aboutsummaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/help/C/preface.sgml
blob: cf40c03d372d754f27e3b8bd9737bdbf5838b756 (plain) (blame)
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
<!--
<!DOCTYPE preface PUBLIC "-//GNOME//DTD DocBook PNG Variant V1.1//EN">
-->

  <preface id="introduction">
<!-- =============Introduction ============================= -->
    <title>Introduction</title> 

    <sect1 id="what"> 
      <title>What is 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>.
        <application>Evolution</application>'s goal is to make the
        tasks of storing, organizing, and retrieving information
        easier, so you can work and cooperate with others.  That is,
        it's a more evolved <glossterm>groupware</glossterm> program,
        and an integral part of the Internet-connected desktop.
      </para>
      <para>
        Because it's part of the GNOME project,
        <application>Evolution</application> is free software.  The
        program and its source code are released under the terms of
        the GNU Public License (GPL), and the documentation falls
        under the Free Documentation License (FDL).  For more
        information about the GPL and the FDL, visit the Free Software
        Foundation's website at <ulink
        url="http://www.fsf.org">http://www.fsf.org</ulink>.
      </para>
      <para>
        <note>
           <title>This is a preview release</title>
           <para>
             Please help develop <application>Evolution</application>
             by submitting bug reports when you find bugs.  You can do
             so by using the <application>Bug Report
             Tool</application> (known as <command>bug-buddy</command>
             at the command line).
          </para>
        </note>
      </para>

      <para>
        <application>Evolution</application> 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.
        <application>Evolution</application> can handle almost all
        your communications and information management tasks with the
        power and flexibility of the GNOME desktop environment.
      </para>
      <para>
        The developers of <application>Evolution</application> had
        four major goals for their project:

        <itemizedlist>
      <listitem>
        <para>
             The application must be <emphasis>both powerful and easy
             to use</emphasis>. That means a familiar and intuitive
             interface that users could customize to their liking, and
             the development of shortcuts for complex tasks.
            </para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>
              <application>Evolution</application> must meet and
              exceed the standards set by other groupware products.
              It must include support for most major network protocols
              so that it can integrate seamlessly with existing
              hardware and network environments.
            </para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>
               The project must support open standards and protocols
               to turn <application>Evolution</application> into an
               advanced development platform.  From the simplest
               scripting to the most complex network and component
               programming, <application>Evolution</application> must
               to offer developers an environment for cutting-edge
               application development.
            </para>
      </listitem>
      <listitem>
        <para>
               Data must be safe: <application>Evolution</application>
               must not not lose mail, corrupt mailbox files or other
               data, execute arbitrary scripts, or delete files from
               your hard disk.
            </para>
          </listitem>
    </itemizedlist>
      </para>
      <para>
        <application>Evolution</application> is designed to make most
        daily tasks faster.  For example, it takes only one or two
        clicks to enter an appointment or an address card sent to you
        by email, or to send email to a contact or appointment.
        <application>Evolution</application> makes displays faster and
        more efficient, so searches are faster and memory usage is
        lower.  People who get lots of mail will appreciate advanced
        features like <link
        linkend="usage-mail-organize-vFolders">vFolders</link>, which
        let you save searches as though they were ordinary mail
        folders.
      </para>

  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="aboutbook">
      <title>About This Book</title>
    <!-- ************** FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH FOR DRAFT ONLY ************* -->
      <para>
        This version of the <application>Evolution</application>
        User's Guide is a <emphasis>draft</emphasis>. It describes
        version 0.5.1 of the software.  It is missing huge
        chunks of information, and many of the features it describes
        are unimplemented.  All the content is subject to change,
        especially if you help.  Please send comments on the guide to
        <email>aaron@helixcode.com</email>. If you would like to work
        on the guide please contact me or see the GNOME Documentation
        project <ulink
        url="http://developer.gnome.org/projects/gdp">web
        site</ulink>.  This paragraph will be removed in later
        versions of the manual.
      </para>
    <!-- ************* END DRAFT ONLY PARAGRAPH ************** -->

      <para>
        This book is divided into two parts, with several
        appendices. The first part is a <link linkend="usage">guided
        tour</link>&mdash; it will explain how to use
        <application>Evolution</application>.  If you are new to
        <application>Evolution</application> or to groupware in
        general, this is the section for you. The second section,
        covering <link linkend="config">configuration</link>, is
        targeted at more advanced users, but anyone who wants to
        change the way <application>Evolution</application> looks or
        acts can benefit from reading it.  In addition, there is a
        comprehensive <link linkend="menuref">menu
        reference</link> which describes nearly every capability that
        <application>Evolution</application> has to offer.
      </para>
      <formalpara>
        <title>Typographical conventions</title>
    <para>
          Some kinds of words are marked off with special typography:
          <simplelist>
        <member><application>Applications</application></member>
        <member><command>Commands</command> typed at the command line</member>
        <member><guilabel>Labels</guilabel> for interface items</member>

            <member> Menu selections look like this:
                       <menuchoice>
                          <guimenu>Menu</guimenu>
                          <guisubmenu>Submenu</guisubmenu> 
                          <guimenuitem>Menu Item</guimenuitem>
                     </menuchoice>
            </member>
        <member><guibutton>Buttons</guibutton> you can click</member>
            <member><userinput>Anything you type in</userinput></member>
        <member><computeroutput>Text output from a computer</computeroutput></member>
            <member><glossterm>Words</glossterm> that are defined 
                    in <xref linkend="apx-gloss">.</member>
      </simplelist>
        </para>
      </formalpara>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="commontasks">
    <title>Quick Reference for Common Tasks</title>
    <para>
        You might want to get a copy of this section and tape it to
        the wall next to your computer: it's a very short summary of
        most of the things you'll want to do with
        <application>Evolution</application>, and pointers to the
        sections of the book where you'll find more in-depth
        description of those tasks.
    </para>
    <sect2 id="quickref-newthings">
      <title>Opening or Creating Anything</title>
      <para>
         Here are the keyboard shortcuts and menu items you're most
         likely to use: (Please note that the shortcuts listed are
         probably wrong at this point).
         
