password</guilabel>. If you're not sure, ask
your system administrator or ISP, or have
Ximian Evolution check for
you by clicking <guilabel>Check for supported
types</guilabel>.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Username: The account name you use when you login to
check your email. Normally, this is the part of your
email address before the '@' character. For Exchange
servers, it is the username you would use to log in to a
Windows workstation at your company.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Remember Password: If you prefer to not enter
your password every time you check email, press this
button.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="step-three-b">
<title>Account Management</title>
<para>
This is a very short section. You can pick two things: the
name for the account, and whether it is the default account.
</para>
<para>
The name you choose for the account is used for display within
Evolution, and is not sent with any emails. The suggested
name is your email address, but you can use other words or
phrases, like "Work," "Personal" or "First Account" if you
like.
</para>
<para>
If you check the box next to the label <guilabel>Make this my
default account</guilabel>, Evolution will assume that you will
send messages from this most often, and will set the
"From" selector to this account whenever you open a new
message. Only one account can be the default.
</para>
<para>
If you have not done so already, you may also be asked to choose
a time zone.
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="fourth-step">
<title>Importing Mail (Optional)</title>
<para>
If Ximian Evolution finds mail or
address files from another application, it will offer to
import them. If you're not sure which file format your mail
program uses, ask your system administrator. If you want, you
can skip this step and return to it at a later time by
selecting
<menuchoice><guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>Import</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.
</para>
<para>
Ximian Evolution can import the following types of
files:
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>VCard (.vcf, .gcrd):</term>
<listitem>
<para>The contact format used by the GNOME, KDE, and
many other contact management applications. You
should be able to export to VCard format from any
address book or contact application. Failing that, export to CSV
format and use the <command>csv2vcard</command>
utility before importing.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Microsoft Outlook Express 4 (.mbx):</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Email file format used by Microsoft
<application>Outlook Express 4</application>. For
other versions of Microsoft Outlook and Outlook
Express, see the workaround described in the note
below.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>MBox (mbox):</term>
<listitem>
<para>
The email box format used by Mozilla, Netscape,
Ximian Evolution, Eudora, and many other email clients.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</para>
<para>
<note>
<title>Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express Users</title>
<para>
<application>Microsoft Outlook</application>, and versions of
<application>Outlook Express</application> after
version 4, use proprietary formats that Ximian
Evolution cannot read or import. For contacts,
you may have to email them to yourself and import them that
way. For email, see the instructions in <xref
linkend="outlook-migration-mail" />
</para>
</note>
<note>
<title>Netscape Users</title>
<para>
Before importing mail from Netscape, make sure you select
<menuchoice><guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>Compact All
Folders</guimenuitem></menuchoice>. If you don't,
Ximian Evolution will import and undelete
the messages in your Trash folders.
</para>
</note>
<tip>
<title>Exporting Files From Ximian Evolution</title>
<para>
Ximian Evolution uses standard file types for all its information,
so you should have no trouble taking your information
elsewhere if you want.
</para>
<para>
For mail, that's <filename>mbox</filename>, for the calendar,
<filename>iCal</filename>, and for the contacts, a database that
exports to vCards.
</para>
</tip>
</para>
</sect2>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="importing-mail-from-clients">
<title>Importing Mail from Other Mail Clients</title>
<para>
Chances are, you already have your email in another mail program
and don't want to lose the information. The following section
describes how to import mail from specific mail clients.
</para>
<sect2 id="mutt">
<title>Importing Mail from mutt</title>
<para>
<application>mutt</application> is a text-based mail client
which is shipped with many Linux and Unix distributions.
<application>mutt</application> uses the standard mbox,
maildir, and MH file formats, which makes importing your mail
into Evolution relatively simple. By default,
<application>mutt</application> uses the mbox file format.
