1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869
870
871
872
873
874
875
876
877
878
879
880
881
882
883
884
885
886
887
888
889
890
891
892
893
894
895
896
897
898
899
900
901
902
903
904
905
906
907
908
909
910
911
912
913
914
915
916
917
918
919
920
921
922
923
924
925
926
927
928
929
930
931
932
933
934
935
936
937
938
939
940
941
942
943
944
945
946
947
948
949
950
951
952
953
954
955
956
957
958
959
960
961
962
963
964
965
966
967
968
969
970
971
972
973
974
975
976
977
978
979
980
981
982
983
984
985
986
987
988
989
990
991
992
993
994
995
996
997
998
999
1000
1001
1002
1003
1004
1005
1006
1007
1008
1009
1010
1011
1012
1013
1014
1015
1016
1017
1018
1019
1020
1021
1022
1023
1024
1025
1026
1027
1028
1029
1030
1031
1032
1033
1034
1035
1036
1037
1038
1039
1040
1041
1042
1043
1044
1045
1046
1047
1048
1049
1050
1051
1052
1053
1054
1055
1056
1057
1058
1059
1060
1061
1062
1063
1064
1065
1066
1067
1068
1069
1070
1071
1072
1073
1074
1075
1076
1077
1078
1079
1080
1081
1082
1083
1084
1085
1086
1087
1088
1089
1090
1091
1092
1093
1094
1095
1096
1097
1098
1099
1100
1101
1102
1103
1104
1105
1106
1107
1108
1109
1110
1111
1112
1113
1114
1115
1116
1117
1118
1119
1120
1121
1122
1123
1124
1125
1126
1127
1128
1129
1130
1131
1132
1133
1134
1135
1136
1137
1138
1139
1140
1141
1142
1143
1144
1145
1146
1147
1148
1149
1150
1151
1152
1153
1154
1155
1156
1157
1158
1159
1160
1161
1162
1163
1164
1165
1166
1167
1168
1169
1170
1171
1172
1173
1174
1175
1176
1177
1178
1179
1180
1181
1182
1183
1184
1185
1186
1187
1188
1189
1190
1191
1192
1193
1194
1195
1196
1197
1198
1199
1200
1201
1202
1203
1204
1205
1206
1207
1208
1209
1210
1211
1212
1213
1214
1215
1216
1217
1218
1219
1220
1221
1222
1223
1224
1225
1226
1227
1228
1229
1230
1231
1232
1233
1234
1235
1236
1237
1238
1239
1240
1241
1242
1243
1244
1245
1246
1247
1248
1249
1250
1251
1252
1253
1254
1255
1256
1257
1258
1259
1260
1261
1262
1263
1264
1265
1266
1267
1268
1269
1270
1271
1272
1273
1274
1275
1276
1277
1278
1279
1280
1281
1282
1283
1284
1285
1286
1287
1288
1289
1290
1291
1292
1293
1294
1295
1296
1297
1298
1299
1300
1301
1302
1303
1304
1305
1306
1307
1308
1309
1310
1311
1312
1313
1314
1315
1316
1317
1318
1319
1320
1321
1322
1323
1324
1325
1326
1327
1328
1329
1330
1331
1332
1333
1334
1335
1336
1337
1338
1339
1340
1341
1342
1343
1344
1345
1346
1347
1348
1349
1350
1351
1352
1353
1354
1355
1356
1357
1358
1359
1360
1361
1362
1363
1364
1365
1366
1367
1368
1369
1370
1371
1372
1373
1374
1375
1376
1377
1378
1379
1380
1381
1382
1383
1384
1385
1386
1387
1388
1389
1390
1391
1392
1393
1394
1395
1396
1397
1398
1399
1400
1401
1402
1403
1404
1405
1406
1407
1408
1409
1410
1411
1412
1413
1414
1415
1416
1417
1418
1419
1420
1421
1422
1423
1424
1425
1426
1427
1428
1429
1430
1431
1432
1433
1434
1435
1436
1437
1438
1439
1440
1441
1442
1443
1444
1445
1446
1447
1448
1449
1450
1451
1452
1453
1454
1455
1456
1457
1458
1459
1460
1461
1462
1463
1464
1465
1466
1467
1468
1469
1470
1471
1472
1473
1474
1475
1476
1477
1478
1479
1480
1481
1482
1483
1484
1485
1486
1487
1488
1489
1490
1491
1492
1493
1494
1495
1496
1497
1498
1499
1500
1501
1502
1503
1504
1505
1506
1507
1508
1509
1510
1511
1512
1513
1514
1515
1516
1517
1518
1519
1520
1521
|
<!--
<!DOCTYPE Chapter PUBLIC "-//GNOME//DTD DocBook PNG Variant V1.1//EN">
-->
<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
permits multiple file attachments.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
It supports multiple mail sources, including <glossterm
linkend="imap">IMAP</glossterm>, <glossterm
linkend="pop">POP3</glossterm>, local
<systemitem><filename>mbox</filename></systemitem> and
<systemitem><filename>mh</filename></systemitem> files, and
even NNTP messages (newsgroups), which aren't technically
email.
