Evolution / Express

We need an 'express' version of Evolution, to make it more usable for people particularly on netbooks.

The code

• evolution from the 'express2' branch
• evolution-data-server from the 'gnome-2-30' branch.

• dbus version >= 1.2.22

How to test

Create a new user account; 'test' and drop two scripts: first:

(Xephyr -ac -screen 1024x600 :1.0 &)
usleep 500000 ; export DISPLAY=:1.0
sudo -u test dbus-launch --auto-syntax /bin/bash -l /home/test/evo

And then for ~test/evo you want:

export DISPLAY=:1.0
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="/'''your-prefix'''/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH"
export EVO_EXPRESS=1
export EVO_MEEGO="session-type=small-screen"
(metacity &)
(/usr/lib/gnome-settings-daemon/gnome-settings-daemon >& /dev/null &)
sleep 1
(gnome-terminal &)

Run the first script; it should precipitate you into a netbook-like environment where you can play. Of course, ideally you should have the moblin netbook gtk+ theme as well [ lots and lots of padding for bad netbook touchpads ].

The work plan

Below are listed some changes being worked on to add an 'express' mode to Evolution. Do jump into #evolution and poke someone if you want to help out. Initial changes are in the git branch: 'express' on git.gnome.org. Items that are struck out, have been completed already; where items are in progress we put a name and progress percentage

• Initial code-drop in MeeGo package repository, March 19th

• string freeze for MeeGo / up-stream GNOME translators freeze too

• Feature complete code-drop to MeeGo repository March 29th

• Incremental bug fix release subsequently ...

Interactivity improvements

• IMAP-X - ( 15 man days ) ( Done chen )

  • stops UI blocking on long message downloads and other slow operations

  • allows live updates / views of the folder

  • substantial performance improvements

• EDBus migration & blocking fixes ( 5 man days ) ( Done michael )

• fsync frenzy redux (0.5 man days ) ( Done michael )

Account setup

• Autoconfig for popular mail services (gmail, yahoo etc.) [port from anjal / re-use capplet] Saashwat

  • Needs to behave like this

• Separate out the advanced options from account preferences (esp. receiving options) making window smaller in size [2 man days]

Mail UI simplification

• Move the message specific tool-bar menu items to message renderer (Deferred, we need the verticalspace. michael/nick)

• Simplified main toolbar, added 'Addressbook' item michael

• Re-arrage the default vertical view columns - [0.5md] - (done federico)

• Move the search menu aside tool-bar menu items like firefox - [0.5md] - (done mbarnes)

• Add tab support for view messages/folders - [4 md]

• Collapse quoted text to make it easier to follow long mail threads on small screens bgo#322321

General UI simplification

• Customize defaults for netbook screens - [3 md] ( in progress michael )

  • column widths in mail view

  • side-bar dimensions & layout. (done - federico)

  • new contact page fixing (done - michael)

• split out calendar into a separate application - [3md] (done - michael - a separate .desktop file for Evo and view mode)

  • work in module 'annum' requires polish.

  • fix calendar minimum height / layout [0.5md]

• remove window-manager decoration, to save vspace [1md] (done - michael)

MeeGo integration

• http://wiki.meego.com/MeeGo_Netbook_and_GTK - (50% michael)

• ConnMan integation [1md] (done michael)

Known issues

• Icons / Artwork - (Hylke)

  • missing an avatar icon in 'New Contact'
  • New Meeting / Task editing dialog
    • another icon looks like a 'close' button
• Mailer
  • bin IMAP, only show IMAP-x in the account configuration

  • Compose dialog - too big and clunky - bgo#617002 - (federico)

  • popup / mail reading dialog should be full-screen - (federico)

  • size - four lines of a mail folder, the rest preview - (federico)

• Contacts
  • fix right-hand contact details pane sizing
  • collapse the left-hand pane if only one addressbook source
  • show less-detail in the middle pane, it is on the right.
  • libsocial integration ...

