SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 SP4

Chapter 4. Evolution: E-Mail and Calendaring¶

Contents

4.1. Starting Evolution for the First Time
4.2. Using Evolution: An Overview

Evolution makes the tasks of storing, organizing, and retrieving your personal information easy, so you can work and communicate more effectively with others. It is a highly evolved groupware program, and represents part of the Internet-connected desktop.

Evolution can help you work in a group by handling e-mail, address, and other contact information, and one or more calendars. It can do so on one or several computers, connected directly or over a network, for one person or for large groups.

With Evolution, you can accomplish your most common daily tasks quickly. For example, it takes only one or two clicks to enter appointment or contact information sent to you by e-mail, or to send e-mail to a contact or appointment. People who get lots of e-mail will appreciate advanced features like search folders, which let you save searches as though they were ordinary e-mail folders.

This chapter introduces you to Evolution and helps you get started using it. For complete information, refer to the Evolution documentation.

4.1. Starting Evolution for the First Time¶

Start the Evolution client by clicking Computer+Evolution, or by typing evolution in a terminal window.

4.1.1. Using the Setup Assistant¶

The first time you run Evolution, it creates a directory called .evolution in your home directory, where its local data is stored. Then, it opens a Setup Assistant to help you set up e-mail accounts and import data from other applications.

Using the Setup Assistant takes just a few minutes and helps you to provide the information Evolution needs to get started.

Later on, if you want to change this account, or if you want to create a new one, click Edit+Preferences, then click Mail Accounts. Select the account you want to change, then click Edit. Alternately, add a new account by clicking Add.

4.1.1.1. Defining Your Identity¶

The Identity window is the first step in the assistant.

Here, you enter some basic personal information. You can define multiple identities later by clicking Edit+Preferences, then clicking Mail Accounts.

When the First-Run Assistant starts, the Welcome page is displayed. Click Forward to proceed to the Identity window.

Type your full name and e-mail address in the corresponding fields.
If you want to use the new account as your default one, check Make this my default account.
If you want replies to your e-mails sent to a different address, set a reply to address in the Reply-To field.
Optionally, in the Organization field you can set the company where you work, or the organization you represent when you send e-mail.
Click Forward.

4.1.1.2. Receiving Mail¶

The Receiving E-mail option lets you determine where you get your e-mail from.

You need to specify the type of server you want to receive mail with. If you are unsure about the type of server to choose, ask your system administrator or ISP.

Select a server type in the Server Type list.
The following represents a list of server types that are available:
Novell GroupWise
Select this option if you connect to Novell GroupWise®. Novell GroupWise keeps e-mail, calendar, and contact information on the server.
Microsoft Exchange
Available only if you have installed the Connector for Microsoft* Exchange (package evolution-exchange). It allows you to connect to a Microsoft Exchange 2000 or 2003 server, which stores e-mail, calendar, and contact information on the server.
IMAP
Keeps the e-mail on your server so you can access your e-mail from multiple systems.
POP
Downloads your e-mail to your hard disk for permanent storage, freeing up space on the e-mail server.
USENET News
Connects to the news server and downloads a list of available news digests.
Local Delivery
Choose this option if you want to move e-mail from the spool (the location where mail waits for delivery) and store it in your home directory. You need to provide the path to the mail spool you want to use. If you want to leave e-mail in your system's spool files, choose the Standard Unix Mbox Spool option instead.
MH Format Mail Directories
If you download your e-mail using mh or another MH-style program, you should use this option. You need to provide the path to the mail directory you want to use.
Maildir Format Mail Directories
If you download your e-mail using Qmail or another maildir-style program, you should use this option. You need to provide the path to the mail directory you want to use.
Standard Unix Mbox Spool or Directory
If you want to read and store e-mail in the mail spool on your local system, choose this option. You need to provide the path to the mail spool you want to use.
None
Select this if you do not plan to check e-mail with this account. If you select this, there are no configuration options.

4.1.1.2.1. Remote Configuration Options¶

If you selected Novell GroupWise, IMAP, POP, or USENET News as your server, you need to specify the following additional information.

