EVM-Help
With EVM (
Email
Vault for
Mozilla) you have the
opportunity to organize
your e-mails in a database. You can store the mails in one or more
categories. Using categories is not different from using folders, but
it is much more efficient, because the mail is stored in the
database only once. Of course, EVM provides a search for mails in the
database.
You can specify the contents of header fields or categories as
well. While using EVM, you will work with a quite easy-to-use Graphical
User Interface, just as you are used to in the Mozilla Browser.
Help
The Category TabPane
Archiving mails
First of all, mark one or more mails you want to store. Press the
button
"to EVM" in Mozilla's toolbar. If you archive mails for the first time,
EVM will ask you for a folder to store attachments in. CAUTION: Be sure
you really want EVM to store
all attachments in this folder.
There is
NO chance to change this choice later on!
Connect to your Database.
EVM will open a window consisting of different TabPanes. The TabPane
named "Categories" is active. Here you will find two panes and several
buttons. The left pane contains the category tree, which can be
compared to the folder tree in Mozilla. Here you will find all your
categories, where you can store your mails. Of course,
mails can be stored in more than one category. If you start EVM for the
first time,
there will be no Categories in this pane.
The pane on the right will contain all those categories you chose for
your mail(s). If you do not assign any category to a mail, it will be
stored in the default category "hasNoCategory". EVM will ask you to
assign a proper category to the mails in this folder the next time you
start it.
Buttons and Context
Menu Items
New Topcategory:
Use this button to create a new category, that will appear in the
Category Pane as a folder. Later a topcategory might contain as many
subcategories (subfolders) and the tree might be as deeply nested as
you like.
Chose an individual name for your category
New Subcategory:
Mark one category, which shall contain a subcategory. Press
this button to create a subcategory. You can nest your categories as
deep as you like.
Again, choose an individual name for this category.
Rename:
Mark a category. Press this button to chose another name.
Delete:
Mark one or more categories and press this button (or "delete" on your
keybord) to delete this category from your category tree. This command
will not delete the mails you stored in this category, but simply move
them into EVM Trash.
-> or Select:
Mark one or more categories you want your mail(s) to be stored in. By
pressing this button you will choose these categories for your mail(s).
The chosen categories will appear in the pane on the right. You can
also achieve this by using the context menu item "Select Category" in
the CategoryPane. Do not forget to press OK to finally put the mail(s)
in your archive.
<- or Unselect:
If you chose a category for your mail(s) on error, mark the wrong
category and delete it from your category-list using this button. You
can also achieve this by using the context menu item "Unselect
Category" in the right pane.
The Mailview TabPane
Looking up mails in
the database
If you want to look up mails in the database, press the button "EVM"
in Mozilla's toolbar.
EVM will open the EVM-window with the active "Mail View"-TabPane. This
TabPane consists of three Panes (similar to the common view in Mozilla)
plus an additional SearchPane in the lower left corner.
On the upper left you will find the category tree (folder tree) with
the
number of mails in the categories. You can manipulate this tree as you
are used to in Mozilla.
On the upper right is the ThreadPane, containing the mails in chosen
category, just the way Mozilla's mail client presents the mails.
The MessagePane underneath shows the body of a mail marked in the
threadPane. In case your mail has an attachment, the only way
to open it is to double-click on the mail in the threadPane (or use the
"open message"-command in the context menu). This will open a new
message window. Here you can double-click on the attachment to open it.
The SearchPane contains the search tree similar to the category tree.
Each folder in this search tree represents one set of
search-parameters. You can create such a set in the Search TabPane (as
described below) and store it in the database.
In addition you will find a Toolbar at the top of the TabPane.
Toolbar-Buttons
Compose:
This button will open an empty compose window to write e-mails.
Reply:
This button will open a compose window containing the mail you have
answered to. The recipient of this answer is the original sender
of the message in the database. If you marked more than one mail in the
threadPane before clicking this button, this command will open a
compose window for each of these mails.
You can also achieve this by right-mouse-click on a mail in the
threadPane using the "Reply"-command in the context menu.
Reply All:
See Reply-Command. The recipient of this answer is everybody who got
the original message.
You can also achieve this by right-mouse-click on a mail in the
threadPane using the "Reply All"-command in the context menu.
Forward:
This button will open an Compose-Window containing the mail to be
forwarded.
You can also achieve this by right-mouse-click on a mail in the
threadPane using the "Forward"-command in the context menu.
Delete:
This button will delete the marked mail from the database.
You can also achieve ths by right-mouse-click on a mail in the
threadPane using the "Delete"-command in the context menu.
EVMClose:
This button will close the EVM window.
Context Menu items in
the CategoryPane
"topcategory", "subcategory", "delete" and "rename" see
here.
"empty trash" will irreversibly delete all messages from the
EVMTrash-Folder.
Further context menu
items in the ThreadPane
Open Message:
As you are used to in Mozilla, this command will open the marked mail
in
a seperate message-window.
