# Organizing and Managing your Email

Even if you only get a few email messages a day, you probably want to sort and organize them. When you get a hundred a day and you want to refer to a message you received six weeks ago, you need to sort and organize them. Fortunately, Ximian Evolution has the tools to help you do it.

## Importing Your Old Email and Settings

Evolution allows you to import old email and data so that you don't need to worry about losing your old information.

### Importing Email and Other Data

Ximian Evolution can import the following types of files:

VCard (.vcf, gcrd):

  The addressbook format used by the GNOME, KDE, and many other contact management applications. You should be able to export to VCard format from any address book application.

iCalendar (.ics):

  A format for storing calendar files. iCalendar is used by PalmOS based handhelds, Ximian Evolution, and Microsoft Outlook.

Microsoft Outlook Express 4 (.mbx):

  Email file format used by Microsoft Outlook Express 4. For other versions of Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express, see the workaround described in the note below.

LDAP Data Interchange Format (LDIF):

  A standard data format for address book cards.

MBox (mbox):

  The email box format used by Mozilla, Netscape, Ximian Evolution, Eudora, and many other email clients.

To import your old email:

1. Click File Import.

2. Click Next after reading the Welcome screen.

3. Select Import a single file.

4. Find the file that you wish to import into Evolution.

5. Click Import

### Importing Preferences

Evolution can import all your old mail, contacts, and other information from other applications, making your transition to Evolution easy.

To import your old information:

1. Click File Import.

2. Click Next after reading the Welcome screen.

3. Select Import data and settings from older programs.

4. The left-most column shows the application which your information will be imported from. You then select checkboxes on each component to import different properties of each application.

5. Click Next

6. Click Import

#### Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express Users

Microsoft Outlook, and versions of Outlook Express after version 4, use proprietary formats that Ximian Evolution cannot read or import. For contacts, you may have to email them to yourself and import them that way. For email, there is a simpler workaround:

1. While using Windows, import the files into Mozilla Mail (or another mailer, such as Netscape or Eudora, that uses the standard mbox format).

2. Copy the files to the system or partition you use for Ximian Evolution.

3. Use the Ximian Evolution import tool to import the files. There's more information about why this works, and how, at the Ximian support website.

#### Netscape Users

Before importing mail from Netscape, make sure you select File Compact All Folders. If you don't, Ximian Evolution will import and undelete the messages in your Trash folders.

## Sorting Mail with Column Headers

By default, the message list has columns with the following headings: an envelope icon indicating whether you have read or replied to a message, an exclamation point indicating priority, and the From, Subject, and Date fields. You can change their order and remove them by dragging and dropping them.

To add columns:

1. Right click on the column header

2. Click Add a Column

3. Click and drag a column you want into a space between existing column headers. A red arrow will show you where the column will be placed.

Right-click on one of the column headers to get a list of options:

Sort Ascending:

  Sorts the messages top to bottom.

Sort Descending:

  Sorts the messages bottom to top.

Remove this Column:

  Remove this column from the display. You can also remove columns by dragging the header off the list and letting it drop.

Customize Current View:

  Choose this item to pick a more complex sort order for messages, or to choose which columns of information about your messages you wish to display

### Column Sorting with the Follow Up Feature

One way to make sure you don't forget about a message is with the Follow Up feature. To use it, select one or more messages, and then right-click on one and select Follow Up. A dialog box will open and allow you to set the type of flag and the due date.

The Flag itself is the action you want to remind yourself about. Several are provided for you, such as Call, Forward, and Reply, but you can enter your own note or action if you wish. You may set a deadline date for the flag as well, if you wish.

Once you have added a flag, you can mark it as complete or remove it entirely by right-clicking on the message and selecting Flag Completed or Clear Flag.

When you read a flagged message, its flag status will be displayed right at the top, before the message headers. An overdue message might tell you Overdue: Call by April 07, 2003, 5:00 PM

Flags can help you organize your work in a number of ways. For example, you might add a Flag Status column to your message list and sort that way. Alternately, you could create a vFolder that displays all your flagged messages, and clear the flags when you're done, so the vFolder contains only messages with upcoming deadlines.

## Getting Organized with Folders

Ximian Evolution keeps mail, as well as address cards and calendars, in folders. You start out with a few mail folders, such as Inbox, Outbox, and Drafts, but you can create as many as you like. Create new folders by selecting New and then Folder from the File menu. Ximian Evolution will as you for the name and the type of the folder, and will provide you with a folder tree so you can pick where it goes.

When you click OK, your new folder will appear in the folder view. You can then put messages in it by dragging and dropping them, or by using the Move button in the toolbar. If you want to move several messages at once, click on the ones you want to move while holding down the Ctrl key, or use Shift to select a range of messages. If you create a filter with the filter assistant, you can have mail filed automatically.

