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-<!--
-<!DOCTYPE appendix PUBLIC "-//GNOME//DTD DocBook PNG Variant V1.1//EN">
--->
-<appendix id="evolution-faq">
- <title>Frequently Asked Questions About Ximian Evolution</title>
- <para>
- Here are some frequently asked questions about the
- <application>Evolution</application> groupware suite from
- Ximian.
- </para>
-
- <!-- Section: Getting and compiling -->
-
- <sect1 id="get-and-compile">
- <title>
- Getting and Compiling Evolution
- </title>
- <qandaset>
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- Where can I get the latest Evolution release?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- There are two ways to install the latest Evolution
- release:
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- If you have Ximian GNOME installed, you can start
- Red Carpet, Ximian's software updating system, and
- subscribe to the Evolution channel. This will let
- you install a binary for the latest release, and
- will also warn you when a new version has been made
- available.
- </para>
- </listitem>
-
- <listitem>
- <para>
- If you want to compile from source, you can
- download the latest official Evolution tarball
- from:
- </para>
-
- <para>
- <ulink url="ftp://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/unstable/sources/evolution">
- ftp://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/unstable/sources/evolution</ulink>
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- Are binary snapshots available?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- Yes, if you have Ximian GNOME installed. Just run Red
- Carpet and subscribe to the Evolution Snapshot channel.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- You can check the status of snapshots at
- <ulink url="http://primates.ximian.com/~snapshot">http://primates.ximian.com/~snapshot</ulink>.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- Why isn't a new snapshot available today?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- Sometimes the build might fail because of problems with
- the source on CVS. In this case, just wait for next day's
- snapshot.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- How do I get Evolution from CVS?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- If you already have
- <ulink url="http://cvs.gnome.org">GNOME CVS</ulink> access,
- simply check out the following modules: evolution,
- gtkhtml, gal.
- </para>
- <para>
- If you don't have a CVS account, you can use anoncvs
- instead. Bear in mind that anoncvs is only synchronized once
- a day, and code received from anoncvs may not be latest
- version available.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- Before using the anoncvs server, you have to log into it.
- This only needs to be done once. Use this command:
- </para>
-
- <programlisting>
- cvs -z3 -d :pserver:anonymous@anoncvs.gnome.org:/cvs/gnome login
- </programlisting>
-
- <para>
- Then you can retrieve the modules needed to compile Evolution
- using the following command:
- </para>
-
- <programlisting>
- cvs -z3 -d :pserver:anonymous@anoncvs.gnome.org:/cvs/gnome co evolution gtkhtml gal
- </programlisting>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- How should I compile Evolution avoiding conflicts with my
- existing GNOME installation?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- The best way is to install Evolution into a separate prefix.
- In order to specify a non-default installation prefix, you
- can pass the <parameter>--prefix</parameter> option to
- <filename>configure</filename> or
- <filename>autogen.sh</filename>. For example:
- </para>
-
- <programlisting>
- cd /cvs/evolution
- ./autogen.sh --prefix=/opt/gnome
- </programlisting>
-
- <para>
- If you install Evolution and the Evolution libraries in a
- non-standard prefix, make sure you set the appropriate
- environment variables in the startup script for Evolution:
- </para>
-
- <programlisting>
- export PATH=/opt/gnome:$PATH
- export GNOME_PATH=/opt/gnome:/usr
- </programlisting>
-
- <para>
- You may also need to add <filename>$prefix/lib</filename>
- (e.g. <filename>/opt/gnome/lib</filename>) to your
- <filename>/etc/ld.so.conf</filename>. Of course, this will
- not work for systems which do not use ld.so.conf, such as
- HP-UX.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- I get <computeroutput>make: *** No rule to make target
- `all-no-@BUILD_INCLUDED_LIBINTL@'</computeroutput>
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- You probably have <filename>gettext</filename> 0.10.36 or
- later installed. Try downgrading to 0.10.35;
- unfortunately, 0.10.36 introduced some incompatibilities
- with the current <filename>xml-i18n-tools</filename>.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
- </qandaset>
- </sect1>
-
- <sect1 id="faq-trouble">
- <title>Troubleshooting</title>
- <qandaset>
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- I get <computeroutput>Cannot initialize the Evolution
- shell</computeroutput>.