Copy to:
Here, you have got the possibility to copy one or more marked mails to
another folder. It will be listed on the
right of the "copy to"-command, which folders can be selected.
EVM does not support drag&drop!
Move to:
Here, you have got the possibility to move one or more marked mails to
another folder. It will be listed on the
right of the "move to"-command, which folders can be selected. The mail
will be deleted from the
original folder.
EVM does not support drag&drop!
Buttons and Context
Menus in the Searchpane
New:
Choosing this button will open the Search TabPane to create a new
Search. For further information, how to use the Search TabPane
click
here.
Edit:
This button will open the Search TabPane, that includes the
search-parameters, represented by the marked folder in the search tree.
Now you can edit this search in the Seach Tabpane as described
here.
Delete:
This button will delete one or more searches, represented by the marked
folder(s) in
the search tree, including all its subsearches from the database.
A search on the database will be performed, when you click on the
folder representing the search. The results will be presented in the
ThreadPane.
The Address TabPane
The
"Address"-TabPane lists up all e-mail-addresses contained in the
mails stored in the database as an address-realname pair.
Change Realname:
Here you have got the possibility to assign another realname to an
e-mail-address.
Delete Address:
This command irreversibly deletes an e-mail-address from the database.
It can only be used, when the database does not contain any message
including this address.
Delete All Not Needed
Addresses:
This command deletes all e-mail-addresses, that are not contained in
any message in the database. CAUTION: Be sure you really want EVM to
execute this command, because addresses and realnames will be
irreversibly lost.
The Preferences TabPane
To reduce traffic with the database, some mail bodies are stored on the
harddrive temporarily to provide higher speed. In the
"EVMCache"-TabPane you can specify, how many KB you want to allow for
temporary files.
The Search TabPane
In this TabPane you can define different search criteria and store them
as one search in the database. The search will then appear as a folder
in the search tree of the Mailview TabPane. On mouse-click on one of
this folders the search will be performed on the database and the
results will be presented in the ThreadPane of the Mailview TabPanel.
New Searchfield:
This button will add one row of searchparameters right below the
existing row(s). Use this if you want to define a more complex search.
Remove Searchfield:
This button will remove the last row in the list.
Criteria linke type:
If you have more than one row in the list of search parameters, chose
which relationship (AND or OR) you want to define for the search
parameters.
Target-Field:
The Target-Field is the first field in a row of search paramters. Chose
which feature of a mail you want to look for. This can be a Headerfield
of a mail or a category it is stored in.
Relationship-Field:
The Relationship-Field is the second field in the row of search
parameters. Chose which relationship may exist between the chosen
feature of a mail in the database and it's content (e.g. contains,
contains not etc.)
Content-Field:
The Content-Field is the last field in the row of search parameters.
Type in the content of a feature you want to look for.
Save as-Field:
Type in a name for this search you defined. This will be the name of
the folder in the search tree of the Mailview TabPanel.
As Subsearch of-Field:
Here you can define on which level of the search tree in the Mailview
TabPanel this search may appear. If you want it to be a subsearch
(=subfolder) of an existing search, chose a rootfolder. Otherwise the
new search folder will appear on the first level of the search tree.
Save:
click this button when you are sure, that you defined all search
criteria for this search. The search will be stored in the database.
What
is EVM?
EVM uses a database connection to put mails from your Mozilla
folders into a database and provides a user interface to manage all
this data. You, for example, can answer to mails which you stored in
EVM, forward them, etc.
What do I have to install when I want to use EVM?
First of all, you of course need a Mozilla version later than 1.2 plus
the correct version of the SQL-project-XPI (e.g. for Windows and
Mozilla 1.4 you need the file named sql-win32-1.4-static.xpi) and the
XPI of the JSLIB-project (e.g. jslib_current_static.xpi). Please choose
Edit->Preferences->SQL-Support and add a new alias with the
following values: Name: mozdbtest, Type: pgsql, Hostname: localhost,
Port: 5432, Database: moztest. The last step is to load the
evmmodel.sql (it is in the subdirectory \tmp where you'll also find
the content folder) into a PostgreSQL database.
What happens to mails stored in EVM?
The mail information is put into a database, and mails with
attachments are saved onto your harddisc into a directory which you
have to specify when first starting EVM.
Where does EVM store the mails?
They are stored in a database. (Currently, only postgreSQL is
supported. As
database abstraction in mozilla grows, these databases may work as
well.)
What is the benefit of EVM?
Wouldn't it be possible to simply drag an email into several folders?
What is that "category" thing?
Categories are virtual folders. No matter how many categories an email
is assigned to, it is just stored once in the database. This saves
space.
EVM is more than manual assignment of categories. Imagine auto-sorting
email based on your own criteria. Just create a search folder, add
parameters and there you are.
Is EVM a one-way-road?
No. Because of open source and the chosen storage method (database), it
is possible to extract the emails and use them wherever you want.
Can I answer to mails which are in the
EVM?
Yes, sure. Just choose a mail in the EVM windows and click 'reply'. We
will give Mozilla the necessary parameters, and you can answer to mails
as usual.