<orderedlist numeration="arabic">
<listitem>
<para>
Open Ximian Evolution
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Click
<menuchoice>
<guimenu>File</guimenu>
<guimenuitem>Import</guimenuitem>
</menuchoice>
or press
<keycombo action="simul">
<keycap>Ctrl</keycap>
<keycap>I</keycap>
</keycombo>.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Click <guilabel>Next</guilabel>.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Select <guilabel>Import a Single File</guilabel>
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Click <guilabel>Browse</guilabel> and select the file
you would like to import from. By default, your email
is stored in <filename>~/mbox</filename> for the mbox
format and <filename
class="directory">~/Maildir</filename> for the Maildir format.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
When prompted for what folder in
Evolution to import to,
select a folder. You can also create a new folder and
drop it in there.
</para>
</listitem>
</orderedlist>
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="kmail">
<title>Importing Mail from KMail</title>
<para>
<application>KMail</application>
is the mail client which is shipped with the KDE desktop
environment. <application>KMail</application> uses the
standard mbox file format, which
means that importing your mail into
Evolution is easy.
<orderedlist numeration="arabic">
<listitem>
<para>
Open Ximian Evolution
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Click
<menuchoice>
<guimenu>File</guimenu>
<guimenuitem>Import</guimenuitem>
</menuchoice>
or press
<keycombo action="simul">
<keycap>Ctrl</keycap>
<keycap>I</keycap>
</keycombo>.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Click <guilabel>Next</guilabel>.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Select <guilabel>Import a Single File</guilabel>
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Click <guilabel>Browse</guilabel> and select the file
you would like to import from. By default, KMail stores
its information in the Mail directory of your home
directory.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
When prompted for what folder in
Evolution to import to,
select a folder. You can also create a new folder and
drop it in there.
</para>
</listitem>
</orderedlist>
</para>
</sect2>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="ui-intro">
<title>What's What in Ximian Evolution</title>
<para>
Now that you've gotten the first-run configuration out of the
way, you're ready to get down to work. Here's a quick
explanation of what's going on in your main
Ximian Evolution window.
</para>
<figure id="preface-basic-interface">
<title>The Ximian Evolution Main Window</title>
<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Inbox</screeninfo>
<mediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="figures/mainwindow-pic" format="PNG" srccredit="Aaron Weber"/>
</imageobject>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
</figure>
<para>
<inlinemediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata fileref="figures/full-1" format="PNG"/></imageobject></inlinemediaobject>
<guilabel>Menu Bar</guilabel>
</para>
<para>
The <guilabel>menu bar</guilabel> gives you access to nearly all
the features that can be found in Ximian
Evolution.
</para>
<para>
<inlinemediaobject><imageobject><imagedata fileref="figures/full-2" format="PNG"/></imageobject></inlinemediaobject>
<guilabel>Toolbar</guilabel>
</para>
<para>
The <guilabel>Toolbar</guilabel> gives you fast and easy access to the
most used features in each component.
</para>
<para>
<inlinemediaobject><imageobject><imagedata fileref="figures/full-3" format="PNG"/></imageobject></inlinemediaobject>
<guilabel>Shortcut Bar</guilabel>
</para>
<para>
The <guilabel>Shortcut Bar</guilabel> lets you switch between
folders and between Evolution tools. At the bottom of the
shortcut bar there are buttons that let you switch tools, and
above that, all the available folders for the current tool.
</para>
<para>
<inlinemediaobject><imageobject><imagedata fileref="figures/full-4" format="PNG"/></imageobject></inlinemediaobject>
<guilabel>Status Bar</guilabel>
</para>
<para>
Periodically, Ximian Evolution will need to quietly
display a message, or tell you the progress of a task. This most
often happens when you're checking or sending email. These progress
queues are shown here, in the <guilabel>Status Bar</guilabel>.
The Online/Offline indicator is here, too, in the lower left of the window.
</para>
<para>
<inlinemediaobject><imageobject><imagedata fileref="figures/full-5" format="PNG"/></imageobject></inlinemediaobject>
<guilabel>Search Tool</guilabel>
</para>
<para>
The <guilabel>Search Tool</guilabel> lets you search through your email
with precision so you can easily find what you're looking for.
