Mail Menus

Evolution Mail has more specialized menus, and more specialized menu items, than any other part of the application.

The Edit Menu

This menu is currently empty.

The Mail View Menu

This menu lets you control the way Evolution displays your information for you.

Show Shortcut Bar

Toggle the shortcut bar on and off with this item.

Show Folder Bar

Toggle the folder bar on and off with this item. See the section called The Folder Bar in Chapter 1 for more information about the folder bar.

Threaded Message List

This item controls whether your message list is displayed by thread or by other criteria. The default order is by date; see the section called Sorting the message list in Chapter 3 for information about the order of the message list.

The Mail Settings Menu

Mail Filters

Edit your mail filters here. See the section called Staying organized: Mail Filters in Evolution in Chapter 3 for more information about mail filtering.

Virtual Folder Editor

Create, edit, and delete Virtual Folders (vFolders) with this tool. To learn about using vFolders with mail, see the section called Getting Really Organized with Virtual Folders in Chapter 3.

Mail Configuration

Tools for setting up all your mail account preferences.

Manage Subscriptions

Tools for newsgroup and IMAP folder subscriptions.

Forget Passwords

This item will cause Evolution to forget what your password is.

The Mail Folder Menu

The items in this menu relate to Evolution mail folders.

You can:

Mark all as Read

Evolution keeps track of which messages you've seen; to mark everything in a folder as read, choose this item. You can mark a single message as read by right-clicking it in the message bar.

Delete All

This is a favorite item of everyone with too much junk-mail: one click, and it deletes every message in the current folder.

Expunge

Empties the trash folder, erasing messages permanently. Once you've done this, they're gone for good.

Configure Folder

Use this item to set the file format in which Evolution stores mail. You can choose from standard UNIX-style mbox files, or the mh format. Converting large mailboxes may take a long time, and it's a good idea to have a backup copy beforehand.

The Mail Message Menu

The items in this menu relate to Evolution mail messages. Most of them require you to have a message selected, and are also available by right-clicking on a message in the message list.

Open in New Window

Displays the selected message in a new window.

Edit Message

Open the selected message in the message composer. You can only edit a message you have written: drafts and messages in the Sent box.

Print Message

Displays the Print Preview window, ready for printing.

Reply to Sender

Opens a message composition window addressed to the author of the message. Covered in detail in the section called Replying to Messages in Chapter 3.

Reply to All

Opens a message composition window addressed to the author of the message and all known recipients. Covered in detail in the section called Replying to Messages in Chapter 3.

Forward

Appends the body of the selected message to a new message. Covered in detail in the section called Forwarding Mail in Chapter 3.

Delete Message

Marks a message for deletion.

Move Message

Choose a folder in which to place this message.

Copy Message

Copy the selected message to another folder.

VFolder on Subject

This item, and the three that follow it, will create vFolders which you may customize further or save as-is. This one will create a vFolder which will display all messages that contain the subject line of the selected message.

VFolder on Sender

Creates a vFolder to hold all messages from the sender of the selected message.

VFolder on Recipients

Creates a VFolder to hold all messages addressed to the recipient of the selected message.

Filter on Subject

This item, and the three that follow it, will create Filters for which you must select actions. You may keep the criteria as they are, or alter them as you wish. This one will create a filter which will affect all messages that contain the subject line of the selected message.

Filter on Sender

Creates a filter which affects all messages from the sender of the selected message.

Filter on Recipients

Creates a filter which will affect all messages addressed to the recipient of the selected message.

The Message Heading Right-Click Menu

At the top of the message list is the message list heading bar; you can click on an individual heading — Subject, for example, to have the message list sorted by that attribute. However, if you right click on a heading, you'll get the following menu:

Sort Ascending

Sort the list, in ascending order, by the attribute you clicked.

Sort Descending

Sort the list in descending order.

Unsort

Undo any sorting by this attribute, and leave the message list sorted by the previous one.

Group by this Field

Instead of sorting the messages, group them in boxes.

Group by Box

If you have your messages grouped in boxes, you can arrange the boxes as well, by choosing this item.

Remove this column

Choose this to remove the column from the message list display.

Field Chooser

Opens a palette of columns. You can drag the columns you want from the palette into position in the message list heading bar; red arrows appear when you get close enough to a possibile position.

Your options are:

  • An Envelope which indicates whether a message has been read (closed for unread, open for read).

  • An Exclamation Point for priority

  • A Penguin which indicates something, although I'm not sure what.

  • A Paper Clip which indicates that there is an attachment to the message.

  • From, for the From field of a message.

  • Subject, for the Subject field of a message.

  • Date, for the date and time a message was sent.

  • Received, for the date and time you got the message.

  • To, for the To field.

  • Size, for a message's size.

Alignment

Use this item to decide upon the alignment of the message attributes within their columns.

Best Fit

Alters the width of the message list columns to maximize the amount of information displayed.

Format Columns...

This item is not yet available.

Customize Views...

Opens a dialog box that lets you choose a complex set of arrangements for your message list, so you can combine sorting and grouping in as many ways as you like.