66de89050f
* C/preface.sgml: Minor fixes. * C/usage-notes.sgml: New File for feature that is yet to come. * C/evolution-guide.sgml: Added entity for notes chapter. * C/usage-mainwindow.sgml: Un-commented references to notes section. * C/apx-authors.sgml: Removed dcm from author list. * C/usage-calendar.sgml: Added to-do list features. svn path=/trunk/; revision=3818
146 lines
6.2 KiB
Plaintext
146 lines
6.2 KiB
Plaintext
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<preface id="introduction">
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<!-- =============Introduction ============================= -->
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<title>Introduction</title>
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<section id="what">
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<title> What is Evolution, and What Can It Do for Me?</title>
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<para>
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The idea of evolution as a process of improvement and
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development is a strong influence on the developers at Helix
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Code. We named our <glossterm>groupware</glossterm> suite
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"Evolution" because we knew that it would be able to survive
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in the wilderness of the software marketplace for one reason:
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it's better.
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</para>
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<para>
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<application>Evolution</application> is a suite of groupware
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applications within the GNOME desktop environment that you can
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use to send, receive, and organize email, manage address and
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other contact information, and maintain a calendar. It
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enables you to do those things on one or several computers,
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connected directly or over a network, for one person or for
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large groups. <application>Evolution</application> can handle
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almost all your communications tasks with the power and
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flexibility of the GNOME desktop environment.
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</para>
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<para>
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We built <application>Evolution</application> with three groups of
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people in mind: everyday users, system administrators, and
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developers.
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<itemizedlist>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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For <emphasis>everyday users</emphasis>, we made
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<application>Evolution</application> easy to use without
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sacrificing power. We made the interface familiar and
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intuitive, but also allowed users to customize it to
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their liking. We made the setup and configuration as
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easy as possible. For any confusion, we wrote a
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comprehensive manual and help system.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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For <emphasis>administrators</emphasis>, we made sure
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<application>Evolution</application> met and and
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exceeded the standards set by currently available
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groupware products, and we developed support for most
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major network protocols so that it can integrate
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seamlessly with existing hardware and network
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environments. All of our efforts have made
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<application>Evolution</application> both easy to use
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and easy to support.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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For <emphasis>developers</emphasis>, we built in
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support for open standards and protocols to turn
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<application>Evolution</application> into an advanced
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development platform. From the simplest scripting to
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the most complex network and component programming,
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<application>Evolution</application> offers developers
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the ideal environment for cutting-edge application
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development.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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For all three groups, we did our best to ensure the
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safety of data.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</itemizedlist>
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</para>
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<para>
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In action, <application>Evolution</application> makes most
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daily tasks faster, because we built it to work with you
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instead of against you. For example, it takes only one or two
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clicks to enter an appointment or an address card sent to you
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by email, or to send email to a contact or appointment.
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<application>Evolution</application> makes displays faster and
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more efficient, so searches are faster and memory usage is
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lower. People who get lots of mail will appreciate
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advanced features like <link
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linkend="usage-mail-organize-vFolders">vFolders</link>, which
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let you save searches as though they were ordinary mail
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folders.
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</para>
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</section>
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<section id="aboutbook">
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<title>About This Book</title>
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<!-- ************** FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH FOR DRAFT ONLY ************* -->
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<para>
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This version of the <application>Evolution</application>
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User's Guide is a <emphasis>draft</emphasis>. It is missing
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huge chunks of information, and many of the features it
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describes are unimplemented. All the content is subject to
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change, especially if you help. Please send comments on the
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guide to <email>aaron@helixcode.com</email>. Items that are
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known to need action are indicated as such, often with
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notation like (INSERT CONTENT HERE). If you would like to
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work on the guide please contact me or see the GNOME
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Documentation project <ulink
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url="http://www.gnome.org/gdp">web site</ulink>. This
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paragraph will be removed in later versions of the manual.
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</para>
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<!-- ************* END DRAFT ONLY PARAGRAPH ************** -->
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<para>
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This book is divided into two sections. The first section is
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a <link linkend="usage">guided tour</link>— it will
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explain how to use <application>Evolution</application>. If
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you are new to <application>Evolution</application> or to
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groupware in general, this is the section for you. The second
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section, covering <link linkend="config">configuration</link>,
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is targeted at advanced users and administrators. If you are
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a network administrator, you may find yourself referring to
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this section frequently.
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</para>
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<formalpara>
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<title>Typographical conventions</title>
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<para>
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Some kinds of words are marked off with special typography.
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It's listed below:
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<simplelist>
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<member><application>Applications</application></member>
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<member><command>Commands</command> typed at the command line</member>
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<member><guilabel>Labels</guilabel> for menu items and buttons</member>
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<member><userinput>Anything you type in</userinput></member>
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<member><computeroutput>Text output from a computer</computeroutput></member>
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</simplelist>
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</para>
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</formalpara>
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</section>
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</preface>
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