The folder bar is a more comprehensive way to view the information you've stored with Evolution. It displays all your appointments, address cards, and email in a tree that's a lot like a file tree— it starts small at the top, and branches downwards. On most computers, there will be three folders at the base. First, and probably most important, is the Local folder, which holds all the Evolution data that's stored on your computer. After that come vFolders, or virtual folders, discussed in the section called Getting Really Organized with Virtual Folders in Chapter 2, followed by any IMAP mail folders you might have available to you over your network. Lastly, there are External Directories, LDAP contact directories stored on a network.
A typical Local folder contains the following folders:
Calendar, for appointments and event listings.
Contacts, for address cards.
Inbox, for incoming mail.
Drafts, for messages you started and didn't finish.
Sent, for sent mail.
Trash, which is used to store messages you don't want, but keep around just in case you change your mind.
Outbox, for messages you have written but not yet sent. This will be empty unless you use Evolution while offline.
Navigating without the Folder Bar: You don't need the folder bar or the shortcut bar to move around the main window. You can use Tab to switch from one part of the window to another, and the folder menu on the right side of the window just below the toolbar to move about the folder tree.
To create a new folder, select File->New->Folder. You'll be asked where you want to put it, and what kind of folder it should be. You can choose from three types: Mail, for storing mail, Calendar for storing calendars, and Contacts for storing contacts.
Folders Have Limits: No matter where they exist, calendars must go in calendar folders, mail in mail folders, and contacts in contact folders. Network folders follow the same type restriction, because the network servers are only set up to handle one kind of information. Within your local system, though you can folders inside each other, regardless of type.
Right-clicking will bring up a menu for just about anything in GNOME, and Evolution is no exception. If you right-click on a folder, you'll have a menu with the following options:
View, to view a message.
Something else, for another purpose.
Something else, for another purpose.
Context-Sensitive Help: GNOME 2.0 will support context-sensitive help, which means you can almost always get help on an item by right-clicking it. If you're not sure what something is, or don't know what you can do with it, choosing Help from the right-click menu is a good way to find out.
Any time new information arrives in a folder, that folder label is displayed in bold text.
To delete a folder, right-click it and select Delete from the menu that pops up. To change the order of folders, or put one inside another, use drag-and-drop. To move individual messages, appointments, and address cards between folders, you can do the same thing: drag them where you want them, and they'll go.