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- Check that:
- </para>
-
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- <filename>oafd</filename> is listen in your <envar>PATH</envar>
- environment variable.
- </para>
- </listitem>
-
- <listitem>
- <para>
- <filename>GNOME_Evolution_Shell.oaf</filename> and
- the other      
- <filename>GNOME_Evolution_*.oaf</filename> files are
- readable and installed in
- <filename>$prefix/share/oaf</filename>, where
- <filename>$prefix</filename> is one of the prefixes
- listed in <envar>GNOME_PATH</envar> or
- <envar>OAF_INFO_PATH</envar>.  (These variables are
- supposed to contain $PATH-like colon-separated lists of
- paths.  If the installation prefix for Evolution is
- different from that). Run `oaf-slay' once before running
- `evolution' again if you change $GNOME_PATH or
- $OAF_INFO_PATH.
- </para>
- </listitem>
-
- <listitem>
- <para>
- <filename>evolution</filename>,
- <filename>evolution-mail</filename> and the other
- <filename>evolution-*</filename> executables are in your
- $PATH.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
-
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- I get <computeroutput>Cannot open composer window</computeroutput>.
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- This actually means that Evolution cannot activate the HTML
- editor component from GtkHTML. The comments in the previous
- answer still apply; also make sure that
- <command>gnome-gtkhtml-editor</command> is in your
- <envar>PATH</envar>.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
-
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- I updated my Evolution, but my addressbook contacts are no
- longer there, what should I do?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- Evolution uses the <filename>libdb</filename> library to
- handle the addressbook database. Two versions of
- <filename>libdb</filename> can be used with Evolution: version
- 1.88 and version 2.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- Unfortunately, an Evolution executable that is linked against
- a certain version of <filename>libdb</filename> will only be
- able to read addressbook files written by another Evolution
- executable that is linked with the same version of the
- library. If your addressbook is not readable by Evolution
- anymore, it probably means that you used to have Evolution
- linked with a certain version of <filename>libdb</filename>,
- but now it gets linked to a different version.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- Because of the way <filename>libdb</filename> is designed, it
- is not easy for Evolution to automatically do the conversion
- between the two formats. But, if your Evolution used to be
- linked against version 1.85 and now is linked to version 2,
- there is a very simple way to convert the database and recover
- your data.
- </para>
-
- <itemizedlist>
-
- <listitem>
- <para>
- First of all, check the format of the database using the
- <command>file</command> command:
- </para>
-
- <programlisting>
- file ~/evolution/local/Contacts/addressbook.db
- </programlisting>
-
- <para>
- You want version 1.85 there. If your version is 2, then
- your current Evolution is probably linked against
- version 1.85 and you cannot convert the database to the
- old format. To do that, follow these instructions:
- </para>
- </listitem>
-
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Quit Evolution.
- </para>
- </listitem>
-
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Make a copy of the addressbook database for backup
- purposes.
- </para>
-
- <programlisting>
- cd ~/evolution/local/Contacts
- cp addressbook.db addressbook.db.backup
- </programlisting>
- </listitem>
-
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Convert the contacts to the new format using
- <command>db_dump185</command> and
- <command>db_load</command>:
- </para>
-
- <programlisting>
- db_dump185 ~/evolution/local/Contacts/addressbook.db.backup | db_load ~/evolution/local/Contacts/addressbook.db
- </programlisting>
- </listitem>
-
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Restart Evolution.