• Calendar - ( Srini )

  • ensure the default sizing of the left-hand date navigator pane shows this nicely (done Srini)

  • default to week view in the calendar (done Srini)

  • make it easier to create new calendars (done (like annum) Srini)

• SSL certificate pre-population issues
• toolbar/menu re-ordering

Fixed issues

• Icons / Artwork - (Hylke)

  • fix the theme padding for combo-entries

  • missing Junk / non-Junk icons in mailer toolbar

  • missing some mail / side-bar folder icons

  • Attachment icon is like an alien

  • Calendar toolbar icons need love

• General

  • Search entry moved to toolbar (done mbarnes)

• Contacts

  • Contacts - new contact dialog too large still (done michael)

  • hide send/recv (done mbarnes)

  • disable print icon (done michael)

  • drop the 'show: any category' entry (done mbarnes)

  • turn off status bar completely (done michael)

• Calendar

  • hide send/recv (done mbarnes)

  • item right click: drop Move to, Copy to, Fwd as iCal, Print (done michael)

  • appt' right click: drop Task, Current View, Select Today, Select Date, go to date - 3x 'New' items left) (done michael)

  • .desktop files need tweaking, changing to 'Calendar' (done michael)

  • turn off status bar completely (done michael)

  • Enable alarm notifications (done michael)

  • install pattern needs 'dates' removing from it

• Calendar - edit appointment dialog

  • Command line appointment editing integration for MyZone - (done Sashwat )

  • bin toolbar print icon - (done michael)

  • move 'close' to the right right of the toolbar - (done michael)

  • drop the whole menu in Express mode - (done michael)

  • full-screen the dialog - (done michael)

  • move the "all day" toolbar button to an "[x] all day" check-box to the left of the 1st element in the time range area. - (done Sashwat)

  • crop to screensize when expanding "Show attachments" dialog - (done Sashwat)

• Mailer

  • HTML mail on by default (done mbarnes)

  • default: threaded mail view should be on - (done michael)

  • .desktop file needs patching to read 'E-mail Express' - (done michael)

  • missing string titles in mail headers (most odd) - (done michael)

• Preferences dialog bloated - (done federico)

  • remove SpamAssassin UI elements

• Capplet

  • need to ask for password too - (done Srini)

  • need to get proxy settings right - (done Michael)

  • need to debug yahoo problem - (done Srini - they turned off Pop)

  • first-start capplet doesn't setup calendar - (done Srini)

• Meego Theme matching

  • Meego detection (done michael)

Future work (a plan)

• Tasks
  • provide a simple, easy to use task editing GUI to replace 'tasks'
• Mail
  • IMAP-x
    • per folder connection, to further accelerate

  • Tabbed mail reading & composing

  • Use webkit to render
    • requires webkit / printing support
  • Conversation view for threaded mails ported from Anjal
  • always-on-everything-synchronisation to remove the "go off-line" status bar widget
  • on-demand status bar ... (and/or transparent / floating etc.)
  • Composer
    • graphical view of To/CC/etc. in horizontal layout with avatars
    • larger avatars and names in contact completion drop-down.
    • Attachments
      • attach file, attach recent docs, attach E-mail (thread) ...
  • Facebook mail backend - IMAP-alike look at folders
• Calendar
  • Simpler appointment dialog / merge with meeting dlg.

  • last-fm & facebook calendars

• Contacts
  • better presence flagging: "are they awake" ?
  • Integration with cheesy avatar harvesting app(?)
• de-menu-isation - fewer, clearer menus
• Auto-configuration
  • move hard-coded gmail / yahoo pieces to clean XML
  • updated XML configuration pieces
• shell-less mail daemon
  • new mail summaries
• IM integration
  • presence in the addressbook

  • presence & "click to talk" in the Mail client and/or calendar (chat room for app'ts ?)

Competitive analysis

• Thunderbird images main view, account creation, and composer.

• Pre-express Evolution images main view and calendar and addressbook and composer and lite-composer .

Meeting Minutes

Mar 3rd 2010

Status report

• UI much simpler
  • generic XML work done for this
• Integrated Anjal's capplet
  • first-time startup wizard capplet

• EDBus merged -> blocking problems

  • more work needed there.
• up-stream communication
  • l10n freeze, release team prepped etc.
• IMAP-X
  • stabilisation fixes
  • parallel attachment / mail fetch
  • off-line bug fixes
• separate calendar building

  • testing ongoing vs. Groupwise & GMail

• internal testing packages being created.

improved Plan of work is needed

• aim for first drop by the 19th
• size each piece
  • estimates of man-days for completion
  • rough percentage of completion.