Type the hostname of your e-mail server in the Server field. If you do not know the hostname, contact your administrator.
Type your username for the account in the Username field.
In the Security part of the dialog, select whether to use a secure (TLS or SSL) connection.
If your server supports secure connections, you should enable this security option. If you are unsure if your server supports a secure connection, contact your system administrator.
Select your authentication type in the Authentication list or click Check for Supported Types to have Evolution check for supported types. Some servers do not announce the authentication mechanisms they support, so clicking this button is not a guarantee that available mechanisms actually work.
If you are unsure what authentication type you need, contact your system administrator.
If you want Evolution to remember your password, check Remeber Password.
Click Forward.

If you chose Microsoft Exchange, you need to provide the following information:

Provide your username in the Username field and your Outlook Web Access (OWA) URL in the OWA URL field. OWA URL and user names should be entered as in OWA. If the mail box path is different from the username, the OWA path should include the mail box path also. You should see something similar to this: http://server name/exchange/mail box path.
Click Forward.

When you have finished, continue with Section 4.1.1.3, “Receiving Mail Options”.

4.1.1.2.2. Local Configuration Options¶

If you selected Local Delivery, MH-Format Mail Directories, Maildir-Format Mail Directories, or Standard Unix Mbox Spool or Directory, you must specify the path to the local files in the path field. Continue with Section 4.1.1.3, “Receiving Mail Options”.

4.1.1.3. Receiving Mail Options¶

After you have selected a mail delivery mechanism, you can set some preferences for its behavior.

4.1.1.3.1. Novell GroupWise Receiving Options¶

If you select Novell GroupWise as your receiving server type, you need to specify the following options:

Select whether you want Evolution to automatically check for new mail. If you select this option, you need to specify how often Evolution should check for new messages.
Select whether you want to check for new messages in all folders.
Select whether you want to apply filters to new messages in the Inbox on the server.
Select whether you want to check new messages for spam content.
Select whether you want to only check for spam messages in the Inbox folder.
Select whether you want to automatically synchronize remote mail locally.
Type your Post Office Agent SOAP port in the Post Office Agent SOAP Port field. If you are unsure what your Post Office Agent SOAP port is, contact your system administrator.
Click Forward.

When you have finished, continue with Section 4.1.1.4, “Sending Mail”.

4.1.1.3.2. Microsoft Exchange Receiving Options¶

If you select Microsoft Exchange as your receiving server type, you need to specify the following options.

Choose whether you want Evolution to automatically check for new mail. If you select this option, you need to specify how often Evolution should check for new messages.
Specify the Global Catalog server name in the Global Catalog Server Name field. The Global Catalog Server contains the user information for users. If you are unsure what your Global Catalog server name is, contact your system administrator.
Select whether you want to limit the number of Global Address Lists (GAL).
The GAL contains a list of all e-mail addresses. If you select this option, you need to specify the maximum number of responses.
Choose whether you want the password expire warning period.
If you select this option, you need to specify how often Evolution should send the password expire message.
Select whether you want to automatically synchronize remote mail locally.
Select whether you want to apply filters to new messages in the Inbox on the server.
Select whether you want to check new messages for spam content.
Select whether you want to only check for spam messages in the Inbox folder.
Click Forward.

When you have finished, continue with Section 4.1.1.4, “Sending Mail”.

4.1.1.3.3. IMAP Receiving Options¶

If you select IMAP as your receiving server type, you need to specify the following options:

Evolution is able to automatically check for new mail. If you select this option, you need to specify how often Evolution should check for new messages.
Choose whether you want Evolution to use custom commands to connect to Evolution.
If you select this option, specify the custom command you want Evolution to use.
Select whether you want Evolution to show only subscribed folders.
Subscribed folders are folders that you have chosen to receive mail from by subscribing to them.
If you want Evolution to override server-supplied folder namespaces, choose the respective option.
By choosing this option you can rename the folders that the server provides. If you select this option, you need to specify the namespace to use.
Specify whether you want to apply filters to new messages in the Inbox.
Decide if you want to check new messages for spam content.
Choose whether you want to check for spam messages in the Inbox folder.
Specify whether you want to automatically synchronize remote mail locally.
Click Forward.

When you have finished, continue with Section 4.1.1.4, “Sending Mail”.

4.1.1.3.4. POP Receiving Options¶

If you select POP as your receiving server type, you need to specify the following options:

Choose whether you want Evolution to automatically check for new mail. If you select this option, you need to specify how often Evolution should check for new messages.
Specify whether you want to leave messages on the server.
Decide whether you want to disable support for all POP3 extensions (support for POP3).
Click Forward.