- </para>
- </listitem>
-
- </itemizedlist>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
-
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- Evolution reported an error when trying to retrieve from my
- local spool in <filename>/var/spool/mail/username</filename>. Why?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- Evolution doesn't have an external helper for moving mail,
- so <filename>/var/spool/mail/</filename> must be writable
- by you. Try this:
- </para>
-
- <programlisting>
- chmod 1777 /var/spool/mail
- </programlisting>
-
- <para>
- Yes, we know this is a problem. It will be fixed eventually.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
-
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- Evolution crashes reporting that it couldn't allocate N
- billion bytes; how do I fix this?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- This usually happens when a component tries talking a
- certain version of a CORBA interface to another component
- that supports a different version. For example, this can
- happen when you recompile and install a single component
- without recompiling/installing the rest of Evolution.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- So, if this occurs to you, make sure all the components
- are compiled and installed at the same time. This also
- applies to GtkHTML upgrades; after upgrading and
- installing a newer GtkHTML, always re-compile and
- re-install Evolution against it.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
-
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- What is <command>killev</command> and why do I need to use it?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- Evolution is actually made up of several components that run
- as separate processes. Evolution's shell is not very good
- at cleaning up stale processes, so it is possible that
- sometimes already-running components cause unexpected and/or
- broken behavior.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- It's always a good idea to run <command>killev</command>
- after a crash in Evolution, especially if the Evolution
- shell itself crashed. (If a component crashes instead, you
- should try to exit the shell cleanly first, so you give a
- chance to the other components to clean things up properly.)
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
-
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- What is <command>oaf-slay</command> and why do I need to use it?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- <command>oaf-slay</command> is an utility which comes with
- OAF, the Object Activation Framework that is used in the
- GNOME Desktop to activate components. It will kill the
- object activation daemon (<command>oafd</command>) as well
- as all the active components on the system.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- Normally, you shouldn't need to run
- <command>oaf-slay</command>, unless <command>oafd</command>
- gets stuck or confused. For example, it might help in case
- Evolution cannot activate components.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- Using <command>oaf-slay</command>
- <command>oaf-slay</command> is quite drastic and can cause
- problems with other programs that use oaf, especially with
- <application>Nautilus</application>. To avoid problems, do
- not run <command>oaf-slay</command> while you are in GNOME.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
- </qandaset>
- </sect1>
-
- <sect1 id="faq-debugging">
- <title>Questions about Bugs and Debugging</title>
- <para>
- Find a bug? Here's how to help us fix it!
- </para>
-
- <qandaset>
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- Where should I report bugs for Evolution?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- You should report bugs about Evolution into the Ximian bug
- reporting system (Bugzilla), located at
- <ulink url="http://bugzilla.ximian.com">http://bugzilla.ximian.com</ulink>.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- Please use the query function to check if a bug has been
- submitted already before submitting it.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
-
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- Can I just use Bug-Buddy?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- Not yet. The Ximian bug tracker does not yet have an
- email-based interface, so Bug Buddy cannot talk to it. This
- will be fixed eventually.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
-
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- What is a stack trace (backtrace) and how do I get one?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- A stack trace is a list of the chain of function calls that
- lead to some point in the program. Typically, you want to
- get a stack trace when Evolution crashes or hangs and you
- want to try to figure out where in the code that happened
- and why. For this reason, stack traces are extremely
- useful for the Evolution developers, so it's important that
- you learn how to get them, and include them in crash
- reports. Once we have <command>bug-buddy</command> working
- with our bug database, it will be much easier to do
- this. Until then, here's how:
- </para>
-
- <para>
- First of all, in order to get a stack trace, your executable
- (and possibly the libraries) must be compiled with debugging
- symbols. Debugging symbols are created by default if you
- compile from CVS, and are included in the snapshot builds.
- If you decide to compile by yourself with some custom CFLAGS
- value, make sure <command>-g</command> is included in them.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- Finally, you must put the component that crashes through
- <command>gdb</command>. Make sure all the components are
- dead (exit Evolution and <command>killev</command>), then
- run the following command:
- </para>
-
- <programlisting>
- gdb name-of-component
- </programlisting>
-
- <para>
- Then, at the gdb prompt, type <userinput>r</userinput> (for
- "run") and wait a few seconds to make sure the component has
- registered with the name service. Then start Evolution
- normally from a different terminal.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- Then, reproduce the crash, and go back to the terminal where
- you ran <command>gdb</command>. If the component crashed,
- you should have a prompt there; otherwise, just hit
- <keycombo action=simul>
- <keycap>Control</keycap>
- <keycap>C</keycap>
- </keycombo>.