### Subfolders in IMAP

The INBOX folder on most IMAP servers cannot contain both subfolders and messages. When you create additional folders on your IMAP mail server, branch them from the root of the IMAP account's folder, tree, not from INBOX. If you create subfolders in your INBOX folder, you will lose the ability to read messages that exist in your INBOX until you move the folders out of the way.

## Searching for Messages

Most mail clients can search through your messages for you, but Ximian Evolution does it faster. You can search through just the message subjects, just the message body, or both body and subject.

To start searching, enter a word or phrase in the text area right below the toolbar, and choose a search type:

Body or subject contains:

  This will search message subjects and the messages themselves for the word or phrase you've entered in the search field.

Body contains:

  This will search only in message text, not the subject lines.

Subject contains:

  This will show you messages where the search text is in the subject line. It will not search in the message body.

Body does not contain:

  This finds every email message that does not have the search text in the message body. It will still show messages that have the search text in the subject line, if it is not also in the body.

Subject does not contain:

  This finds every mail whose subject does not contain the search text.

When you've entered your search phrase, press Enter. Ximian Evolution will show your search results in the message list.

If you think you'll want to return to a search again, you can save it and execute it later. Just click Save Search from the Search menu. Then, you can run that search on any folder by selecting it from the Search menu. You may also want to create a vFolder instead; see for more detail.

When you're done with the search, go back to seeing all your messages by choosing Show All from the Search drop-down box, or enter a blank search.

If you'd like to perform a more complex search, open the advanced search dialog by selecting Advanced... from the Search drop-down menu. Then, create your search criteria (each with the same options you saw in the regular search bar), and decide whether you want to find messages that match all of them, or messages that match even one. Then, click Search to go and find those messages.

You'll see a similar approach to sorting messages when you create filters and vFolders in the next few sections.

## Create Rules to Automatically Organize Mail

Filters work very much like the mail room in a large company. Their purpose is to bundle, sort, and distribute mail to the various folders. In addition, you can have multiple filters performing multiple actions that may effect the same message in several ways. For example, your filters could put copies of one message into multiple folders, or keep a copy and send one to another person as well, and it can do that quickly. Of course, it's also faster and more flexible than an actual person with a pile of envelopes.

### Quick Filter Creation

There is an easy shortcut for fast filter or vFolder creation. Right-click on the message in the message list, and select one of the items under the Create Rule from Message submenu.

### Making New Filters

To create a new filter:

1. Click Tools Filters

2. Press the Add button.

3. Name your filter in the Rule name field. For each filter criterion, you must first select which of the following parts of the message you want the filter to examine:

   - Sender - The sender's address.

   - Recipients - The recipients of the message.

   - Subject - The subject line of the message.

   - Specific Header - The filter can look at any header you want, even obscure or custom ones. Enter the header name in the first text box, and put your search text in the second one.

     #### Repeated Headers

     If a message uses a header more than once, Evolution will pay attention only to the first instance, even if the message defines the header differently the second time. For example, if a message declares the Resent-From: header as "engineering@rupertcorp.com" and then restates it as "marketing@rupertcorp.com," Evolution will filter as though the second declaration had not occurred. To filter on messages that use headers multiple times, use a regular expression.

   - Message Body - Search in the actual text of the message.

   - Expression - For programmers only: match a message according to an expression you write in the Scheme language, used to define filters in Ximian Evolution.

     #### Creating a Mail Filter

     Creating a Mail Filter

     #### What if Multiple Filters Match One Message?

     If you have several filters that match a single message, they will all be applied to the message, in order, unless one of the filters has the action Stop Processing. If you use that action in a filter, the messages that it affects will not be touched by other filters.

     When you first open the filters dialog, you are shown the list of filters sorted in the order in which they will be applied. You can move them up and down in the priority list by clicking the Up and Down buttons.

   - Date sent - Filter messages according to the date on which they were sent: First, choose the conditions you want a message to meet -- before a given time, after it, and so forth. Then, choose the time. The filter will compare the message's time-stamp to the system clock when the filter is run, or to a specific time and date you choose from a calendar. You can even have it look for messages within a range of time relative to the filter -- perhaps you're looking for messages less than two days old.

   - Date Received - This works the same way as the Date Sent option, except that it compares the time you got the message with the dates you specify.

   - Score - Emails have a standard priority range from -3 (least important) to 3 (most important). You can have filters set the priority of messages you receive, and then have other filters applied only to those messages which have a certain priority.

   - Size (kb) - Sorts based on the size of the message in kilobytes.

   - Status - Filters according to the status of a message, such as 'New'.

   - Attachments - Create a filter based on whether or not you have an attachment in the email.

   - Mailing List - Filter based on the mailing list it came from.

