2ca1db97c9
2001-02-08 Aaron Weber <aaron@helixcode.com> * C/usage-contact.sgml: Minor Changes. * C/usage-mail.sgml: Minor Changes. 2001-02-07 Aaron Weber <aaron@helixcode.com> * C/menuref.sgml: Added section, but left blank til UI stabilizes. * C/usage-exec-summary.sgml: A little functionality described. * C/usage-mainwindow.sgml: Added tasks and Exec-summary. * C/usage-calendar.sgml: Describe semi-autonomy of task pad. svn path=/trunk/; revision=8114
454 lines
16 KiB
Plaintext
454 lines
16 KiB
Plaintext
<!--
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<!DOCTYPE Chapter PUBLIC "-//GNOME//DTD DocBook PNG Variant V1.1//EN">
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-->
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<chapter id="usage-mainwindow">
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<title>The Main Window: Evolution Basics</title>
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<para>
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Start <application>Evolution</application> by selecting
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<menuchoice><guimenu>Main Panel Menu</guimenu>
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<guisubmenu>Applications</guisubmenu>
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<guimenuitem>Evolution</guimenuitem></menuchoice> or by typing
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<command>evolution</command> at the command line. The first time
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you run the program, it will create a directory called
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<filename>evolution</filename> in your home directory, where it
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will keep all your <application>Evolution</application>-related
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files.
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</para>
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<para>
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After <application>Evolution</application> starts
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up, you will see the <interface>main window</interface>, with the
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<interface>Inbox</interface> open. It should look a lot like the
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picture in <xref linkend="usage-mainwindow-fig">. On the left of
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the <interface>main window</interface> is the <interface>shortcut
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bar</interface>, with several buttons in it. Just underneath the
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title bar is a series of menus in the <interface>menu
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bar</interface>, and below that, the <interface>tool
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bar</interface> with buttons for different functions. The largest
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part of the <interface>main window</interface> is taken up by the
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actual <interface>Inbox</interface>, where messages are listed
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and displayed. If you're running the program for the first time,
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you'll have just one message: a welcome from Ximian.
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<!-- ==============Figure=================================== -->
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<figure id="usage-mainwindow-fig">
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<title>Evolution Main Window and Inbox</title>
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<screenshot>
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<screeninfo>Evolution Main Window</screeninfo>
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<graphic fileref="fig/mainwindow-pic" format="png" srccredit="Kevin Breit">
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</graphic>
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</screenshot>
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</figure>
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<!-- ==============End of Figure=================================== -->
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</para>
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<para>
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<note>
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<title>The Way Evolution Looks</title>
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<para>
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The appearance of both <application>Evolution</application>
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and <application>GNOME</application> is very easy to
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customize, so your screen might not look like this picture.
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You might decide to have <application>Evolution</application>
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start with the calendar and a folder bar, or with the contact
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manager occupying the entire window.
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</para>
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</note>
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</para>
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<sect1 id="usage-mainwindow-shortcutbar">
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<title>The Shortcut Bar</title>
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<para>
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<application>Evolution</application>'s most important job is
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to give you access to your information and help you use it
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quickly. One way it does that is through the
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<interface>shortcut bar</interface>, the column on the left
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hand side of the main window. The large buttons with names
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like <guilabel>Inbox</guilabel> and
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<guilabel>Contacts</guilabel> are the shortcuts, and you can
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select different groups of shortcuts by clicking the
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rectangular group buttons.
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</para>
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<para>
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The shortcut group buttons are <guibutton>Evolution
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Shortcuts</guibutton> and <guibutton>Internet
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Directories</guibutton>. When you click on them, they'll slide
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up and down to give you access to different sorts of shortcuts.
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When you first start <application>Evolution</application>, you
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are looking at the <guilabel>Evolution Shortcuts</guilabel>
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category. If you click <guilabel>Internet
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Directories</guilabel>, it will slide up and you'll see buttons
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for the <guilabel>Bigfoot</guilabel> and
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<guilabel>Netcenter</guilabel> directories, as well as any
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others you or your system administrator may have added. You can
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add more groups by right-clicking on the background of the
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shortcut bar and selecting <guimenuitem>Menu
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Group</guimenuitem>. Internet directories behave a lot like
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the local contact manager, which is covered in <xref
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linkend="usage-contact">.
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</para>
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<para>
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Take a look at the <guilabel>Evolution Shortcuts</guilabel>
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again. The shortcut buttons in that category are:
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<variablelist>
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<!-- NOT IMPLEMENTED!