- At the prompt, type:
- </para>
-
- <programlisting>
- info threads
- </programlisting>
-
- <para>
- This will give you a list of the current running threads,
- e.g.
- </para>
-
- <screen>
- (gdb) info threads
- 8 Thread 6151 (LWP 14908) 0x409778fe in sigsuspend () from /lib/libc.so.6
- 7 Thread 5126 (LWP 14907) 0x409778fe in sigsuspend () from /lib/libc.so.6
- 6 Thread 4101 (LWP 1007) 0x409778fe in sigsuspend () from /lib/libc.so.6
- 5 Thread 3076 (LWP 1006) 0x409778fe in sigsuspend () from /lib/libc.so.6
- 4 Thread 2051 (LWP 1005) 0x409778fe in sigsuspend () from /lib/libc.so.6
- 3 Thread 1026 (LWP 1004) 0x409778fe in sigsuspend () from /lib/libc.so.6
- 2 Thread 2049 (LWP 1003) 0x40a10d90 in poll () from /lib/libc.so.6
- 1 Thread 1024 (LWP 995) 0x40a10d90 in poll () from /lib/libc.so.6
- </screen>
-
- <para>
- (Notice that, normally, only
- <command>evolution-mail</command> will have more than one
- thread.)
- </para>
-
- <para>
- Now, for each of the thread listed, type the following
- commands:
- </para>
-
- <programlisting>
- thread N
- bt
- </programlisting>
-
- <para>
- Where `N' is the thread number. (In this example, you would
- have to do it with N as 1, 2, 3... 8.) Then cut and paste
- all the output into some text file, and quit
- <command>gdb</command> by typing
- <userinput>quit</userinput>.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- You can also get a stack trace from a running component or a
- component that has just crashed. Just start
- <command>gdb</command> normally and, instead of using the
- <userinput>r</userinput> command, use
- <userinput>attach</userinput> to attach to the running
- process:
- </para>
-
- <programlisting>
- attach PID
- </programlisting>
-
- <para>
- Where <userinput>PID</userinput> is the PID of the
- component. Notice that this also works if you attach
- right after a crash dialog appears, before hitting "OK" or
- "Submit bug report".
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
- </qandaset>
- </sect1>
-
- <sect1 id="faq-features">
- <title>Features</title>
- <para>
- Following is a list of questions about the features in
- <application>Evolution</application>.
- </para>
-
- <qandaset>
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- How can I remove a folder?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- Currently there is no command in Evolution to remove a
- folder, so you have to remove it by hand.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- All the folders are stored in
- <filename>~/evolution/local</filename>. Each folder is a
- directory containing the data files, as well as a
- <filename>subfolders</filename> directory that contains
- all its subfolders. So for example if you have a
- subfolder of the <filename>Inbox</filename> called
- <filename>Foo</filename>, you can run the following
- command to get rid of it (and all it subfolders):
- </para>
-
- <programlisting>
- rm -rf ~/evolution/local/Inbox/subfolders/Foo
- </programlisting>
-
- <para>
- You should do this after exiting Evolution.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
-
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- Why doesn't drag and drop between folders seem to work?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- The implementation isn't finished, although it's planned
- to be finished soon.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- In the meantime, you can copy the folders' contents by
- hand from the shell (please do this after quitting
- Evolution). For example:
- </para>
-
- <programlisting>
- cp -r ~/evolution/local/Inbox/subfolders/Foo ~/evolution/local/Inbox/subfolders/Bar
- </programlisting>
-
- <para>
- Likewise, you can use <command>mv</command> to rename or
- move folders.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
-
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- Can I read mail from a mailbox file created by some other
- application (e.g. Mutt) without importing mail from it?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- No, but it's a planned feature.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
-
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- Can Evolution sync to my Palm OS (tm) device?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- Yes. Evolution needs to be compiled with Palm syncing
- support for this to work though. Please refer to the
- <filename>README</filename> file for additional
- information on the requirements.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- What is the difference between a virtual folder (vfolder)
- and a regular folder?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- A virtual folder is like a saved search: it is a view of
- your mail. Regular folders actually contain the mail
