4.2 Sorting the Message List
Evolution helps you work by letting you sort your e-mail. To sort by sender, subject, or date, click the bars with those labels at the top of the message list. The direction of the arrow next to the label indicates the direction of the sort. Click again, to sort them in reverse order. For example, click Date to sort messages by date from oldest to newest. Click again, and Evolution sorts the list from newest to oldest. You can also right-click the message header bars to get a set of sorting options, and to add to or remove columns from the message list.
To look at the complete headers for a message, click View > Message Display > Show Full Headers. To see all message data, click View > Message Display > Show E-Mail Source.
4.2.1 Sorting Mail In E-mail Threads
You can also choose a threaded message view. Click View > Threaded Message List to turn the threaded view on or off. You can also group the messages as message threads by enabling the option in the Display tab of Mail Preferences. For more information, see Section 9.4.1, General Mail Settings. When you select this option, Evolution groups the replies to a message with the original, so you can follow the thread of a conversation from one message to the next.
In a thread of conversation view, each new message is stacked below of the ones that arrived before it, so that the newest message is always the one you see first. Whenever a new message arrives to an old thread as a reply, you will see it below the parent message. You always see the thread based on the date of the recent message received. The threads are sorted by the date of most recent message in the threads.
HINT:There is a gconf key to toggle between the collapsed or expanded state of mail thread. By default, it is collapsed and you can change this at /apps/evolution/mail/display/thread_expand. If the value is set to false, expanded state is remembered. When you restart Evolution, all the threads are arranged to this state. This is a highly advanced option only for the advanced users.
4.2.2 Sorting Mail with Column Headers
The message list normally has columns to indicate whether a message has been read, whether it has attachments, how important it is, and the sender, date, and subject. You can change the column order, or add and remove columns by dragging and dropping them.
4.2.3 Sorting Mail With Column Headers
In addition to it, Evolution enables you to sort your messages by using Sort-by list.You can use any of the criteria given in the Sort-by list such as sender, location, to, from, size, and so forth to perform sorting. It returns the sorted email list that matches the criteria you have selected.
To sort messages, perform the following procedure:
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Right click message header bar.
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Click Sort by to get a list of options.
Sort by: Sorts the message by different criteria as listed below:
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Recipients
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Sender
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Location
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Sender
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Due By
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Follow Up Flag
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Flag Status
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Size
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To
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Received
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Date
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Subject
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From
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Attachment
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Score
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Flagged
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Status
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Custom
NOTE:Clicking each sort criteria cycles take you through three possibilities. Sort by criteria in ascending or descending order or unsort the message. When you click any of the sort criteria reiteratively, Evolution sort the messages in a sequential order - ascending, descending and unsort. For example, when you click Recepients for the first time, Evolution sort the messages by recepients in ascending order and for the second time, sort in the reverse order. For the next click, messages will be displayed unsorted.
Sort Ascending: Sorts the messages top to bottom and returns you the sorted e-mail list in the order of oldest to the latest.
Sort Descending: Sort descending revers the order and returns you the sorted e-mail list in the order of newest to oldest.
Unsort: Unsort removes sorting from this column, reverting to the order of messages as they were added to the folder.
Removing a Column: Remove this column from the display. You can also remove columns by dragging the header off the list and letting it drop.
Adding a Column: When you select this item, a dialog box appears, listing the possible columns. Drag the column you want into a space between existing column headers. A red arrow shows where the column will be placed.
Best Fit: Automatically adjusts the widths of the columns for the most efficient use of space.
Customizing the 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 want to display.
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Select the search criteria.
You can view the messages in the desired order in the message list.
4.2.4 Using the Follow up Feature
To make sure you don't forget about a message, you can use the Follow up feature.
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Select one or more messages.
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Right-click one of the messages.
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Click Mark for Follow Up.
You can also open the Flag to Follow Up window by
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Select the messages.
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Select Message menu.
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Click Mark as.
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Select Follow Up or press Shift+Ctrl+G.
A dialog box opens to 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 want.
After you have added a flag, you can mark it as complete or remove it entirely by right-clicking the message, then click either Flag Completed or Clear Flag.
When you read a flagged message, its flag status is displayed 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 search folder that displays all your flagged messages, then clear the flags when you're done, so the search folder contains only messages with upcoming deadlines.
Mark as Important Feature: If you prefer a simpler way to remind yourself about messages, you can mark them as important by right-clicking the message, then click Mark as Important or Select Message > Mark as >Important.