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<varlistentry>
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<term> <guibutton>Today:</guibutton></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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This will bring up a summary of any new messages you've
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received, along with the tasks and appointments you have
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lined up for today.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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-->
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<varlistentry>
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<term> <guibutton>Executive Summary:</guibutton></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Start your day here. The Executive summary gives you
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lists of new or important messages, daily appointments
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and urgent tasks. You can customize its appearance and
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content, and use it to access Evolution services.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term> <guibutton>Inbox:</guibutton></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Click the <guibutton>Inbox</guibutton> button to start
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reading your mail. Your Inbox is also where you can
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access Evolution's tools to filter, sort, organize, and
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search your mail.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><guibutton>Calendar:</guibutton></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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The Calendar can store your appointments and To do lists
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for you. Connected to a network, you can use it to keep
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a group of people on schedule and up to date.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><guibutton>Tasks:</guibutton></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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A full-size view of your calendar's task pad.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><guibutton>Contacts:</guibutton></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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The Contact Manager holds your addresses, phone numbers,
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and contact information. Like calendar information,
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contact data can be synchronized with hand-held devices
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and shared over a network.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<!-- NOT IMPLEMENTED YET
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<varlistentry>
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<term> <guibutton>Notes:</guibutton></term>
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<listitem>
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<para> The note pad is your catch-all tool: use it to take
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messages from phone conversations, keep small things
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organized, write <glossterm linkend="haiku">haiku</glossterm>, or whatever
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you like. This feature is not yet implemented, but will be
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soon. See <xref linkend="usage-notes"> for more
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information.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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-->
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</variablelist>
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</para>
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<para>
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If you don't like the shortcut bar, you can use the folder bar
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or the menu bar to navigate the main window. Press
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<keycombo action="simul">
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<keycap>Ctrl</keycap>
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<keycap>O</keycap>
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</keycombo>
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to choose from a list of folders you'd like to visit, or use the
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drop-down folder bar. You can hide and show the folder bar and
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the shortcut bar by selecting those items in the
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<guimenu>View</guimenu> menu.
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</para>
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<tip>
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<title>Shortcut Bar Tricks</title>
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<para>
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To remove a shortcut from the shortcut bar, right-click on it
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and select <guimenuitem>Remove</guimenuitem>. To add one,
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select <menuchoice> <guimenu>File</guimenu>
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<guisubmenu>New</guisubmenu> <guimenuitem>Evolution Bar
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Shortcut</guimenuitem> </menuchoice>.
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</para>
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<para>
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To change the way the shortcut bar looks, right-click in an
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empty space on the shortcut bar. From the menu that appears,
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you can select icon sizes.
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</para>
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</tip>
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</sect1>
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<sect1 id="usage-mainwindow-folderbar">
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<title>The Folder Bar</title>
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<para>
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The <interface>folder bar</interface> is a more comprehensive
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way to view the information you've stored with
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<application>Evolution</application>. It displays all your
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appointments, address cards, and email in a tree that's a lot
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like a <glossterm linkend="filetree">file
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tree</glossterm>— it starts small at the top, and branches
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downwards. On most computers, there will be three or four
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folders at the base. First is the <guilabel>Local</guilabel>
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folder, which holds all the <application>Evolution</application>
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data that's stored on your computer. After that come
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<guilabel>Virtual Folders</guilabel>, or virtual folders, discussed in
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<xref linkend="usage-mail-organize-vfolders">, followed by any
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<glossterm linkend="imap">IMAP</glossterm> mail folders you may
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have available to you over your network. Lastly, there are
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<guilabel>External Directories</guilabel>, <glossterm
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linkend="ldap">LDAP</glossterm> contact directories stored on a
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network.
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</para>
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<para>
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A typical <guilabel>Local</guilabel> folder contains the following folders:
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<itemizedlist>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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<guilabel>Calendar</guilabel>, for appointments and
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event listings.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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<guilabel>Contacts</guilabel>, for address cards.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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<guilabel>Inbox</guilabel>, for incoming mail.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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<guilabel>Drafts</guilabel>, for messages you started and didn't finish.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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<guilabel>Sent</guilabel>, for sent mail.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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<guilabel>Trash</guilabel>, which is used to store
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messages you don't want, but keep around just in case you
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change your mind.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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<guilabel>Outbox</guilabel>, for messages you have written
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but not yet sent. This will be empty unless you use
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<application>Evolution</application> while offline.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</itemizedlist>
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</para>
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<tip id="foldertips">
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<title>Navigating without the Folder Bar</title>
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<para>
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You don't need the folder bar or the shortcut bar to move
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around the main window. You can use <keycap>Tab</keycap> to
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switch from one part of the window to another, and the folder
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menu on the right side of the window just below the toolbar
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to move about the folder tree.