When you have finished, continue with Section 4.1.1.4, “Sending Mail”.

4.1.1.3.5. USENET News Receiving Options¶

If you select USENET News as your receiving server type, you need to specify the following options:

Select whether you want Evolution to automatically check for new mail. If you select this option, you need to specify how often Evolution should check for new messages.
Choose whether you want to show folders in short notation.
For example, comp.os.linux would appear as c.o.linux.
Select if you want to show relative folder names in the subscription dialog box.
If you select to show relative folder names in the subscription page, only the name of the folder is displayed. For example the folder evolution.mail would appear as evolution.
Click Forward.

When you have finished, continue with Section 4.1.1.4, “Sending Mail”.

4.1.1.3.6. Local Delivery Receiving Options¶

If you select Local Delivery as your receiving server type, you need to specify the following options:

Select whether you want Evolution to automatically check for new mail. If you select this option, you need to specify how often Evolution should check for new messages.
Click Forward.

When you have finished, continue with Section 4.1.1.4, “Sending Mail”.

4.1.1.3.7. MH-Format Mail Directories Receiving Options¶

If you select MH-Format Mail Directories as your receiving server type, you need to specify the following options:

Select whether you want Evolution to automatically check for new mail. If you select this option, you need to specify how often Evolution should check for new messages.
Choose if you want to user the .folders summary file.
Click Forward.

When you have finished, continue with Section 4.1.1.4, “Sending Mail”.

4.1.1.3.8. Maildir-Format Mail Directories Receiving Options¶

If you select Maildir-Format Mail Directories as your receiving server type, you need to specify the following options:

Select whether you want Evolution to automatically check for new mail. If you select this option, you need to specify how often Evolution should check for new messages.
Choose if you want to apply filters to new messages in the Inbox.
Click Forward.

When you have finished, continue with Section 4.1.1.4, “Sending Mail”.

4.1.1.3.9. Standard Unix Mbox Spool or Directory Receiving Options¶

If you select Standard Unix Mbox Spool or Directory as your receiving server type, you need to specify the following options:

Select if you want Evolution to automatically check for new mail. If you select this option, you need to specify how often Evolution should check for new messages.
Specify whether you want to apply filters to new messages in the Inbox.
Choose whether you want to store status headers in Elm, Pine, and Mutt formats.
Click Forward.

When you have finished, continue with Section 4.1.1.4, “Sending Mail”Section 4.1.1.4, “Sending Mail”.

4.1.1.4. Sending Mail¶

Now that you have entered information about how you plan to get mail, you need to determine how you want to send it.

Select a server type from the Server Type list.
The following server types are available:
Sendmail
Uses the Sendmail program to send mail from your system. Sendmail is more flexible, but its configuration is not easy. Please, select this option only if you know how to set up a Sendmail service.
SMTP
Sends mail using an outbound mail server. This is the most common choice for sending mail. If you select SMTP, there are additional configuration options.

4.1.1.4.1. SMTP Configuration¶

Type the address of the SMTP server in the Server field. If you are unsure what your SMTP server address is, contact your system administrator.
In the Security part of the dialog, select if you use a secure connection (TSL or SSL).
If the SMTP server requires authentication, check Server requires authentication. If you selected that your server requires authentication, you also need to provide the following information:
1. Select your authentication type in the Authentication list.
  or
  Click Check for Supported Types to have Evolution check for supported types. Some servers do not announce the authentication mechanisms they support, so clicking this button is not a guarantee that available mechanisms actually work.
2. Type your username in the Username field.
3. Select if you want Evolution to remember your password.
Click Forward.

Continue with Section 4.1.1.5, “Account Management”.

4.1.1.5. Account Management¶

Now that you have finished the e-mail configuration process you need to give the account a name. The name can be any name you prefer. Type your account name on the Name field, then click Forward.

Continue with Section 4.1.1.6, “Time Zone”.

4.1.1.6. Time Zone¶

In this step, you need to select your time zone either by clicking your location on the map or selecting from the time zone drop-down list.

When you have finished, click Forward, then click Apply. Evolution opens with your new account created.

