<!-- <!DOCTYPE Chapter PUBLIC "-//GNOME//DTD DocBook PNG Variant V1.1//EN"> --> <chapter id="usage-mainwindow"> <title>The Evolution Workspace</title> <sect1 id="usage-mainwindow-starting"> <title>Starting Evolution</title> <para> Start <application>Evolution</application> by selecting <guimenuitem>Evolution</guimenuitem> from your <guimenu>Programs</guimenu> menu, or by typing <command>evolution</command> at the command line. The first time you run the program, it will create a directory called <filename>evolution</filename> in your home directory, where it will keep all your <application>Evolution</application>-related files. At this point, it will also offer to import old messages from other mail clients, such as Netscape mail. </para> </sect1> <sect1 id="usage-mainwindow-basics"> <title>Evolution Basics</title> <para> 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 content view, where your messages are displayed. Above that is the message list view, where a summary of your email is displayed. If you're running the program for the first time, you'll have one message: a welcome from Ximian. <!-- ==============Figure=================================== --> <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="Kevin Breit"> </graphic> </screenshot> </figure> <!-- ==============End of Figure=================================== --> </para> <sect2 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 large buttons with names like <guilabel>Inbox</guilabel> and <guilabel>Contacts</guilabel> are the shortcuts, and you can select different groups of shortcuts by clicking the rectangular group buttons. </para> <para> Take a look at the <guilabel>Shortcut Bar</guilabel> The shortcut buttons in that category are: <variablelist> <varlistentry> <term> <guibutton>My Evolution</guibutton></term> <listitem> <para> Start your day here. <guilabel>My Evolution</guilabel> gives you a quick summary of new or important messages, daily appointments and urgent tasks. You can customize its appearance and content, and use it to access Evolution services. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term> <guibutton>Inbox</guibutton></term> <listitem> <para> Click the <guibutton>Inbox</guibutton> button to start reading your mail. Your Inbox is also where you can access Evolution's tools to filter, sort, organize, and search your mail. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><guibutton>Calendar</guibutton></term> <listitem> <para> The Calendar can store your appointments and To do lists for you. Connected to a network, you can use it to keep a group of people on schedule and up to date. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><guibutton>Tasks</guibutton></term> <listitem> <para> A full-size view of your calendar's task pad. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term><guibutton>Contacts</guibutton></term> <listitem> <para> The Contact Manager 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> </varlistentry> <!-- NOT IMPLEMENTED YET <varlistentry> <term> <guibutton>Notes:</guibutton></term> <listitem> <para> The note pad is your catch-all tool: use it to take messages from phone conversations, keep small things organized, write <glossterm linkend="haiku">haiku</glossterm>, or whatever you like. This feature is not yet implemented, but will be soon. See <xref linkend="usage-notes"> for more information. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> --> </variablelist> </para> </sect2> <sect2 id="usage-mainwindow-folderbar"> <title>Folders and The Folder Bar</title> <para> The <interface>folder bar</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 linkend="filetree">file tree</glossterm>— it starts small at the top, and branches downwards. On most computers, there will be three or four folders at the base. First is the <guilabel>Local</guilabel> folder, which holds all the <application>Evolution</application> data that's stored on your computer. After that are <guilabel>Other Contacts</guilabel>, <glossterm linkend="ldap">LDAP</glossterm> contact directories stored on a network, followed by any <glossterm linkend="imap">IMAP</glossterm> mail folders you may have available to you over your network. Lastly, there are <guilabel>Virtual Folders</guilabel>, discussed in <xref linkend="usage-mail-organize-vfolders">, </para> <para> A typical <guilabel>Local</guilabel> folder contains the following folders: <itemizedlist> <listitem> <para> <guilabel>My Evolution</guilabel>, a quick summary to help you do your tasks. </para> </listitem> <listitem> <para> <guilabel>Calendar</guilabel>, for appointments and event listings. </para> </listitem> <listitem> <para> <guilabel>Contacts</guilabel>, for address cards. </para> </listitem> <listitem> <para> <guilabel>Drafts</guilabel>, for messages you started and didn't finish. </para> </listitem> <listitem> <para> <guilabel>Inbox</guilabel>, for incoming mail. </para> </listitem> <listitem> <para> <guilabel>Outbox</guilabel>, for messages you have written but not yet sent. This will be empty unless you use <application>Evolution</application> while offline. </para> </listitem> <listitem> <para> <guilabel>Sent</guilabel>, for sent mail. </para> </listitem> <listitem> <para> <guilabel>Trash</guilabel>, a virtual folder view of all the messages you have marked for deletion but not yet <glossterm linkend="expunge">expunged</glossterm>. Note that once you have expunged a message, it is gone for good. </para> </listitem> </itemizedlist> </para> <tip id="foldertips"> <title>Navigating without