path: root/help/C/usage-mainwindow.sgml

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<chapter id="usage-mainwindow">

  <title>The Main Window: Evolution Basics</title>
  <para>
     Start <application>Evolution</application> by selecting
     <guimenuitem>Evolution</guimenuitem> from the
     <guisubmenu>Applications</guisubmenu> of the <guimenu>Main Panel
     Menu</guimenu>, or by typing <command>evolution</command> at the
     command-line.  After <application>Evolution</application> starts
     up, you will see the <interface>main window</interface>, with the
     <interface>Inbox</interface> open.  It should look a lot like the
     picture in <xref linkend="usage-mainwindow-fig">. On the left of
     the <interface>main window</interface> is the <interface>shortcut
     bar</interface>, with several buttons in it.  Just underneath the
     title bar is a series of menus in the <interface>menu
     bar</interface>, and below that, the <interface>tool
     bar</interface> with buttons for different functions. The largest
     part of the <interface>main window</interface> is taken up by the
     actual <interface>Inbox</interface>, with a listing of messages
     you have recieved.  If you're running the program for the first
     time, you'll just have one: a welcome message from Helix Code.


<!-- ==============Figure=================================== -->

<!--
Make sure that this figure meets its descriptions.
Can these things be labelled with little arrows & stuff?
-->

    <figure id="usage-mainwindow-fig">
    <title>Evolution Main Window and Inbox</title>
    <screenshot>
      <screeninfo>Evolution Main Window</screeninfo>
      <graphic fileref="fig/mainwindow-pic" format="png" srccredit="Aaron Weber">
    </graphic>
    </screenshot>
    </figure>
<!-- ==============End of Figure=================================== -->
</para>

   <para>
    <note>
      <title>The Way Evolution Looks</title>
      <para>
    The appearance of both
    <application>Evolution</application> and
    <application>GNOME</application> is very easy to
    customize, so your screen might not look like this
    picture.  You might configure
    <application>Evolution</application> to start with a
    different view, or without the <interface>shortcut
    bar</interface> or <interface>folder view</interface>.
      </para>
    </note>
  </para>
  
  <sect1 id="usage-mainwindow-shortcutbar">
    <title>The Shortcut Bar</title>
    <para>
        <application>Evolution</application>'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
        <interface>shortcut bar</interface>, the column on the left
        hand side of the main window.  The shortcut bar has two types
        of buttons: big ones with names like
        <guilabel>Inbox</guilabel> and <guilabel>Calendar</guilabel>,
        and small rectangular ones at the top and bottom, which are
        called category buttons.
    </para>
    <para>
       The category buttons are labelled <guilabel>Evolution
       Shortcuts</guilabel> <guilabel>Internet Directories</guilabel>.
       When you click on them, they'll slide up and down to give you
       access to different sorts of shortcuts.  When you first start
       <application>Evolution</application>, you are looking at the
       <guilabel>Evolution Shortcuts</guilabel> category.  If you click
       <guilabel>Internet Directories</guilabel>, it will slide up and
       you'll see buttons for the <guilabel>Bigfoot</guilabel> and
       <guilabel>Netcenter</guilabel> directories, as well as any
       others you or your system administrator might have added.
       Click on <guibutton>Evolution Shortcuts</guibutton> to look at
       the shortcuts again.
    </para>
    <para>
     They are:
      <itemizedlist>

<!--  NOT IMPLEMENTED! 
    <listitem>
      <para>
        <guibutton>Today</guibutton>, which will bring up a summary
        of any new messages you've recieved, along with the tasks and
        appointments you have lined up for today.
      </para>
    </listitem>
-->
    <listitem>
      <para>
        <guibutton>Inbox</guibutton>, which will show you all
        of your email.  Your Inbox is also where you can
        access Evolution's tools to filter, sort, organize,
        and search your mail.
      </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
       <para>
          The <guibutton>Calendar</guibutton>, which can store
          appointments for you.  Connected to a network, you
          can use it to keep a group of people on schedule and
          up to date.
       </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
      <para>
        The <guibutton>Contacts</guibutton> tool holds your
        addresses, phone numbers, and contact information.
        Like calendar information, contact data can be
        synchronized with hand-held devices and shared over a
        network.  
      </para>
    </listitem>

<!-- NOT IMPLEMENTED YET

    <listitem>
      <para>
         The <guibutton>Tasks</guibutton> tool combines a "to
         do" list with reminders to help you keep track of
         daily events.
      </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
      <para> <guibutton>Notes</guibutton> is your catch-all
        notepad: write <glossterm>haiku</glossterm>, take down
        messages from phone conversations, or keep small
        things organized.
      </para>
    </listitem>
-->