</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 volumes of
mail. There's also the <application>Evolution</application>
<link linkend="usage-mail-organize-vFolders">Virtual
Folder</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 this 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. The first
time you use <application>Evolution</application>, it will
start with the <interface>Inbox</interface> open and show you a
message from Ximian welcoming you to the application.
</para>
<para>
Your <application>Evolution</application>
<guilabel>Inbox</guilabel> will look something like the one in
<xref linkend="usage-mail-intro-fig">. Just below the toolbar
is the <interface>message list</interface>, showing message
header information like <guilabel>Subject</guilabel> and
<guilabel>Date</guilabel>. The message itself appears below
that, in the <interface>view pane</interface>. If you find
the <interface>view pane</interface> too small, you can resize
the pane, enlarge the whole window, or double-click on the
message in the <interface>message list</interface> to have it
open in a new window. Just like with folders, you can
right-click on messages in the message list and get a menu of
possible actions.
</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============================== -->
<para>
Most of the mail-related actions you'll want to perform are
listed in the <guimenu>Message</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, and almost all of them are duplicated 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.
<tip id="view-headers">
<title>Take a look at the headers</title>
<para>
To look at the entire source of your email message, including
all the header information, select
<menuchoice><guimenu>View</guimenu><guimenuitem>Source</guimenuitem></menuchoice>
</para>
</tip>
</para>
<sect3 id="usage-mail-listorder">
<title>Sorting the message list</title>
<para>
One of the ways <application>Evolution</application> lets
you choose the way you work is the way it lets you sort your
message lists. To sort by sender, subject, or date, click
on the bars with those labels at the top of the message
list. The direction of the arrow next to the label indicates
the direction of the sort, and if you click again, you'll
sort them in reverse order. For example, click once on
<guilabel>Date</guilabel> to sort messages by date from
oldest to newest. Click again, and
<application>Evolution</application> sorts the list from
newest to oldest. You can also right-click on the message
header bars to get a set of sorting options, and add or
remove columns from the message list. You can find detailed
instructions on how to customize your message display
columns in <xref linkend="usage-mail-organize-columns">.
</para>
<para>
You can also choose a threaded message view. Select
<menuchoice> <guimenu>View</guimenu>
<guimenuitem>Threaded</guimenuitem> </menuchoice> to turn
the threaded view on or off. When you select this option,
<application>Evolution</application> groups the replies to a
message with the original, so you can follow the thread of a
conversation from one message to the next.
</para>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="usage-mail-getnsend-delete">
<title>Deleting Mail</title>
<para>
Once you've read your mail, you may want to get rid of
it. To mark a message for deletion, select it in the the
<interface>message list</interface> by clicking on it once.
Then click on the <guibutton>Delete</guibutton> button in
the tool bar. Or, right-click on a message and choose
<guimenuitem>Delete</guimenuitem> from the right-click
menu. The message will appear with a line through it, to
show that you've marked it for deletion.