the Folder Bar</title> <para> You don't need the folder bar or the shortcut bar to move around the main window. You can use <keycap>Tab</keycap> to switch from one part of the window to another, and the folder menu on the right side of the window just below the toolbar to move about the folder tree, even with the folder and shortcut bars hidden. </para> </tip> <para> If you get any serious amount of mail, you'll want more folders than just your Inbox. To create a new folder: <orderedlist numeration="arabic"> <listitem> <para> Select <menuchoice> <guimenu>File</guimenu> <guisubmenu>New</guisubmenu> <guimenuitem>Folder</guimenuitem></menuchoice> <keycombo action="simul"> <keycap>Shift</keycap> <keycap>Ctrl</keycap> <keycap>E</keycap> </keycombo>. </para> </listitem> <listitem> <para> Select the name of the folder in the <guilabel>Folder Name</guilabel> field. </para> </listitem> <listitem> <para> Select the folder type. The available options are. <itemizedlist> <listitem> <para> Calendar </para> </listitem> <listitem> <para> Contacts </para> </listitem> <listitem> <para> Mail </para> </listitem> <listitem> <para> Mail Storage </para> </listitem> <listitem> <para> My Evolution </para> </listitem> <listitem> <para> Tasks </para> </listitem> <listitem> <para> vTrash </para> </listitem> </itemizedlist> </para> </listitem> <listitem> <para> Select the folder for the new folder to go in. </para> </listitem> </orderedlist> </para> <sect3 id="subfolders"> <title>Subfolders</title> <para> <application>Evolution</application> can also manage subfolders. Subfolders are folders inside of folders. This works well if you want to try to separate your home folders from your work folders. </para> <note> <title>Folders Have Limits</title> <para> Calendars must go in calendar folders, mail in mail folders, and contacts in contact folders. </para> </note> <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><guimenuitem>View</guimenuitem>, to view the folder. </para></listitem> <listitem><para><guimenuitem>Open in New Window</guimenuitem>, to see it in a new Evolution window. </para></listitem> <listitem><para><guimenuitem>Move</guimenuitem>, to move the folder to another location. </para></listitem> <listitem><para><guimenuitem>Copy</guimenuitem>, to duplicate the folder. </para></listitem> <listitem><para><guimenuitem>Delete</guimenuitem>, to delete the folder and all its contents. </para></listitem> <listitem><para><guimenuitem>Rename</guimenuitem>, to change its name. </para></listitem> <listitem><para><guimenuitem>Create New Folder</guimenuitem>, to create another folder in the same location. </para></listitem> <listitem><para><guimenuitem>Add to Shortcut Bar</guimenuitem>, to add the folder to your shortcut bar. </para></listitem> <listitem><para><guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem>, to view or change the folder properties. </para></listitem> </itemizedlist> </para> <para> You can also rearrange folders and messages with by dragging and dropping them. </para> <!-- <tip> <title>Context-Sensitive Help</title> <para> GNOME 2.0 offers 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> Any time new information arrives in a folder, that folder label is displayed in bold text, along with the amount of new messages in that folder inside of paranthesis. </para> </sect3> </sect2> <sect2 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 given 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. The contents of the menu bar are described in <xref linkend="menuref">. </para> <para> <variablelist> <varlistentry> <term> <guimenu>File</guimenu></term> <listitem><para> Anything even related to a file or to the operations of the application generally falls under this menu: creating things, saving them to disk, printing them, and quitting the program itself. </para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term> <guimenu>Edit</guimenu></term> <listitem><para> The <guimenu>Edit</guimenu> menu holds useful tools that help you edit text and move it around. </para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term> <guimenu>View</guimenu></term> <listitem><para> This menu lets you decide how <application>Evolution</application> should look. Some of the features control the appearance of <application>Evolution</application> as a whole, and others the way a particular kind of information appears. </para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term> <guimenu>Actions</guimenu></term> <listitem><para> Holds actions which maybe applied to a message. Normally, if there is only one target for the action — for example, replying to a message — you can find it in the <guimenu>Actions</guimenu> menu. </para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term> <guimenu>Tools</guimenu></term> <listitem><para> Tools for configuring, changing, and setting up preferences go here. For mail, that means things like <guimenuitem>Mail Configuration</guimenuitem> and the <guimenuitem>Virtual Folder Editor</guimenuitem>. For the <interface>Calendar</interface> and the <interface>Contact Manager</interface>, it's color, network, and layout configuration. </para></listitem> </varlistentry> <varlistentry> <term> <guimenu>Help</guimenu></term> <listitem><para> Select among these items to open the <application>Help Browser</application> and read the <application>Evolution</application> manual. </para></listitem> </varlistentry> </variablelist> </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 executive summary. </para> </sect2> </sect1> </chapter>