</para>
<sect2 id="usage-mainwindow-shortcutbar">
<title>The Shortcut Bar</title>
<para>
Ximian Evolution'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
shortcut bar, the column on the left
hand side of the main window. The buttons with names
like <guilabel>Mail</guilabel> and
<guilabel>Contacts</guilabel> are the shortcuts. Above them
is a list of folders for the current Evolution tool.
</para>
<para>
The folder list organizes your mail, calendars, contact lists,
and task lists in a tree, similar to a <glossterm linkend="filetree">file
tree</glossterm>. Most people will find one to four
folders at the base of the tree, depending on the tool and their
system configuration. Each Evolution tool will have at least one,
called <guilabel>On This Computer</guilabel>, for local
information. For example, the folder list for the email tool will show any
remote mail storage you have set up, plus local folders and
<guilabel>vFolders</guilabel>, or virtual folders, discussed in <xref
linkend="usage-mail-organize-vfolders"/>.
</para>
<para>
If you get large volumes of mail, you'll want more folders than
just your Inbox; you can also create multiple calendar, task,
or contacts folders.
</para>
<para>
To create a new folder:
<orderedlist numeration="arabic">
<listitem>
<para>
Right click on the list of folders, and select
<guilabel>New Folder</guilabel>.
<!-- FIXME: this was taken out: or press the keyboard shortcut
<keycombo action="simul">
<keycap>Shift</keycap>
<keycap>Ctrl</keycap>
<keycap>F</keycap>
</keycombo>. -->
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Enter the name of the folder in the <guilabel>Folder
Name</guilabel> field.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Choose the location of the new folder.
</para>
</listitem>
</orderedlist>
</para>
<sect3 id="subfolders">
<title>Subfolders</title>
<para>
Ximian Evolution lets you nest folders
inside of each other, so that you can have a detailed
organizational system.
</para>
<para>
Right-clicking will bring up a menu for just about anything in
Ximian Evolution. If you right-click on a
folder, you'll have a menu with the following options:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para><guimenuitem>Copy</guimenuitem>, to copy the folder to another place. When you select this item, Evolution offers a choice of locations to copy to. </para></listitem>
<listitem><para><guimenuitem>Move</guimenuitem>, to move the folder to another location. </para></listitem>
<listitem><para><guimenuitem>Delete</guimenuitem>, to delete the folder and all its contents. </para></listitem>
<listitem><para><guimenuitem>New Folder</guimenuitem>, to create another folder in the same location. </para></listitem>
<listitem><para><guimenuitem>Rename</guimenuitem>, to change its name. </para></listitem>
<listitem><para><guimenuitem>Delete</guimenuitem>, to delete the folder.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para><guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem>, which lets you check the number of total and unread messages in a folder, and, for remote folders, lets you decide whether to copy the folder to your local system for offline operation.</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<para>
You can also rearrange folders and messages by dragging and
dropping them.
</para>
<para>
Any time new mail arrives in a mail folder, that folder
label is displayed in bold text, along with the number of
new messages in that folder.
</para>
</sect3>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="usage-mainwindow-menubar">
<title>The Menu Bar</title>
<para>
The menu bar's contents will always
provide all the possible actions for any given view of your
data. If you're looking at your Inbox, most of the menu items
will relate to mail; some will relate to other components of
Ximian Evolution and some, especially those
in the <guimenu>File Menu</guimenu> will relate to the
application as a whole.
</para>
<para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term> <guimenu>File</guimenu>:</term>
<listitem><para> Anything related to a file or to the
operations of the application generally falls under this
menu: creating things, saving them to disk, printing them,
and quitting the program itself. </para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term> <guimenu>Edit</guimenu>:</term>
<listitem><para>
The <guimenu>Edit</guimenu> menu holds
useful tools that help you edit text and move it around.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term> <guimenu>View</guimenu>:</term>
<listitem><para>
This menu lets you decide how Ximian Evolution
should look. Some of the features control the appearance of
Ximian Evolution as a whole, and others
the way a particular kind of information appears.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term> <guimenu>Actions</guimenu>:</term>
<listitem><para>
Holds actions which maybe applied to a message. Normally,
if there is only one target for the action — for
example, replying to a message — you can find it in
the <guimenu>Actions</guimenu> menu.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term> <guimenu>Tools</guimenu>:</term>
<listitem><para>
For all components of Evolution, you can access the
settings and configuration options in the tools menu. You
can also find things like filter settings and the Virtual
Folder editor.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term> <guimenu>Search</guimenu>:</term>
<listitem><para>
Select menu items here to search for messages, or for
phrases within a message. You can also see previous searches
you have made. In addition to the <guimenu>Search</guimenu>
menu, there is a text entry box in the toolbar that you can
use to search for messages.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term> <guimenu>Help</guimenu>:</term>
<listitem><para>
Select among these items to open the
Ximian Evolution manual.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</para>
<para>
Once you've familiarized yourself with the main
window you can start doing things with it. We'll
start with the <guilabel>Summary</guilabel>, which provides a
quick overview of your Ximian
Evolution information.