</para>
<para>
If you change your mind and decide you want to keep it,
select <menuchoice> <guimenu>Message</guimenu>
<guimenuitem>Undelete</guimenuitem></menuchoice>. If you
really want to get rid of it, choose
<guimenuitem>Expunge</guimenuitem> from the
<guimenu>Folder</guimenu> menu. That will delete it
permanently.
</para>
</sect3>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="usage-mail-getnsend-get">
<title>Checking Mail</title>
<para>
Now that you've had a look around the
<interface>Inbox</interface>, it's time to check for new mail.
Click <guibutton>Get mail</guibutton> in the toolbar to check
your mail. If it's 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).
</para>
<para>
Then, you need to enter your email
password. <application>Evolution</application> will remember
your password until until you select <menuchoice>
<guimenu>Settings</guimenu> <guimenuitem>Forget
Passwords</guimenuitem> </menuchoice>.
</para>
<para>
Once it's validated the password,
<application>Evolution</application> will check your mail.
New mail will appear in the local <interface>Inbox</interface>
if you're using a <glossterm>POP</glossterm> account, and in
your <glossterm>IMAP</glossterm> folders if you use IMAP.
</para>
<note id="badmailsettings">
<title>Can't Check Mail?</title>
<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>
</note>
<sect3 id="usage-mail-getnsend-get-news">
<title>Using Evolution for News </title>
<para>
Newsgroups are so similar to email that there's no reason not
to read them side by side. If you want to do that, add a
news source to your configuration (see <xref
linkend="config-prefs-network-news">). The news server will
appear as a remote server, and will look quite similar to an
IMAP folder. When you click <guibutton>Get Mail</guibutton>,
<application>Evolution</application> will also check for news
messages.
</para>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="usage-mail-getnsend-get-attach">
<title>Attachments and HTML Mail</title>
<para>
If someone sends you an <glossterm>attachment</glossterm>, a
file attached to an email,
<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 within the message
itself. For other files,
<application>Evolution</application> will show an icon at
the end of the message. Right-click on the icon to get a
list of options which will vary depending on the type of
attachment. You will have the option to display most files
as part of the message, export them to a different
application (images to Eye of GNOME, spreadsheets to
Gnumeric, and so forth), or save them to disk.
</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>
</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 Message</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>.
</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>. This will add your
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>
To learn more about how you can specify message queue and
filter behavior, see <xref linkend="config-prefs-mail">.
</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>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="usage-mail-getnsend-send-compose">
<title>Advanced Mail Composition</title>
<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 large recipient lists,
attachments, and forwarding.
</para>
<sect4 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 hide the display of files you've attached to the
message, select <menuchoice>
<guimenu>View</guimenu> <guimenuitem>Hide
Attachments</guimenuitem> </menuchoice>; to show them
again, choose <guimenuitem>Show Attachments</guimenuitem>.
</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>
</sect4>
<sect4 id="usage-mail-getnsend-send-to-types">
<title>Types of Recipients</title>
<para>
<application>Evolution</application>, like most email
programs recognizes three types of addressee: primary
recipients, secondary recipients, and hidden ("blind")
recipients.
</para>
<para>
The simplest way to direct a message is to put the email
address or addresses in the <guilabel>To:</guilabel>
field, which denotes primary recipients. To send mail to
more than one or two people, you can use the the
<guilabel>Cc:</guilabel> field.
</para>
<para>
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 id="ex-mail-cc">
<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 it sends messages discreetly. In other words,
the people in the <guilabel>Bcc:</guilabel> field get the
message, but nobody sees that they got it. Note that the
contents of the <guilabel>To:</guilabel> and
<guilabel>Cc:</guilabel> fields are visible to all
recipients, even to people on the
<guilabel>Bcc:</guilabel> list.
<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. It seems like a small difference, but it can
make a huge difference in some situations.
</para>
</example>
</para>
</sect4>
<sect4 id="usage-mail-getnsend-send-to">
<title>Choosing Recipients Quickly</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 —
potentially a very long one — of the email addresses
in your contact manager. Select addresses and click on
the arrows to move them into the appropriate address
columns.
