20 Jan 2005

In the recent past, we have discussed Evolution as an outstanding choice to use as an email client. It is exceptionally robust, being of commercial-grade caliber. It has many great features and options. To further explore Evolution, I am writing a series of articles on its use and configuration. There is quite a bit to go over, it being a fully-loaded email client.

The first that you run Evolution, you are presented with an account setup wizard. The wizard is great, but you will probably have to enter accounts manually sooner or later. This time around, I'd like to go through the basics of doing just that. Let's go ahead and fire up Evolution.

• Go into the TOOLS menu and select SETTINGS:
  

This will bring up the EVOLUTION SETTINGS box. Down the left side there are different options listed. Select the MAIL ACCOUNTS option. On the right, you will see a list of accounts that are already set up in Evolution:

• Click the ADD button.
  

This will bring up a box that looks very familiar for anyone who's been through the account setup wizard:

• Fill in your name and email address.

You'll fill in your name, email address, an optional reply-to address and organization. If this is the main account you will be using in Evolution, check the box that says, "Make this my default account."

• When finished, click FORWARD. Another screen appears:

• Fill out the account information for receiving email.

You will get the information on this screen from either your system administrator or your ISP. This data consists of the server type, the host from which you will receive your email, your username, whether or not to encrypt the connection, the type of authentication, and whether or not to store your password.

• When you are finished filling out this page, click FORWARD.

This takes you to a new screen:

I like to have Evolution check my email every 15 minutes for some accounts and more often for others, depending on the account. If you receive email from the same account on two or three different machines, you may wish to check the "Leave messages on server" box. If you wish to enable support for all POP3 extensions, leave the respective box unchecked.

• Fill out this page. When you are satisfied with your settings, click FORWARD.

This next page is where you will tell Evolution how you wish to send email:

Most of the time, the server will be an SMTP server. Once again, you will get most of the information you need on this screen from your system administrator or ISP. Put in the server that you use to send email. If you require a secure connection, make the appropriate selection in the "Use Secure Connection (SSL)" drop-down box. Fill in your username. Check the "Remember password" box if you would like Evolution to store your password. This way, you won't have to enter it in every time you send an email.

• When you have all the settings entered, click FORWARD to go to the next screen:

Give the account a name. This is the name that is in the window with the list of accounts. It can be anything, so long as it helps you remember which account it is.

• When you have given the account a name, click FORWARD:

The account setup is now complete:

• Click APPLY to finish and add the account.

The new account now shows up in the MAIL ACCOUNTS list with the name you gave it:

If you wish to change which account is the default, select the account and then click on the DEFAULT button at the right.

Setting up an email account doesn't have to be technical and challenging. Fortunately, in Evolution it is very easy to creat an account. Most of the processes of using Evolution are equally simple.