UI discussion / decisions with Nick

• toolbar buttons:

  • remove redundant 'cancel button' cf. status bar versions (done michael)

  • tagging not required in the toolar
  • No "Junk" filtering / buttons required for web-mail at all ...
    • can remove the buttons in this case

  • Addressbook button required (done michael)

    • creates a new window that behaves like a new app: new zone etc.
    • replace 'contacts' with this
  • Defaults / settings

    • imapx needs to be the default from the account setup wizard - (done Saashwat)

    • audit & transition Anjal defaults decisions across:

      • eg. default to off-line synchronisation everywhere
      • eg. check BDB is on and working by default

    • get rid of default / local mailbox (Saashwat)

      • at a minimum: re-order mailboxes; IMAP first (Saashwat: done)

        • collapse local mailboxes at the bottom (Saashwat: done)

        • collapse vfolders at the bottom too (Saashwat: done)

      • preferably:
        • add annotation to locate 'Sent' folders on the server for each provider
        • remove local mailbox entirely

    • keep filters & search folders in the UI

  • UI tweaks
    • v-space a big issue for mail reading.
      • don't try to split the toolbar yet.
      • disable preview pane by default ...
      • prefer tabs for separate mails.
    • preferences dialog needs to fit 1024x600

      • remove SpamAssassin from the UI, just bogofilter (some conditional compilation ?)

  • test / review ConnMan integration (michael: done)

Mar 17th 2010

Status report

• mailer
  • added 'Addressbook' button
  • cleaned out toolbars further.

  • cleaned lots of junk from menus & 'New' menu

  • fixed calendar lifecycle nasties
  • fixed middle-click / new-window launch.
  • off-line account setup for popular E-mail
    • gmail, yahoo, aol, msn
• IMAP-X - [ to 90% ]
  • bug fixes
    • for Courier imap namespace handling
    • folder operations
• QA vs. Intel internal server is looking fairly good
  • authentication type issues
  • misc. fixes committed, re-report next week.
• everything merged into Master
  • translations need update

Priorities

• run intltool-update to get translators up and running. - (done)

• add 'ovi' store / setup to cached / off-line account bits
• IMAP-X
  • folder renaming - last pending option

• Annum polish (done)

• dialog and UI sizing pieces

• ConnMan integration

  • listen via D-BUS cf. Mojito - done ( michael )

UI feedback

• pre-populate certificate database with google, etc. - ( federico )

• title should be "E-mail" not Evolution
  • try to identify small subset of visible strings to change
• .desktop file

  • needs to show up in the "Internet" category not "Office" (for MeeGo)

  • title needs tweaking as above: 'MeeVo' ?

• magic widget names needed for theme integration (Nick to send)

• needs re-testing with latest MeeGo theme

• gmail account creation needs to setup Calendar too - ( federico )

• File->New->Contact - dialog sizing broken

• switch Send/Recv and 'New mail' in the toolbar --) (hard: and makes no Fitts sense, Send/Recv a crutch anyway)

• --( Annum ( done Saashwat )

  • needs Calman work / UI pieces merging ?

  • needs merging back into Evolution ? --component calendar --express ?

Mar 24 2010

Status report

• Mailer
  • Fixed ridiculously small initial width of folder tree
  • packaging / submission
    • include wizards, so we get the nice first-start experience
  • off-line account setup
  • IMAP-X folder renaming done: complete

• ConnMan integration

• translations synched and building ...
• Calendar integration and merge done
• Adding tabs blocking on feedback from Claire

Bugs / feedback

• only the 'search' box should go in the toolbar

  • with no legend (in MeeGo)

• UI elements to mbarnes for reference.
• rest of bugs tracked above to reduce confusion

Mar 26 2010

Tab bits

• only the 'search' should move to the toolbar (without a label)
  • drop all the other 'in' and 'show' entries
• search should update the current tab's folder view
• double-click on side-bar to open in a new tab
  • or switch to an existing tab for that folder

Feedback

• many smaller / short-term bugs enumerated above in 'bugs'
• Distinction between 'New Appointment' and 'New Meeting' is lame
  • should use tabs instead of sub-dialogs 'Alarms', 'Recurrence' etc.
• Tasks: punt re-using that until the next release.

Apr 14

Status

• preferences dialog shrink ongoing
• meego detection complete and included
• using stock gnome-2-30 e-d-s (whoot!)
• auto-detection XML files mirrored to api.gnome.org
  • should allow 'sent' detection
• misc. bug fixing

Feedback

• misc. bugs merged into section above.

Other comments

Note that Requests can be filed at http://live.gnome.org/GnomeArt/ArtRequests -- AndreKlapper