9.0 Advanced Configuration

Perhaps your mail server has changed names or you have grown tired of a certain layout for your appointments. Whatever the reason, you can change your Evolution™ settings.

You reach the Evolution settings window by clicking Edit > Preferences. In the left part of the settings window is a column, similar to the Evolution switcher, that lets you choose which portion of Evolution to customize. The right part of the window is where you make your actual changes.

Changing Mail Settings

There are six items you can customize.

Mail Accounts: Add or change information about your e-mail accounts, such as the servers you connect to, the way you download mail, and your password authentication mode. This is the most complex item in the list, and is covered in Section 9.1, Working with Mail Accounts.

Autocompletion: Set the contact groups to be used when completing e-mail addresses in the message composer. For more information, see Section 9.2, Autocompletion.

Mail Preferences: These are overall mail reading preferences, such as display settings, notification options, and security. Settings that vary per account are in the Mail Accounts tool, described in Section 9.1, Working with Mail Accounts, but most of the mail settings are in Section 9.4, Mail Preferences.

Composer Preferences: These are settings for the way that you use the mail composer, such as shortcuts, signatures, and spelling. This includes the ability to substitute graphical emoticons for “emoticons” such as : ) that many people use in e-mail. This tool is covered in Section 9.5, Composer Preferences.

Network Preferences: Network preferences interface help you configure your proxy settings. For more information, see

Calendar and Tasks: Use these settings to control how the calendar behaves, including your time zone and the length of your work week. For more information, see Section 9.6, Calendar and Tasks Settings.

Certificates: Use these settings for certificate handling for S/MIME security systems. For more information, see Section 9.8, Certificates.

Previous versions of Evolution included directory servers, folder settings, and Exchange delegation in the settings tool. Directory servers can now be set up as contacts groups in the Contacts tool, you can change folder settings in the folder right-click menu, and Exchange delegation is available in the Message Menu of the Exchange tool.