- messages. You can have one message be in multiple virtual
- folders, but only in one regular folder. See the section
- in the Evolution manual about virtual folders for more
- information.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- Can Evolution spell-check the messages while I compose them?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- Yes. The Evolution composer is able to highlight
- mis-spelled word on the fly as you type them, and also
- give you suggestions for possible corrections. In order
- for this to work you need the
- <filename>gnome-spell</filename> component, which is not
- shipped with Ximian GNOME yet.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- If you are brave enough, you can check out module
- <filename>gnome-spell</filename> from the GNOME CVS and
- compile it yourself. Check out its README file for a list
- of <filename>gnome-spell</filename>'s requirements for
- compilation.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- Note that you don't need to recompile Evolution after
- installing <filename>gnome-spell</filename>; it will be
- picked up automatically.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
-
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- I cannot see the images that are contained in some HTML
- mail message I am getting. Why?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- Evolution currently doesn't support this, but it's a
- planned feature. It will be an option: many people like
- to turn off the images because they use up bandwidth and can
- be used to spy on your email reading habits.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
-
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- Can I change the font that Evolution uses for compose and
- displaying mail messages?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- You have to change the GtkHTML settings for that: in the
- GNOME Control Center, go to the "HTML Viewer"
- configuration page, which is under the "Document Handlers"
- category.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- How do I import my Outlook <filename>.pst</filename> files into Evolution?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- You cannot import these files directly into Evolution
- because the <filename>.pst</filename> format is a
- proprietry format. However, Mozilla Mail on Windows can
- convert them into the <type>mbox</type> format, which can
- then be imported by Evolution.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- To start importing your Outlook mail to Evolution, run
- Mozilla Mail on Windows and select the
- <menuchoice><guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>Import...</guimenuitem></menuchoice>
- to begin. Then select that you wish to import Mail from
- Outlook. Once Mozilla has imported all your mail, reboot
- your computer into Linux.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- Mount your Windows partition in Linux and run Evolution to
- begin importing your mail. Select
- <menuchoice><guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>Import
- File...</guimenuitem></menuchoice> to start importing. Set
- the file type to MBox (mbox) and click on
- <guibutton>Browse</guibutton> to select the mail you want
- to import.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- If you are the only user on Windows, the mail files will
- be stored in <filename>/mnt/c/windows/Application
- Data/Mozilla/Profiles/default/XXXX/Mail/imported.mail/</filename>
- where <filename>/mnt/c/</filename> is your windows
- partition mount point and XXXX is some collection of
- numbers and digits ending in <filename>.slt</filename>.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- If there is more than one user, the file will be in
- <filename>/mnt/c/windows/Profiles/USERNAME/XXXX/Mail/imported.mail/</filename>
- where USERNAME is your Windows username.
- </para>
-
- <para>
- For each mail folder in Outlook, Mozilla will convert the
- folder into one mbox file. To import all your mail, import
- all the files without a <filename>.msf</filename>
- extension.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
-
- <qandaentry>
- <question>
- <para>
- If Mozilla can import <filename>.pst</filename> files, why can't Evolution?
- </para>
- </question>
- <answer>
- <para>
- Mozilla on Windows accesses the <filename>.pst</filename>
- files through the <filename>MAPI.DLL</filename>, which is
- only avaliable on Windows. <filename>MAPI.DLL</filename>
- is the only way to access <filename>.pst</filename> files
- and Evolution cannot use this DLL in Linux.
- </para>
- </answer>
- </qandaentry>
- </qandaset>
- </sect1>
-</appendix>
-
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