path: root/doc/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 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>
   <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
     actual <interface>Inbox</interface>, where messages are listed
     and displayed.  If you're running the program for the first time,
     you'll have just 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>

   <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.
      </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 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>
       The shortcut group buttons are <guibutton>Evolution
       Shortcuts</guibutton> and <guibutton>Internet
       Directories</guibutton>.  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 may have added. You can
       add more groups by right-clicking on the background of the
       shortcut bar and selecting <guimenuitem>Menu
       Group</guimenuitem>.  Internet directories behave a lot like
       the local contact manager, which is covered in <xref
       linkend="usage-contact">.
       </para>
    <para>
       Take a look at the <guilabel>Evolution Shortcuts</guilabel>
       again.  The shortcut buttons in that category are:

      <variablelist>

<!--  NOT IMPLEMENTED! 
    <varlistentry>
    <term> <guibutton>Today:</guibutton></term>
    <listitem>
      <para>
    This will bring up a summary of any new messages you've
    received, along with the tasks and appointments you have
    lined up for today.
      </para>
      </listitem>
      </varlistentry>
-->


    <varlistentry>
      <term> <guibutton>Executive Summary:</guibutton></term>
      <listitem>
        <para>
          Start your day here.  The Executive summary gives you
              lists 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>
    <para>
      If you don't like the shortcut bar, you can use the folder bar
      or the menu bar to navigate the main window. Press 
            <keycombo action="simul">
                 <keycap>Ctrl</keycap> 
                 <keycap>O</keycap> 
             </keycombo>
      to choose from a list of folders you'd like to visit, or use the
      drop-down folder bar.  You can hide and show the folder bar and
      the shortcut bar by selecting those items in the
      <guimenu>View</guimenu> menu.
    </para>

    <tip>
       <title>Shortcut Bar Tricks</title>
       <para>
         To remove a shortcut from the shortcut bar, right-click on it
         and select <guimenuitem>Remove</guimenuitem>.  To add one,
         select <menuchoice> <guimenu>File</guimenu>
         <guisubmenu>New</guisubmenu> <guimenuitem>Evolution Bar
         Shortcut</guimenuitem> </menuchoice>.
      </para>
       <para>
         To change the way the shortcut bar looks, right-click in an
         empty space on the shortcut bar.  From the menu that appears,
         you can select icon sizes.
       </para>
    </tip>
  </sect1>

  <sect1 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>&mdash; 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>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>Executive Summary</guilabel>, the quick guide to everything.
       </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
        expunged. 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, select
       <menuchoice> <guimenu>File</guimenu>
       <guisubmenu>New</guisubmenu>
       <guimenuitem>Folder</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.  You'll be
       asked where you want to put it, and what kind of folder it
       should be.  You can choose from three types:
       <guilabel>Mail</guilabel>, for storing mail,
       <guilabel>Calendar</guilabel> for storing calendars, and
       <guilabel>Contacts</guilabel> for storing contacts.
    </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.
    </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 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> Menu</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> Menu </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> Menu </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> Menu </term>
          <listitem><para>
            If you've got a direct object in mind, 
            look for the verb here.
          </para></listitem>
        </varlistentry>


       <varlistentry>
          <term> <guimenu>Tools</guimenu> Menu</term>
          <listitem><para>
             Tools for configuring, changing, and
          setting up 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> Menu</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>
  </sect1>
</chapter>