If you want to import e-mail from another e-mail client, continue with Section 4.1.1.7, “Importing Mail (Optional)”. If not, skip to Section 4.2, “Using Evolution: An Overview”.

4.1.1.7. Importing Mail (Optional)¶

If Evolution finds e-mail or address files from another application, it offers to import them.

Microsoft Outlook* and versions of Outlook Express after version 4, use proprietary formats that Evolution cannot read or import. To import information, you might want to use the Export tool under Windows*.

Before importing e-mail from Netscape*, make sure you have selected File+Compact All Folders. If you do not, Evolution will import and undelete the messages in your Trash folders.


Evolution uses standard file types for e-mail and calendar information, so you can copy those files from your `~/.evolution` directory. The file formats used are `mbox` for e-mail and `iCal` for calendar information. Contact files are stored in a database, but can be saved as a standard vCard*. To export contact data, open your contacts tool and select the contacts you want to export (press Ctrl+A to select them all). Click File+Save as VCard.

Evolution uses standard file types for e-mail and calendar information, so you can copy those files from your ~/.evolution directory. The file formats used are mbox for e-mail and iCal for calendar information.

Contact files are stored in a database, but can be saved as a standard vCard*. To export contact data, open your contacts tool and select the contacts you want to export (press Ctrl+A to select them all). Click File+Save as VCard.

4.2. Using Evolution: An Overview¶

Now that the first-run configuration has finished, you are ready to begin using Evolution. Here is a quick explanation of what is happening in your main Evolution window.

Figure 4.1. Evolution Window¶

Menu Bar: The menu bar gives you access to nearly all Evolution features.
Folder List: The folder list gives you a list of the available folders for each account. To see the contents of a folder, click the folder name and the contents are displayed in the e-mail list.
Toolbar: The toolbar gives you fast and easy access to the frequently used features in each component.
Search Tool: The search tool lets you search your e-mail, contacts, calendar, and tasks to easily find what you are looking for.
Message List: The message list displays a list of e-mail that you have received. To view an e-mail in the preview pane, click the e-mail in the e-mail list.
Shortcut Buttons: The shortcut bar lets you switch between folders and between Evolution tools. At the bottom of the shortcut bar there are buttons that let you switch tools, and above that is a list of all the available folders for the current tool. If you have the Evolution Connector for Microsoft Exchange installed, you have an Exchange button in addition to buttons for the other tools.
Status Bar: The status bar periodically displays a message, or tells you the progress of a task. This most often happens when you’re checking or sending e-mail. These progress queues are shown in the previous figure. The Online/Offline indicator is here, too, in the lower left of the window.
Preview Pane: The preview pane displays the contents of the e-mail that is selected in the e-mail list.

4.2.1. The Menu Bar¶

The menu bar's contents always provide all the possible actions for any given view of your data. If you are looking at your Inbox, most of the menu items relate to e-mail. Some content relates to other components of Evolution and some, especially those in the File menu, relates to the application as a whole.

File: Anything related to a file or to the operations of the application usually falls under this menu, such as creating things, saving them to disk, printing them, and quitting the program itself.
Edit: Holds useful tools that help you edit text and move it around. Lets you access the settings and configuration options in the Edit menu.
View: Lets you decide how Evolution should look. Some of the features control the appearance of Evolution as a whole, and others the way a particular kind of information appears.
Folder: Holds actions that can be performed on folders. You can find things like copy, rename, delete, and so on.
Message: Holds actions that can be applied to a message. If there is only one target for the action, such as replying to a message, you can normally find it in the Message menu.
Search: Lets you search for messages, or for phrases within a message. You can also see previous searches you have made. In addition to the Search menu, there is a text entry box in the toolbar that you can use to search for messages. You can also create a search folder from a search.
Help: Opens the Evolution Help files.

4.2.2. The Shortcut Bar¶

Evolution's most important job is to give you access to your mails, calendar, tasks and contact information and help you use it quickly. One way it does that is through the shortcut bar, which is the column on the left side of the main window. The buttons, such as Mail and Contacts, are the shortcuts. Above them is a list of folders for the current Evolution tool.

The folder list organizes your e-mail, calendars, contact lists, and task lists in a tree, similar to a file tree. Most people find one to four folders at the base of the tree, depending on the tool and their system configuration. Each Evolution tool has at least one, called On This Computer, for local information. For example, the folder list for the e-mail tool shows any remote e-mail storage you have set up, plus local folders and search folders.