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="basics-mail">
<title>Introducing Email</title>
<para>
Ximian Evolution email is like other
email programs in several ways:
<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 makes it easy to send and receive multiple file
attachments.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
It supports multiple mail sources, including <glossterm
linkend="imap">IMAP</glossterm>, <glossterm
linkend="pop">POP3</glossterm>, and local
<filename>mbox</filename> or <filename>mh</filename>
spools and files created by other mail programs.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
It lets you guard your privacy with encryption.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<para>
However, Ximian Evolution has some
important differences. First, it's built to handle very large
amounts of mail. The <link
linkend="usage-mail-organize-spam">junk mail</link>, message <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 large volumes
of mail. There's also the <link
linkend="usage-mail-organize-vfolders">vFolder</link>, an advanced
organizational feature not found in mainstream 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 this
feature especially useful.
</para>
<para>
Here's what the mailer looks like:
<!-- ==============Figure=================================== -->
<figure id="usage-mail-intro-fig">
<title>Ximian Evolution Mail</title>
<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Inbox</screeninfo>
<mediaobject><imageobject><imagedata fileref="figures/mail-inbox" format="PNG" srccredit="Aaron Weber"/>
</imageobject></mediaobject>
</screenshot>
</figure>
<!-- ==============End of Figure============================== -->
</para>
<para>
<inlinemediaobject><imageobject><imagedata fileref="figures/full-1"
format="PNG"/></imageobject></inlinemediaobject> <guilabel>Message List</guilabel>
</para>
<para>
The <guilabel>Message List</guilabel> displays all the emails
that you have. This includes all your read, unread, and email
that is flagged to be deleted.
</para>
<para>
<inlinemediaobject><imageobject><imagedata fileref="figures/full-2"
format="PNG"/></imageobject></inlinemediaobject> <guilabel>Email
Viewer</guilabel>
</para>
<para>
This is where your email is displayed.
</para>
<para>
If you find the view pane too small, you can resize
the pane, enlarge the whole window, or double-click on the
message in the message list to have it
open in a new window. To change the sizes of a pane, just click
and hold on the divider between the two panes. Then you can drag
up and down to select the size of the panes.
</para>
<para> Just like with folders, you can right-click on messages in the
message list and get a menu of possible actions: you can move,
delete, or undelete them, and create filters or vFolders based
on them.
</para>
<para>
Most of the mail-related actions you'll want to perform are
listed in the <guimenu>Actions</guimenu> menu in the menu bar.
The most frequently used ones, like
<guimenuitem>Reply</guimenuitem> and
<guimenuitem>Forward</guimenuitem>, also appear as buttons in
the toolbar. Almost all of them are also located in the
right-click menu and as keyboard shortcuts, which tend to be
faster once you get the hang of them. You can choose
whichever way you like best; the idea is that the software
should work the way you want, rather than making you work the
way the it does.
</para>
<para>
For an in-depth guide to the email capabilities of Ximian
Evolution, read <xref linkend="usage-mail"/>.
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="basics-calendar">
<title>Introducing the Calendar</title>
<para>
To begin using the calendar, click the
<guilabel>Calendar</guilabel> button in the shortcut
bar. By default, the calendar starts showing
today's schedule on a ruled background. At the upper right,
there's a monthly calendar you can use to switch days. Below
that, there's a <guilabel>Task</guilabel> pad, where you can
keep a list of tasks separate from your calendar appointments.