What is special about saving
draft messages?
Drafts do not have a proper message ID which we need to identify
messages, so sometimes errors occur when trying to save draft messages
to EVM. It is possible but not very useful to do that, so we strongly
recommend to not save any draft messages in EVM.
When I answer to a mail from EVM, is
the new mail stored in EVM automatically, too?
No, as you are using Mozilla components to compose and send the
answering message, the mail will be put into the Sent folder (or as
specified in your personal preferences).
What is EVMCache?
You can alter this value in the preferences of the EVM. When a message
is displayed in a EVM window, we want to reduce the traffic with the
database, and so we store some mail bodies from the database on your
harddrive temporarily to provide higher speed. You can specify how many
KB you want to allow for temporary files. When you switch the EVM
folder or close the EVM window, these files are removed. If Mozilla or
EVM is not closed properly, the files will be deleted next time you use
EVM.
During first launch, EVM asks me
something about a storage path. I thought, the mails are stored in a
database.
EVM only stores the mail information in the DB. We decided to save the
attachment files separated from the DB so that it does not grow too
large. For this, we ask to enter a valid path when you put your very
first mail into EVM. Only if a valid path is entered, the program will
start. You should not change the storage path; if you want to do that,
please close Mozilla, open its own preferences and change the entry
'evm.amailpath' into the one desired. Please do not forget to move all
files named evmMail_
<messageID>.evm
into this new folder! - We strictly recommend to never change the
storage path!
What happens when I delete the
folder which I chose as my storage path for EVM?
Please make sure that this never happens, for in this case all
attachment files are gone! EVM can guarantee every functionality for
the mails you stored into it. Nevertheless, you will face the situation
that your attachments are no longer visible nor accessible.
Where are my attachments?
Please choose a mail in the threadpane and have a look at the mailpane:
the attachment names should be displayed there. You can also open a
message (double-click or via right mouse button) to see all
attachments. If you still do not see your attachments, please read the
two questions above for trouble-shooting...
How do I put mails into EVM?
Just choose one or more than one mail and click onto the
'toEVM'-Button. You will probably have to add your user name in the
database prompt (unless you are still logged in from the time before),
and then you are asked to choose a category (EVM folder) for your
mail(s).
What happens if I close EVM without
choosing a category for the new mail(s)?
The mails without categories are already saved in the EVM, but next
time you open EVM, you will be asked again to choose a category for
all(!) the mails without a category. If you do not want that, just
switch to the mailview and open the 'evmNoCategory' folder, and you can
move or delete files without categories from there. When
'evmNoCategory' is empty, this folder will vanish.
Sometimes, when I save mails to
EVM, the mailview tabpanel opens automatically instead of the category
tabpanel. Why does this happen?
Please check the log-window called 'Archiving Mails' which opened while
saving mails to EVM. You will surely find the entry that the mail(s)
you chose are in EVM already. If you want to store such a mail into
another category, please copy it to this new category using EVM.
What does the folder 'evmNoCategory'
mean?
In this folder, you will find all mails which do not have a proper
category yet. Please delete or move mails from there because it makes
more sense when you put them into proper folders.
How do I create new folders /
categories?
Please use the right mouse button or the buttons in the category pane.
What happens when I delete a folder /
category?
All mails in this category are moved into the folder 'evmTrash'.
Can I delete or rename evmTrash or
evmNoCategory?
No. These folders do not exsist in the database physically and are
essential.
How do I open EVM?
Click onto the 'EVM' button in Mozilla.
Does EVM support drag&drop?
No.
Can I save a mail into more than one
EVM category?
Yes, sure. Feel free to choose as many categories as you like when
saving mails into EVM. If you want to copy or move mails into another
category later, just use the right mouse button.
Why can I not move a mail into certain
folders?
You cannot move a mail into a folder where a copy of it already
exsists. Mails cannot be moved into 'evmNoCategory' either.
Can I change the appearance of the EVM
window?
You can of course choose which information about the mail you want to
have displayed: subject, recipients, recipients with their
mailaddresses etc. You can also change the order of the columns by just
dragging them into the place you want to have them.
How are mails sorted by in EVM? Can
I change this?
As default, you will find the latest messages on top, but you can also
click onto some of the columns (such as subject, recipient, etc) to
sort the mails by that column. But next time you open the folder,
the default sort order will reappear. For more searches etc we would
like you to use the search functionality of EVM.
The built-in search is not
flexible enough.
Maybe. But why not install an ODBC driver for Postgres, start your
favorite DB-RAD-tool (e.g. MS Access) and create your specialized
queries on the fly? Your possiblilities are unlimited. Or simply
enhance EVM. It's open source.
What happens to deleted mails?
Mails from folders different from evmTrash will be moved into evmTrash,
and mails from evmTrash will be deleted permanently.
Is EVM supported?
If you have got a question or want to report a bug, do not hesitate to
contact
evm@s3.uni-essen.de
and we will do our best! :-)