Evolution is capable of fetching e-mail from multiple mail accounts. The account from which to send e-mail can be selected when composing a message. To edit a current account, select the account in ‘Settings’+‘Mail Accounts’ and click ‘Edit’. To add a new account, click ‘Add’. The configuration assistant described in Section 17.1. “Starting Evolution” opens. To delete an account, select it and click ‘Delete’.

To make an account the default account for sending e-mail, select the desired account then press ‘Default’. To disable fetching e-mail from an account, select the account then click ‘Disable’. A disabled account can still be used as the address for sending, but that account is not checked for incoming e-mail. If necessary, reactivate the account with ‘Enable’.

Use ‘Mail Preferences’ to select or disable the quote highlight color or how long after opening a message is marked as read. Also make settings regarding how images in HTML mail messages are handled.

To compose a new message, click ‘New’+‘Mail Message’. Replying to or forwarding a message opens the same message editor. Next to ‘From’, select from which account to send the message. In the recipient fields, enter an e-mail address or part of a name or address in your address book. If Evolution can match what you enter to something in the address book, a selection list is displayed. Click the desired contact or complete your input if none match. To select directly from the address book, click ‘To’ or ‘CC’.

Evolution can send e-mail as plain text or HTML. To format HTML mail, select ‘Format’ in the toolbar. To send attachments, select ‘Attach’ or ‘Insert’+‘Attachment...’.

To send your message, click ‘Send’. If not ready to send it immediately, make another selection under ‘File’. For example, save the message as a draft or send it later.

Evolution supports e-mail encryption with PGP. It can sign e-mail and check signed e-mail messages. To use these features, generate and manage keys with an external application, such as gpg or KGpg.

To sign an e-mail message before sending it, select ‘Security’+‘PGP sign’. When you click ‘Send’, a dialog prompts for the password of your secret key. Enter the password and exit the dialog with ‘OK’ to send the signed e-mail. To sign other e-mail messages in the course of this session without needing to “unlock” the secret key repeatedly, activate ‘Remember this password for the remainder of this session’.

When you receive signed e-mail from other users, a small padlock icon appears at the end of the message. If you click this symbol, Evolution starts an external program (gpg) to check the signature. If the signature is valid, a green check mark appears next to the padlock symbol. If the signature is invalid, a broken padlock appears.

The encryption and decryption of e-mail is just as easy. After composing the e-mail message, go to ‘Security’+‘PGP encrypt’ and send the e-mail message. When you receive encrypted messages, a dialog opens to ask for the password of your secret key. Enter the passphrase to decrypt the e-mail message.

It is often convenient to sort e-mail messages into a variety of folders. To view your folder tree, select ‘View’+‘Folder Bar’. If accessing mail over IMAP, the IMAP folders are also shown in this folder bar. For POP and most other formats, your folders are stored locally, sorted under ‘Local Folders’. Your ‘Contacts’, ‘Calendar’, and ‘Tasks’ are also treated as folders in this view, but should not be used for storing e-mail.

Several folders are included by default. ‘Inbox’ is where new messages fetched from a server are initially placed. ‘Sent’ is used for saving copies of sent e-mail messages. ‘Outbox’ is temporary storage for e-mail that has not yet been sent. It is useful if working offline or if the outgoing mail server is temporarily unreachable. ‘Drafts’ is used for saving unfinished e-mail messages. The ‘Trash’ folder is intended for temporary storage of deleted items. The folder can be emptied automatically by activating the respective option under ‘Tools’+‘Settings’+‘Mail Preferences’.

New folders can be created under ‘Local Folders’ or as subfolders of existing folders. Create as complex a folder hierarchy as desired. To create a new folder while in the ‘Inbox’ view, select ‘File’+‘Folder’+‘New Folder’. In the following dialog, enter a name for the new folder. Leave the ‘Folder Type’ as ‘Mail’ for a new mail storage folder. Use the mouse to determine the parent folder under which to place the new folder. Exit the dialog with ‘OK’.

To move a message into a folder, select the message to move. Right-click to open the context menu. Select ‘Move to Folder...’ and, in the dialog that opens, the destination folder. Click ‘OK’ to move the message. The message header in the original folder is shown with a line through it, meaning it is marked for deletion in that folder. The message is stored in the new folder. Messages can be copied in a similar manner.

Manually moving a number of messages into different folders can be time-consuming. Filters can be used to automate this procedure.

Evolution offers a number of options for filtering e-mail. Filters can be used to move a message into a specific folder or to delete a message. Messages can also be moved directly to the trash with a filter. There are two options for creating a new filter: creating a filter from scratch or creating a filter based on a message to filter. The latter is extremely useful for filtering messages sent to a mailing list.

17.4.6.1. Setting up a Filter

Select ‘Tools’+‘Filters’. This dialog lists your existing filters, which can be edited or deleted. Click ‘Add’ to create a new filter.

Figure 17.2. Setting up a Filter

Enter a name for the new filter in ‘Rule Name’. Select the criteria to use for the filter. Options include sender, recipients, source account, subject, date, and status. The drop-box showing ‘Contains’ provides a variety of options, such as contains, is, and is not. Select the appropriate condition. Enter the text for which to search. Click ‘Add criterion’ to add more filter criteria. Use ‘Execute actions’ to determine if all or only some of the criteria must be met to apply the filter.

In the lower part of the window, determine the action to take when the filter criteria are met. Messages can, for example, be moved or copied to a folder or assigned a special color. When moving or copying, select the destination folder by clicking. In the folder list that appears, select the folder. Use ‘New’ to create a new folder. Click ‘OK’ when the correct folder is selected. When finished creating the filter, click ‘OK’.

VFolders are a unique feature of Evolution. A VFolder is a virtual folder that displays messages based on search or filter criteria. Rather than moving the messages into a folder, messages shown in a virtual folder remain in their original folder. Actions are applied to the message in the original folder.

VFolders are a useful means of reading new mail in one place after it has been sorted into a number of different folders with filters. For example, a VFolder could be created to search all your folders for unread e-mail.

To create a new virtual folder, select ‘Tools’+‘Virtual Folder Editor...’. In the dialog, click ‘Add’. Like filters, virtual folders can also be created from e-mail messages. Right-click the e-mail message, select ‘Create Rule from Message’, and define the desired criteria.

Enter a ‘Rule Name’. For the new mail example mentioned above, set the criterion to ‘Status’ ‘is not’ ‘Read’. Set the sources as desired. Other VFolder searches can be set similarly. Click ‘OK’ when finished. This returns to the virtual folder list. The order can be changed if desired. Click ‘OK’ to close it.

The new VFolder is in the folder list under ‘VFolders’. You can read, answer, and delete e-mail with the VFolder. However, deleting the message deletes it from the real folder in which it is stored, not just the VFolder.