</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>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="usage-mail-getnsend-send-reply">
<title>Replying to Messages</title>
<para>
To reply to a message, press the
<guibutton>Reply</guibutton> button while it is selected,
or choose <guimenuitem>Reply to Sender</guimenuitem> from
the message's right-click menu. That will open the
<interface>message composer</interface>. The
<guilabel>To:</guilabel> and <guilabel>Subject</guilabel>
fields will already be filled, although you can alter them
if you wish. In addition, the full text of the old message
is inserted into the new message, either in italics (for
HTML display) or with the > character before each line
(in plain text mode), to indicate that it's part of the
previous message. People often intersperse their message
with the quoted material as shown in <xref
linkend="usage-mail-getnsend-reply-fig">.
<!-- note that this figure should have a reply message 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 you're reading a message with several recipients, you may
wish to use <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.
<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 for all of them to read,
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>. Note that his reply
will not reach anyone that Susan put on her
<guilabel>Bcc</guilabel> list, since that list is not
shared with anyone.
</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>
Find a regex, also called a
<glossterm linkend="regular-expression">regular
expression</glossterm>, in your composer window.
</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 a word or phrase, and replace it with
something else.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</para>
<para>
For all of these menu items, you can choose whether or not
to <guilabel>Search Backwards</guilabel> in the document
from the point where your cursor is. For all but the
regular expression search (which doesn't need it), you are
offered a check box to determine whether the search is to
be <guilabel>Case Sensitive</guilabel> when it determines
a match.
</para>
</sect3>
<sect3 id="usage-mail-getnsend-send-html">
<title>Embellish your email with HTML</title>
<para>
Normally, you can't set text styles or insert pictures in
emails, which is why you've probably seen people use far
too many exclamation points for emphasis, or use
<glossterm linkend="emoticon">emoticons</glossterm> to
convey their feelings. However, most newer email programs
can display images and text styles as well as basic
alignment and paragraph formatting. They do this with
<glossterm linkend="html">HTML</glossterm>, just like web
pages do.
</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 in the toolbar just above
the space where you'll actually compose the message, and
they also appear in the <guimenu>Insert</guimenu> and
<guimenu>Format</guimenu> menus.
</para>
<para>
The icons in the toolbar are explained in <glossterm
linkend="tooltip">tool-tips</glossterm>, 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>
At the left edge of the toolbar, you can choose
<guilabel>Normal</guilabel> for a default text style
or <guilabel>Header 1</guilabel> through
<guilabel>Header 6</guilabel> for varying sizes of
header from large (1) to tiny (6). Other styles
include <guilabel>pre</guilabel>, to use the HTML
tag for preformatted blocks of text, and three types
of <guilabel>List Item</guilabel> for the highly
organized.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Text style</term>
<listitem>
<para>
Use these buttons to determine the way your letters
look. If you have text selected, the style will
apply to the selected text. If you do not have text
selected, the style will apply to whatever you type
next. The buttons are:
<itemizedlist mark="none">
<listitem><para>Push <guibutton>B</guibutton> for bold text</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Push <guibutton>I</guibutton> for italics</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Push <guibutton>U</guibutton> to underline</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Push <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 aligned to the left, the center
button, centered, and the right hand button,
aligned on the right side.
</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>
<varlistentry>
<term>Color Selection</term>
<listitem>
<para>
At the far right is the color section tool. The
colored box displays the current text color; to
choose a new one, click the arrow button just to the
right. If you have text selected, the color will
apply to the selected text. If you do not have text
selected, the color will apply to whatever you type
next.
</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). If you don't
want special link text, you can just enter the address
directly, and <application>Evolution</application>
will recognize it as a link.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term> <guimenuitem>Insert Image</guimenuitem>:</term>
<listitem>
<para>
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. This is different from
attaching them to a message, but not very different.
</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 linkend="inline">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 linkend="inline">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 Courtesy</title>
<para>
I started with ten, but four were "Don't send
<glossterm linkend="spam">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 in-line 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-columns">
<title>Sorting Mail with Column Headers</title>
<para>
By default, the message list has columns with the following
headings: an envelope icon indicating whether you have read
or replied to a message (closed for unread, open for read,
and open with an arrow on it to indicate you've sent a
reply), an exclamation point indicating priority, and the
<guilabel>From</guilabel>, <guilabel>Subject</guilabel>, and
<guilabel>Date</guilabel> fields. You can change their order
and remove them by dragging and dropping them. You can add
new ones with the <guimenuitem>Field Chooser</guimenuitem>
item in the right click menu for the column headings.