     #### How Does Filtering on Mailing Lists Work?

     Filtering on mailing list actually looks for a specific mailing-list header called the `X-BeenThere` header, used to identify mailing lists or other redistributors of mail.

   - Expression - If you know your way around a regex, or regular expression, put your knowledge to use here. This allows you to search for complex patterns of letters, so that you can find, for example, all words that start with a and ends with m, and are between six and fifteen letters long, or all messages that declare a particular header twice. For information about how to use regular expressions, check the manual page for the `grep` command.

   - Source Account - Filter messages according the server you got them from. You can enter a URL or choose one from the drop-down list. This ability is only relevant if you use more than one mail source.

4. Select the criterion for the condition. If you want multiple criteria for this filter, press Add criterion and repeat the previous step.

5. Select the actions for the filter in the Then section. You can select any of the following options.

   - Move to Folder - If you select this item, Ximian Evolution will put the messages into a folder you specify. Click the <click here to select a folder> button to select a folder.

   - Copy to Folder - If you select this item, Ximian Evolution will put the messages into a folder you specify. Click the <click here to select a folder> button to select a folder.

   - Forward to Address - Select this, enter an address, and the addressee will get a copy of the message.

   - Delete - Marks the message for deletion. You can still get the message back, at least until you Expunge your mail yourself.

   - Stop Processing - Select this if you want to tell all other filters to ignore this message, because whatever you've done with it so far is plenty.

   - Assign Color - Select this item, and Ximian Evolution will mark the message with whatever color you please.

   - Assign Score - If you know that all mail with "important" somewhere in the message body line is important, you can give it a high priority score. In a subsequent filter you can then arrange your messages by their priority score.

6. Set Status - If you want to add multiple actions for this filter, press Add action and repeat the previous step.

7. Press OK.

#### When Are Filters Applied?

If you use Ximian Connector to store your mail on an Exchange server, filters are not applied until you open your INBOX folder and select Actions Apply Filters or press CtrlY

#### Using a Filter to Avoid Spam

Spam, also known as unsolicited commercial email (UCE), is the bane of many people's Inboxes, but it doesn't have to be. Using Ximian Evolution filters and an external Spam detection tool like SpamAssassin (http://spamassassin.org/), you can catch the vast majority of junk mail and drop it directly into the trash.

The easiest way to do this is to get your system administrator to install SpamAssassin (or its equivalent) on your mail server. There, it will flag messages it suspects of being Spam with the "X-Spam-Status" header to your mail, which you can then search for in a filter. Because SpamAssassin scores mails based on the likelihood that messages are junk, you can even choose how strict you want it to be. If you don't have a friendly network administrator, never fear: you can install SpamAssassin on your own system, then pipe messages through it before reading them.

If your system administrator or ISP has SpamAssassin, here's how to siphon off the junk mail:

1. Select Tools Filters.

2. Click Add.

3. Set the first part of your search criterion to look in a Specific header.

4. Enter `X-Spam-Flag` as the name of the header.

5. Choose contains at the second drop-down box.

6. Enter `YES` as the content to search for. You're now working with all email that has the word "YES" in the "X-Spam-Status" header.

7. For actions, choose what you'd like to do with the messages. You can delete the messages automatically, but it's more prudent to place them in a "Possible Junk Mail" folder, and check them over just to make sure a genuine message didn't get flagged by accident.

8. Click OK. You're done.

If you don't have SpamAssassin or other junk mail filtering on your mail server, there's still hope, although it's not quite as simple. First, download and install SpamAssassin from http://spamassassin.org You'll need to download the "spamassassin" and "perl-Mail-SpamAssassin" packages, and you can install them with Red Carpet by selecting Install Local Packages from the File menu. Further instructions are at the SpamAssassin web site. Once you have the software installed, do the following:

1. Open a new create a text file with any text editor ( Programs Accessories Text Editor is the most convenient) and paste in the following:

                      spamassassin -e

   This will run the SpamAssassin command and report back 0 if the message is not junk.

2. Save the file as "spam-filter.sh"

3. Mark the file as an executable program: Open your home directory in Nautilus, right-click on spam-filter.sh there, and select Properties. Then, click the "Permissions" tab and check the box in the Execute column and the Owner row. Alternately, open a terminal ( Programs Accessories Terminal ) and enter the command: chmod +x spam-filter.sh.

4. Back in Evolution, create a new filter: Select Tools Filters, then click Add.

5. Select "Pipe Message to Shell Command" as the first portion of the criterion.

6. Enter "/home/username/spam-filter.sh" as the shell command, then select "Does Not Return" and "0" as the remaining two items. Substitute your username for "username" so that Evolution can find the script.

7. For actions, choose what you'd like to do with the messages. You can delete the messages automatically, but it's more prudent to place them in a "Possible Junk Mail" folder, and check them over just to make sure a genuine message didn't get flagged by accident.