          <variablelist>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>Create a new folder</term>
        <listitem>
          <para>
                <menuchoice><guimenu>File</guimenu><guisubmenu>New</guisubmenu>
                <guimenuitem>Folder</guimenuitem></menuchoice> or
                <keycombo action="simul">
          <keycap>Ctrl</keycap>
          <keycap>Shift </keycap>
          <keycap>F</keycap>
                </keycombo>
                </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>Create a new Shortcut in the Evolution Bar</term>
        <listitem>
          <para>       
                  <menuchoice><guimenu>File</guimenu>
          <guisubmenu>New</guisubmenu>
          <guimenuitem>Evolution Bar Shortcut</guimenuitem> </menuchoice> or 
                <keycombo action="simul">
          <keycap>Ctrl</keycap>
          <keycap>Shift</keycap>
          <keycap>S</keycap>
                </keycombo>
                </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>Create a new email message:</term>
        <listitem>
          <para>
                Use
                <menuchoice><guimenu>File</guimenu><guisubmenu>New</guisubmenu><guimenuitem>Mail
                Message</guimenuitem>  </menuchoice> or 
                <keycombo action="simul">
          <keycap>Ctrl</keycap>
          <keycap>Shift </keycap>
          <keycap>M</keycap>
                </keycombo>
              </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>Create a new Appointment</term>
        <listitem>
          <para>       
                  <menuchoice><guimenu>File</guimenu>
          <guisubmenu>New</guisubmenu>
          <guimenuitem>Appointment</guimenuitem> </menuchoice>  or 
                <keycombo action="simul">
          <keycap>Ctrl</keycap>
          <keycap>Shift</keycap>
          <keycap>A</keycap>
                </keycombo>
                </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
        <term>Create a new Task</term>
        <listitem>
          <para>       
                  <menuchoice><guimenu>File</guimenu>
          <guisubmenu>New</guisubmenu>
          <guimenuitem>Task</guimenuitem>  </menuchoice> or 
                <keycombo action="simul">
          <keycap>Ctrl</keycap>
          <keycap>Shift</keycap>
          <keycap>T</keycap>
                </keycombo>
                </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


      <varlistentry>
        <term>Enter a new Contact</term>
        <listitem>
          <para>       
                  <menuchoice><guimenu>File</guimenu>
          <guisubmenu>New</guisubmenu>
          <guimenuitem>Contact</guimenuitem> </menuchoice>  or 
                <keycombo action="simul">
          <keycap>Ctrl</keycap>
          <keycap>Shift</keycap>
          <keycap>C</keycap>
                </keycombo>
                </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>


    </variablelist>
      </para>
    </sect2> 
    <sect2 id="quickref-mail">
      <title>Mail Tasks</title>
      <para>
        Here are the most frequent email tasks:
         <variablelist>
      <varlistentry>
        <term>Check Mail</term>
        <listitem>
          <para>
                Click <guibutton>Get Mail</guibutton> in the toolbar, or press 
                <keycombo action="simul">
          <keycap>FIXME</keycap>
          <keycap>FIXME</keycap>
          <keycap>FIXME</keycap>
                </keycombo>
                </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
        <term>Reply to a message Message</term>
        <listitem>
          <para>
                Select the message to which you want to reply, and
                click Click <guibutton>Reply</guibutton> in the
                toolbar, or press
                <keycombo action="simul">
          <keycap>FIXME</keycap>
          <keycap>FIXME</keycap>
          <keycap>FIXME</keycap>
                </keycombo>
                </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>
      
          <varlistentry>
        <term>Forward a Message</term>
        <listitem>
          <para>
                Select the message you want to forward, and
                click Click <guibutton>Forward</guibutton> in the
                toolbar, or press
                <keycombo action="simul">
          <keycap>FIXME</keycap>
          <keycap>FIXME</keycap>
          <keycap>FIXME</keycap>
                </keycombo>
                </para>
        </listitem>
      </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
        <term>Create Filters and vFolders</term>
        <listitem>
          <para>
                You can create filters and vFolders based on specific
                message attributes by right-clicking on a message or
                by selecting <menuchoice> <guimenu>Tools</guimenu>
                <guimenuitem>Mail Filters</guimenuitem> </menuchoice>
                or <menuchoice> <guimenu>Tools</guimenu>
                <guimenuitem>vFolder Editor</guimenuitem>
                </menuchoice>.  Filters are discussed in <xref
                linkend="usage-mail-organize-filters">, and vFolders
                in <xref linkend="usage-mail-organize-vfolders">.
            </para>
        </listitem>
    </varlistentry>
    </variablelist>

        </para>
      </sect2>
      <sect2 id="quickref-cal">
        <title>Calendar</title>
        <para>
        <variablelist>
      <varlistentry>
        <term></term>
        <listitem>
          <para>
               </para>
        </listitem>
        </varlistentry>
      </variablelist>

        </para>
      </sect2>
      <sect2 id="quickref-contact">
        <title>Contact Manager</title>
        <para>


        <variablelist>
      <varlistentry>
        <term></term>
        <listitem>
          <para>
               </para>
        </listitem>
        </varlistentry>
      </variablelist>


        </para>
      </sect2>
    </sect1>
  </preface>