</para>
<para>
Right-click on one of the column headers to get a list of
options:
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Sort Ascending</guimenuitem>,
<guimenuitem>Sort Descending</guimenuitem>, and
<guimenuitem>Unsort</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>Which should be pretty obvious. You
can also set these sorts by just clicking on the
column headers.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Group By this Field</guimenuitem></term>
<listitem><para>
Groups messages instead of sorting them. (FIXME: Explain further)
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Remove this
Column</guimenuitem></term> <listitem><para> Remove
this column from the display. You can also remove
columns by dragging the header off the list and
letting it drop. </para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guimenuitem>Field
Chooser</guimenuitem></term> <listitem><para> A list
of column headers; just drag and drop them into
place between two existing headers. A red arrow will
appear to show you where you're about to put the
column. </para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</para>
</sect2>
<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 want to move several messages at once, click
on the ones you want to move while holding down the
<keycap>CTRL</keycap> key, or use <keycap>Shift</keycap> to
select a range of messages. 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>
When you've entered your search phrase, press
<keycap>Enter</keycap>. <application>Evolution</application>
will show your search results in the message list.
</para>
<para>
If you think you'll want to return to a search again, you can
save it as a virtual folder by selecting <guilabel>Store
Search as Virtual Folder</guilabel>.
</para>
<para>
When you're done with the search, go back to seeing all your
messages by choosing <guimenuitem>Show All</guimenuitem> from
the <guilabel>Search</guilabel> drop-down box. If you're
sneaky, just enter a blank search: since every message has at
least one space in it, you'll see every message in the
folder.
</para>
<para>
If you'd like to perform a more complex search, open the
advanced search dialog by selecting
<guilabel>Advanced...</guilabel> from the
<guilabel>Search</guilabel> drop-down menu. Then, create your
search criteria (each with the same options you saw in the
regular search bar), and decide whether you want to find
messages that match all of them, or messages that match even
one. Then, click <guibutton>Search</guibutton> to go and find
those messages.
</para>
<para>
You'll see a similar approach to sorting messages when you
create filters and virtual folders in the next few sections.
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="usage-mail-organize-filters">
<title>Staying organized: Mail Filters in Evolution</title>
<para>
I once worked in the mail room of a large company, where my
job was to bundle, sort, and distribute mail to the various
mail boxes and desks throughout the building. Filters do that
same job with email, but they lose much less mail than I did.
In addition, you can have multiple filters performing multiple
actions that may effect the same message in several ways. For
example, your filters could put copies of one message into
multiple folders, or keep a copy and send one to another
person as well, and it can do that in under a second. Which is
to say, it's faster and more flexible than an actual person
with a pile of envelopes.
</para>
<para>
Most often, you'll want to have
<application>Evolution</application> put mail into different
folders, but you can have it do almost anything you like.
People who get lots of mail, or who often need to refer to old
messages, find filters especially helpful, but they're good
for anybody who gets more than a few messages a day. To
create a filter, open the <interface>filter
assistant</interface> by selecting
<menuchoice>
<guimenu>Settings</guimenu>
<guimenuitem>Mail Filters</guimenuitem>
</menuchoice>.
</para>
<figure id="usage-mail-filters-fig-assist">
<title>The Filter Assistant</title>
<screenshot>
<screeninfo>The Filter Assistant</screeninfo>
<graphic fileref="fig/filter-assist-fig" format="png" srccredit="Aaron Weber">
</graphic>
</screenshot>
</figure>
<para>
The <interface>filter assistant</interface> window contains a
list of your current filters, sorted by the order in which
they are used. From the drop-down box at the top of the
window, choose <guilabel>Incoming</guilabel> to display
filters for incoming mail, and <guilabel>Outgoing</guilabel>
for those which sort only outgoing mail.