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</para>
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</tip>
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<para>
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To create a new folder, select <menuchoice>
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<guimenu>File</guimenu> <guisubmenu>New</guisubmenu>
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<guimenuitem>Folder</guimenuitem></menuchoice>. You'll be asked where you want to
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put it, and what kind of folder it should be. You can choose
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from three types: <guilabel>Mail</guilabel>, for storing mail,
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<guilabel>Calendar</guilabel> for storing calendars, and
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<guilabel>Contacts</guilabel> for storing contacts.
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</para>
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<note>
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<title>Folders Have Limits</title>
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<para>
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Calendars must go in calendar folders, mail in mail
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folders, and contacts in contact folders.
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</para>
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</note>
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<para>
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Right-clicking will bring up a menu for just about anything
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in GNOME, and <application>Evolution</application> is no
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exception. If you right-click on a folder, you'll have a
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menu with the following options:
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<itemizedlist>
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<listitem><para><guimenuitem>FIXME</guimenuitem>, for another purpose. </para></listitem>
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<listitem><para><guimenuitem>Something else</guimenuitem>, for another purpose. </para></listitem>
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</itemizedlist>.
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</para>
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<tip>
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<title>Context-Sensitive Help</title>
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<para>
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GNOME 2.0 will support context-sensitive help, which means you
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can almost always get help on an item by right-clicking it.
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If you're not sure what something is, or don't know what you
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can do with it, choosing <guimenuitem>Help</guimenuitem> from
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the right-click menu is a good way to find out.
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</para>
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</tip>
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<para>
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Any time new information arrives in a folder, that folder label
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is displayed in bold text.
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</para>
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<para>
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To delete a folder, right-click it and select
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<guimenuitem>Delete</guimenuitem> from the menu that pops up.
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To change the order of folders, or put one inside another, use
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drag-and-drop. To move individual
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messages, appointments, and address cards between folders, you
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can do the same thing: drag them where you want them, and
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they'll go.
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</para>
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</sect1>
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<sect1 id="usage-mainwindow-menubar">
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<title>The Menu Bar</title>
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<para>
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The <interface>menu bar</interface>'s contents will always
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provide all the possible actions for any given view of your
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data. That means that, depending on the context, menu bar items
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will change. If you're looking at your Inbox, most of the menu
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items will relate to mail; some will relate to other components
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of <application>Evolution</application> and some, especially
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those in the <guimenu>File Menu</guimenu> will relate to the
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application as a whole. The contents of the menu bar are
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described in <xref linkend="menuref">.
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</para>
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<para>
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<variablelist>
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<varlistentry>
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<term> <guimenu>File</guimenu> Menu</term>
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<listitem><para>
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Anything even related to a file or to the operations
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of the application generally falls under this
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menu: creating things, saving them to disk,
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printing them, and quitting the program itself.
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</para></listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term> <guimenu>Edit</guimenu> Menu </term>
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<listitem><para>
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The <guimenu>Edit</guimenu> menu holds
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useful tools that help you edit text and move it around.
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</para></listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term> <guimenu>View</guimenu> Menu </term>
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<listitem><para>
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This menu lets you decide how <application>Evolution</application>
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should look. Some of the features control the appearance of
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<application>Evolution</application> as a whole, and others
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the way a particular kind of information appears.
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</para></listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term> <guimenu>Settings</guimenu> Menu </term>
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<listitem><para> Tools for configuring, changing, and
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setting up go here. For mail, that means things like
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<guimenuitem>Mail Configuration</guimenuitem> and the
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<guimenuitem>Virtual Folder Editor</guimenuitem>. For the
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<interface>Calendar</interface> and the <interface>Contact
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Manager</interface>, it's color, network, and layout
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configuration. </para></listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term> <guimenu>Help</guimenu> Menu</term>
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<listitem><para>
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Select among these items to open the
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<application>Help Browser</application>
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and read the <application>Evolution</application> manual.
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</para></listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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</variablelist>
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</para>
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<para>
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Other menus, like <guilabel>Folder</guilabel>,
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<guilabel>Message</guilabel>, and <guilabel>Actions</guilabel>,
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appear only occasionally. <guilabel>Message</guilabel> and
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<guilabel>Folder</guilabel>, for example, have commands that only
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relate to email, so they're only available when you're looking at
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email.
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</para>
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<para>
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Once you've familiarized yourself with the <interface>main
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window</interface> you can start doing things with it. We'll
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start with your email inbox, since you've got a letter waiting
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for you already.
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</para>
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</sect1>
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</chapter>
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