      </itemizedlist>


    </para>
    <para>
      If you prefer to use a keyboard shortcut, or <glossterm>hot
      key</glossterm>, you can use those instead.  They're shown next
      to their equivalent menu items in the menu bar. You can also set
      your own hot keys for functions that don't have any; this is
      covered in <xref linkend="config">.  If you're using the
      keyboard shortcuts you may also want to hide the
      <interface>shortcut bar</interface> by selecting
      the <guimenuitem>Show Shortcut Bar</guimenuitem> toggle in the
      <guimenu>View</guimenu> menu.
    </para>
 </sect1>

  <sect1 id="usage-mainwindow-folderview">
    <title>The Folder View</title>
    <para>
      The <interface>folder view</interface> is a more comprehensive
      way to view the information you've stored with
      <application>Evolution</application>. It displays all your
      appointments, address cards, and email in a tree that's a lot
      like a <glossterm>file tree</glossterm>&mdash; it starts small
      at the top, and branches downwards. On my computer, I have only
      one: <guilabel>Local</guilabel>.  When I click on the plus sign
      next to the label, I see the contents:
      <itemizedlist>
     <listitem>
        <para>
          <guilabel>Calendar</guilabel>, where I keep
          appointments and event listings.
       </para>
     </listitem> 
     <listitem>
        <para>
        <guilabel>Contacts</guilabel>, where address
        cards are stored.
       </para>
     </listitem>
     <listitem>
        <para>
      <guilabel>Directories</guilabel>, for search directories, which
      have not been implemented yet.
       </para>
     </listitem>
     <listitem>
        <para>
         <guilabel>Inbox</guilabel>, for incoming mail, and all
         the rest of my mail folders.
       </para>
     </listitem>
    <listitem>
        <para>
        <guilabel>Outbox</guilabel>, which is for 
        drafts of messages and mail that's already been sent.
       </para>
     </listitem>
     <listitem>
        <para>
        <guilabel>Trash</guilabel>, which is for trash.
       </para>
     </listitem>
      </itemizedlist>

    </para>

    <para>
      Right-clicking will bring up a menu for just about anything
      in GNOME, and <application>Evolution</application> is no
      exception.  If you right-click on a folder, you'll have a
      menu with the following options:
      <itemizedlist>
    <listitem><para>Something</para></listitem>
    <listitem><para>Something</para></listitem>
    <listitem><para>Something</para></listitem>
      </itemizedlist>.
    </para>

    <tip>
     <title>Context-Sensitive Help</title>
      <para>
    GNOME 2.0 supports context-sensitive help, which means you can
    almost always get help on an item by right-clicking it.  If
    you're not sure what something is, or don't know what you can
    do with it, choosing <guimenuitem>Help</guimenuitem> from the
    right-click menu is a good way to find out.
      </para>
    </tip>

    <para>
      If a folder has other folders inside it, there will be a plus
      sign next to it. Click on the plus sign, and the folder will
      open to let you see the other folders inside.  This may
      change in the future to something more attractive, like
      triangles that drop down as you click on them to display the
      rest of the tree.
    </para>

    <para>
      Any time new information arrives in a folder, that folder
      will be highlighted, or its label displayed as bold
      text. You can learn more about customizing
      <application>Evolution</application> alerts and appearance
      in <xref linkend="config">.
    </para>

    <para>
      Moving and deleting folders and other items works in one of
      two ways: using <glossterm>drag-and-drop</glossterm> or by
      right-clicking and selecting an item from the
      <interface>right-click menu</interface>.  You can drag the
      folders inside the folder view to change their order or put
      one folder inside another.  To delete a folder, drag it into
      the trash folder or right-click it and select
      <guimenuitem>Delete</guimenuitem> from the menu that pops
      up.  The same goes for individual messages, appointments,
      and address cards, whether they're in the <interface>folder
      view</interface> or not: drag them where you want them, and
      they will go there.  <!-- ****This paragraph could use some
      work**** -->
    </para>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="usage-mainwindow-menubar">
    <title>The Menu Bar</title>
    <para>
      The <interface>menu bar</interface>'s contents will always
      provide all the possible actions for any view of your data.
      That means that, depending on the context, menu bar items will
      change.  If you're looking at your Inbox, most of the menu items
      will relate to mail; some will relate to other components of
      <application>Evolution</application> and some, especially those
      in the <guimenu>File Menu</guimenu> will relate to the
      application as a whole. You can probably guess that the
      <guimenu>Help Menu</guimenu> is where to go for help, and that
      the <guimenu>View</guimenu> menu controls the way that
      <application>Evolution</application> looks.  Other menu items
      are a little less obvious, and change a little more, so we'll
      cover them later on as we discuss the things you can do with
      <application>Evolution</application>.
    </para>


    <para>
      Once you've familiarized yourself with the <interface>main
      window</interface> you can start doing things with it.
      We'll start with your email inbox: you've got a letter
      waiting for you already.
    </para>
  </sect1>
</chapter>