</para>
<para>
The <interface>filter assistant</interface> also has a set of
buttons:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>
<guibutton>Add</guibutton> — Create a new filter.
</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>
<guibutton>Edit</guibutton> — Edit an existing filter.
</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>
<guibutton>Delete</guibutton> — Delete the selected filter.
</para></listitem>
<listitem><para> <guibutton>Up</guibutton> — Move the
selected filter up in the list so it gets applied first.
</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>
<guibutton>Down</guibutton> — Move the selected filter down
in the list, so it comes into play later.
</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>
If you don't have any filters set up, the only one of those
buttons you can click is <guibutton>Add</guibutton>, which
will open a dialog to let you add a filter rule. If you do
have filters, you can either add a new filter rule, or select
one from your list and click <guibutton>Edit</guibutton>.
</para>
<para>
The filter rule editor, shown in <xref
linkend="usage-mail-filters-fig-new">, is where you'll
actually create your filtering rule.
<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>
Enter a name for your filter in the <guilabel>Rule
Name</guilabel> field, and then begin choosing the criteria
you'd like to use as you sort your mail. Choose how many
criteria you'd like by pressing <guibutton>Add
Criterion</guibutton> and <guibutton>Remove
Criterion</guibutton>. If you have multiple criteria, you
should then decide whether to have the filter do its job only
<guilabel>if all criteria are met</guilabel>, or <guilabel>if
any criteria are met</guilabel>.
</para>
<para>
For each filter criterion, you must first select what
part of the message you want the filter to examine:
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Sender</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>
The sender's address.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Recipients</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>
The recipients of the message.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Subject</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>
The subject line of the message.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Specific Header</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>
The filter can look at any header you
want, even obscure or custom ones. Enter the header name
in the first text box, and put your search text in the
second one.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Message Body</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>
Search in the actual text of the message.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Expression</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Enter a <glossterm linkend="regular-expression">regular
expression</glossterm>, and
<application>Evolution</application> will search the
entire message, including headers, to match it for you.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Date Sent</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para> Filter messages by when they were sent:
First, choose the conditions you want a message to
meet— <guilabel>before</guilabel> a given time,
<guilabel>after</guilabel> it, and so forth. Then, choose
the time. The filter will compare the message's time-stamp
to the system clock when the filter is run, or to a
specific time and date you choose from a calendar. You
can even have it look for messages within a range of time
relative to the filter&mdash perhaps you're looking for
messages less than two days old. </para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Date Recieved</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>
This works the same way as the <guilabel>Date Sent</guilabel>
option, except that it compares the time you got the message
with the dates you specify.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Priority</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>
Emails have a standard priority range from -3 (least
important) to 3 (most important). You can have filters set the
priority of messages you recieve, and then have other filters
applied only to those messages which have a certain priority.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Regex Match</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
If you know your way around a <glossterm
linkend="regular-expression">regex</glossterm>, or
regular expression, put your knowledge to use here.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Source</guilabel></term>
<listitem>
<para>
Filter messages according the server you got them from.
You can enter a URL or choose one from the drop-down
list. This ability is only relevant if you use more
than one mail source.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</para>
<para>
Now, tell it what to do with those messages. If you want more
actions, click <guibutton>Add Action</guibutton>; if you want
fewer, click <guibutton>Remove Action</guibutton>. And choose
again:
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Copy to Folder</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>
If you select this item, <application>Evolution</application>
will put the messages into a folder you specify. Click the
<guibutton><click here to select a folder></guibutton> button
to select a folder.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Move to Folder</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>
If you select this item, <application>Evolution</application>
will put the messages into a folder you specify. Click the
<guibutton><click here to select a folder></guibutton> button
to select a folder.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Forward to Address</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>
Select this, enter an address, and the addressee will
get a copy of the message.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Delete</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>
Marks the message for deletion. You can still get the message
back, at least until you <guimenuitem>Expunge</guimenuitem> your
mail yourself.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Stop Processing</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>
Select this if you want to tell all other filters to ignore
this message, because whatever you've done with it so far
is plenty.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Assign Color</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para>
Select this item, and <application>Evolution</application>
will mark the message with whatever color you please.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term><guilabel>Assign Score</guilabel></term>
<listitem><para> If you know that all mail with
"important" somewhere in the message body line is
important, you can give it a high priority score. In a subsequent filter you can
then arrange your messages by their priority score.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</para>
<para>
You're done. Click <guibutton>OK</guibutton> to use this
filter, or <guibutton>Cancel</guibutton> to close the window
without saving any changes.