If you get large amounts of e-mail, you might want more folders than just your Inbox. You can create multiple calendar, task, or contacts folders.

To create a new folder:

Click Folder+New.
Type the name of the folder in the Folder Name field.
Select the location of the new folder.
Click OK.

4.2.2.1. Folder Management¶

Right-click a folder or subfolder to display a menu with the following options:

Copy: Copies the folder to a different location. When you select this item, Evolution offers a choice of locations to copy the folder to.
Move: Moves the folder to another location.
Mark Messages As Read: Marks all the messages in the folder as read.
New Folder: Creates another folder in the same location.
Delete: Deletes the folder and all its contents.
Rename: Lets you change the name of the folder.
Disable: Disables the account.
Properties: Provides information about the number of total and unread messages in a folder. If you want to copy a remote folder to your local system for offline operation, check Index message body data.

You can also rearrange folders and messages by dragging and dropping them.

If an e-mail folder contains unread messages, the folder label is displayed in bold text, along with the number of unread messages in the folder.

4.2.3. E-Mail¶

Evolution e-mail is like other e-mail programs in several ways:

It can send and receive e-mail in HTML or as plain text, and makes it easy to send and receive multiple file attachments.
It supports multiple e-mail sources, including IMAP, POP3, and local mbox or mh spools and files created by other e-mail programs.
It can sort and organize your e-mail in a wide variety of ways with folders, searches, and filters.
It lets you guard your privacy with encryption.

However, Evolution has some important differences from other e-mail programs. First, it is built to handle very large amounts of e-mail. The spam e-mail, message filtering and searching functions were built for speed and efficiency. There's also the search folder, an advanced organizational feature not found in some e-mail clients. If you get a lot of e-mail, or if you keep every message you get in case you need to refer to it later, you'll find this feature especially useful. Here's a quick explanation of what’s happening in your main Evolution e-mail window.

The Evolution e-mail window has two main parts, the message list and the preview pane. The message list displays all the e-mails that you have. This includes all your read and unread messages, and e-mail that is flagged to be deleted. In the preview pane, the contents of the e-mail selected from the list is displayed.

If you find the preview pane too small, you can resize the pane, enlarge the whole window, or double-click the message in the message list to have it open in a new window. To change the size of a pane, drag the divider between the two panes.

As with folders, you can right-click messages in the message list and get a menu of possible actions, including moving or deleting them, creating filters or search folders based on them, and marking them as spam mail.

Most of the e-mail-related actions you want to perform are listed in the Actions menu in the menu bar. The most frequently used ones, like Reply and Forward, also appear as buttons in the toolbar. Most of them are also located in the right-click menu and as keyboard shortcuts.

4.2.4. The Calendar¶

To begin using the calendar, click Calendar in the shortcut bar. By default, the calendar shows today's schedule with meetings, appointments and events. Tasks are shown in the task list on the right. You can choose a different view (week, work week, month) by clicking at appropriate icon in the toolbar.

To display a particular date in the main window, select that date in the small month calendar pane in the left. You can also display several days or weeks by clicking and dragging over them.

To display next or previous months in the month calendar pane, left-click the arrows in the pane header. To display any other month, right click the header and choose a year and a month from the menu.

To set a new appointment, task, meeting or event, right click in the main calendar window and choose an appropriate item from the menu and enter appropriate information in the dialog that opens.

4.2.5. The Contacts Tool¶

The Evolution contacts tool can handle all of the functions of an address book or phone book. However, it is easier to update Evolution than it is to change an actual paper book, in part because Evolution can synchronize with Palm OS* devices and use LDAP directories on a network.

Another advantage of the Evolution contacts tool is its integration with the rest of the application. For example, you can right-click on an e-mail address in Evolution mail to instantly create a contact entry.

To use the contacts tool, click Contacts in the shortcut bar. By default, the display shows all your contacts in alphabetical order, in a minicard view. You can select other views from the View menu, and adjust the width of the columns by clicking and dragging the gray column dividers.

The largest section of the contacts display shows a list of individual contacts. You can also search the contacts in the same way that you search e-mail folders, using the search tool on the right side of the toolbar.