8. You're done. Click "OK" to close the filter and "OK" to close the filter editor.

### Editing Filters

To edit a filter:

1. Select Tools Filters

2. Select the filter in the Filter Rules section and press Edit.

3. Change the desired settings.

4. Press OK in the filter editor window.

5. Press OK in the filter manager window.

### Deleting Filters

To delete a filter:

1. Select Tools Filters

2. Select the filter and press Delete.

#### Changing Folder Names and Filters

- Incoming email that your filters don't move goes into the Inbox; outgoing mail that they don't move ends up in the Sent folder. So be sure to change the filters that go with it.

## Getting Really Organized with vFolders

If filters aren't flexible enough for you, or you find yourself performing the same search again and again, consider a vFolder. vFolders, or virtual folders, are an advanced way of viewing your email messages within Ximian Evolution. If you get a lot of mail or often forget where you put messages, vFolders can help you stay on top of things.

A vFolder is really a hybrid of all the other organizational tools: it looks like a folder, it acts like a search, and you set it up like a filter. In other words, while a conventional folder actually contains messages, a vFolder is a view of messages that may be in several different folders. The messages it contains are determined on the fly using a set of criteria you choose in advance.

As messages that meet the vFolder criteria arrive or are deleted, Ximian Evolution will automatically place them in and remove them from the vFolder contents list. When you delete a message, it gets erased from the folder in which it actually exists, as well as any vFolders which display it.

Imagine a business trying to keep track of mail from hundreds of vendors and clients, or a university with overlapping and changing groups of faculty, staff, administrators and students. The more mail you need to organize, the less you can afford the sort of confusion that stems from an organizational system that's not flexible enough. vFolders make for better organization because they can accept overlapping groups in a way that regular folders and filing systems can't.

### The "Unmatched" vFolder

The Unmatched vFolder is the mirror of all your other vFolders: it displays whatever messages are not matched by other vFolders.

If you use remote email storage like IMAP or Microsoft Exchange, and have created vFolders to search through them, the Unmatched vFolder will follow your lead, and search the remote folders as well. If you do not create any vFolders that search in remote mail stores, the Unmatched vFolder will not search in them either.

### Using Folders, Searches, and vFolders

To organize his mailbox, Jim sets up a virtual folder for emails from his friend and co-worker Anna. He has another one for messages that have ximian.com in the address and Ximian Evolution in the subject line, so he can keep a record of what people from work send him about evolution. If Anna sends him a message about anything other than Ximian Evolution, it only shows up in the "Anna" folder. When Anna sends him mail about the user interface for evolution, he can see that message both in the "Anna" vFolder and in the "Internal Evolution Discussion" vFolder.

### Creating vFolders

To create a vFolder:

1. Tools Virtual Folder Editor

2. Click Add

3. Name your vFolder in the Rule name field.

4. Select your search criteria. For each criterion, you must first select which of the following parts of the message you want the search to examine:

   #### Selecting a vFolder Rule

   Creating a vFolder Rule

   - Sender - The sender's address.

   - Recipients - The recipients of the message.

   - Subject - The subject line of the message.

   - Message Body - Search in the actual text of the message.

   - Expression - For programmers only: match a message according to an expression you write in the Scheme language, used to define vFolders in Ximian Evolution.

   - Date sent - Search messages according to the date on which they were sent: First, choose the conditions you want a message to meet -- before a given time, after it, and so forth. Then, choose the time. The vFolder will compare the message's time-stamp to the system clock when the filter is run, or to a specific time and date you choose from a calendar. You can even have it look for messages within a range of time relative to the filter -- perhaps you're looking for messages less than two days old.

   - Date Received - This works the same way as the Date Sent option, except that it compares the time you got the message with the dates you specify.

   - Label - This works the same way as the Score option, although it allows you to select from various labels applied to the message, such as Important, Personal, To Do, Work or Later.

   - Score - Emails have a standard priority range from -3 (least important) to 3 (most important). You can have vFolders set the priority of messages you receive, and then have other vFolders applied only to those messages which have a certain priority.

   - Size (kb) - Sorts based on the size of the message in kilobytes.

   - Status - Searches according to the status of a message, such as 'New'.

   - Attachments - Create a vFolder based on whether or not you have an attachment in the email.

   - Mailing List - Search based on the mailing list it came from.

   - Source Account - Search messages according the server you got them from. You can enter a URL or choose one from the drop-down list. This ability is only relevant if you use more than one mail source.

5. Select the folder sources. You can select:

   - Specific folders only

     If you select specific folders only, you need to specify the source folders in the box below.

   - With all local folders

   - With all active remote folders

   - With all local and active folders

Remote folders are considered active if you are connected to the server; you must be connected to your mail server for the vFolder to include any messages from that source.