The day view in the calendar looks like this:
<!-- ============== Figure ============================= -->
<figure id="usage-calendar-fig">
<title>Ximian Evolution Calendar View</title>
<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Ximian Evolution Contact Manager Window</screeninfo>
<mediaobject><imageobject><imagedata fileref="figures/calendar" format="PNG" srccredit="Aaron Weber"/>
</imageobject></mediaobject>
</screenshot>
</figure>
<!-- ============== End of Figure ============================= -->
</para>
<para>
<inlinemediaobject><imageobject><imagedata fileref="figures/full-1"
format="PNG"/></imageobject></inlinemediaobject> <guilabel>Appointment
List</guilabel>
</para>
<para>
The appointment list displays all your scheduled appointments.
</para>
<para>
<inlinemediaobject><imageobject><imagedata fileref="figures/full-2" format="PNG"/></imageobject></inlinemediaobject>
<guilabel>Task List</guilabel>
</para>
<para>
Tasks are distinct from appointments in that they generally
don't have times associated with them. You can see a larger
view of your task list by clicking the
<guilabel>Tasks</guilabel> button in the shortcut bar.
</para>
<para>
<inlinemediaobject><imageobject><imagedata fileref="figures/full-3" format="PNG"/></imageobject></inlinemediaobject>
<guilabel>Month Pane</guilabel>
</para>
<para>
The month pane is a small view of a calendar month.
To display additional months, drag the column border to
the left. You can also select a range of days in the month
pane to get a custom range of days displayed in the
appointment list.
</para>
<para>
For more information about the calendar
read <xref linkend="usage-calendar"/>.
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="basics-contacts">
<title>Introducing the Contacts Tool</title>
<para>
The Ximian Evolution contacts tool
can handle all of the functions of an address book, phone
book, or Rolodex. Of course, it's a lot easier to update
Evolution than it is to change an actual paper book. Ximian
Evolution also allows easy synchronization with
hand-held devices and functions with <glossterm
linkend="ldap">LDAP</glossterm> directories on a network.
</para>
<para>
Another advantage of the Ximian Evolution
contacts tool is its integration with the rest of the
application. For example, you can right-click on an email
address in Evolution mail to create a contact entry instantly.
</para>
<para>
To use the contacts tool, click the
<guilabel>Contacts</guilabel> button in the shortcut bar. <xref
linkend="usage-contact-fig"/> shows the address book in all its
organizational glory. By default, the display shows all
your contacts in alphabetical order, in a <glossterm
linkend="minicard">minicard</glossterm> view. You can select
other views from the <guimenu>View</guimenu> menu, and adjust
the width of the columns by clicking and dragging the gray
column dividers.
</para>
<para>
The contacts tool looks like this:
<figure id="usage-contact-fig">
<title>Ximian Evolution Contact Interface</title>
<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Ximian Evolution Contact List Window</screeninfo>
<mediaobject><imageobject><imagedata fileref="figures/contact" format="PNG" srccredit="Kevin Breit"/>
</imageobject></mediaobject>
</screenshot>
</figure>
</para>
<para>
<inlinemediaobject><imageobject><imagedata fileref="figures/full-1"
format="PNG"/></imageobject></inlinemediaobject> <guilabel>Contact
List</guilabel>
</para>
<para>
The largest section of the contacts display shows a list of individual
contacts. You can also search through the contacts in the same way
that you search email folders, with the search tool on the
right side of the toolbar.
</para>
<para>
<inlinemediaobject><imageobject><imagedata fileref="figures/full-2" format="PNG"/></imageobject></inlinemediaobject>
<guilabel>Alphanumeric Shortcuts</guilabel>
</para>
<para>
Click one of the buttons along the right side of the
window to view contacts that begin with the letter or number
you click.
</para>
<para>
For detailed instructions on how to use the address book,
read <xref linkend="usage-contact"/>.
</para>
</sect2>
</sect1>
</chapter>