</para>
<!-- FIXME: This needs to be in there. But the feature is temporarily
disabled and I don't know how it will be reimplemented.
<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>
-->
<note>
<title>Two Notable Filter Features</title>
<para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>
Incoming email that your filters don't move goes into the Inbox;
outgoing mail that they don't move ends up in the Sent folder.
</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, virtual folders can help
you stay on top of things.
</para>
<para>
A virtual folder 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. In other words, while a conventional
folder actually contains messages, a virtual folder is a view of
messages that may be in several different folders. The
messages it contains are determined on the fly using a set of
criteria you choose in advance.
</para>
<para>
As messages that meet the virtual folder criteria arrive or are
deleted, <application>Evolution</application> will
automatically place them in and remove them from the
virtual folder contents list. When you delete a message, it gets
erased from the folder in which it actually exists, as well as
any virtual folders which display it.
</para>
<para>
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. Virtual folders
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 Virtual Folders</title>
<para>
To organize my mail box, I set up a virtual folder for
emails from my friend and co-worker Anna. I have another
one for messages that have "ximian.com" in the address and
"Evolution" in the subject line, so I can keep a record of
what people from work send me about
<application>Evolution</application>. If Anna sends me a
message about anything other than Evolution, it only shows
up in the "Anna" folder. When Anna sends me mail about the
user interface for <application>Evolution</application>, I
can see that message both in the "Anna" virtual folder and
in the "Internal Evolution Discussion" virtual folder.
</para>
</example>
<!-- (INSERT SCREENSHOT HERE: virtual folders in action) -->
<para>
To create a virtual folder, select <menuchoice>
<guimenu>Settings</guimenu> <guimenuitem>Virtual Folder
Editor</guimenuitem> </menuchoice>. This will bring up a
dialog box that looks suspiciously like the filter window
(for more information on filters, see <xref
linkend="usage-mail-organize-filters">), and which
presents you with a list of virtual folders you have previously
created. If you have created any virtual folders, they are listed
here, and you can select, edit or remove them if you wish.
If you have not created any, there will be only one available
option: click <guibutton>Add</guibutton> to add a new
Virtual Folder.
</para>
<para>
You can enter a name for your virtual folder in the
<guilabel>Name</guilabel>. Then, tell
<application>Evolution</application> what messages to look
for. This process is exactly like filter creation: decide
between <guilabel>Match all parts</guilabel> and
<guilabel>Match any part</guilabel>, then choose what part of
the message to look in, what sort of matching to perform, and
specify exactly what it is that you want to find, be it a
line of text, a score, a regular expression, or a particular date or
range of dates.
</para>
<para>
The second part, however, is slightly different. In the
section of the window labelled <guilabel>Virtual Folder Sources
</guilabel> is a list of folders in which
<application>Evolution</application> will search for the
contents of your vFolder. Click <guibutton>Add</guibutton>
to add a folder, or <guibutton>Remove</guibutton> to remove
one. That way, you can have your vFolder search in
newsgroups, or just in one of your mailboxes, or just in a
select few folders you've already screened with filters.
</para>
<para>
The vFolder creation 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>Creating a vFolder Rule</screeninfo>
<graphic fileref="fig/vfolder-createrule-fig" format="png" srccredit="Aaron Weber">
</graphic>
</screenshot>
</figure>
</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="usage-mail-subscriptions">
<title>Subscription Management</title>
<para>
<application>Evolution</application> lets you handle your
IMAP and newsgroup subscriptions with the same tool: the
subscriptions manager. To start using it, choose
<menuchoice> <guimenu>Settings</guimenu> <guimenuitem>Manage
Subscriptions</guimenuitem> </menuchoice>.
</para>
</sect2>
</sect1>
</chapter>
|