Re: [Evolution] Removing Duplicates and Importing

[Bill Turner <bturner45 cox net>]

On Fri, 2006-11-17 at 12:45 -0600, Michael Schurter wrote:
> Hi Bill,

Hello Michael,  thanks for the welcome.

> On Fri, 2006-11-17 at 12:10 -0600, Bill Turner wrote:
> > > When I had finished the initial account setup I went to do an import of
> > > the mail already on my system and was, quite frankly, flatly
> > > disappointed at the import procedure, or rather the lack of an import
> > > procedure.  The available options were very disappointing.  When I
> > > looked into the help, it seemed that a 'manual import' was the only
> > > option.  
>
> I'm not sure what you mean by 'manual import.'  In Evolution 2.6.3
> there's an 'Import a single file' option which is I'm guessing what
> you're referring to.  Thunderbird uses the mbox format, so you should be
> able to "manually" import your e-mails that way.  Far from ideal though,
> I agree.

That was what I was referring to.  IMO the import procedure needs to be
re-thought.  One of the great things about Linux though.  You can
communicate directly with the software's authors and expect to get an
answer. :)  Billy G. doesn't care once the money is in his pocket.

What I ended up doing was going to a terminal, running MC, and just
copying the entire directory structure to the Evolution directory.  To
it's credit, when I next opened Evolution it saw all the folders and
messages.  I still have some dupes though and no easy way to get rid of
them that I am aware of.

> > Outlook, by sharp contrast, does a pretty good job on the importing.
> > Not too sure about the dupe removal but I just recently set it up, for
> > testing purposes, and haven't really looked very hard.
>
> Outlook does in fact have excellent dupe removal.  That's one of the few
> nice things I can think to say about it.  :)

Thanks for that clarification.  So if Outlook does a good job of that
then shouldn't Evolution be the same way?

> > Since this is my first post to the list I suppose a bit of personal info
> > is in order.  I am a disabled Viet Nam Vet and I live in Topeka, KS.  I
> > am currently using my personal machine as a test machine, trying out
> > various Desktop/Server OS's and applications.  In the 'not too distant
> > future' my brother and I will be opening a Harley-Davidson dealership in
> > Indiana.  The one thing I know with absolute certainty is that the H-D
> > apps are all 'Windows-based' so Windows support is necessary.  
>
> Don't give up too easily.  Some specialized apps are old and use
> standard Windows programming so they work well under WINE.  Newer
> specialized apps might be written in Java or .NET which are both
> supported in Linux.  And finally, many specialized apps are becoming web
> based.  Always contact IT departments before giving up as well.  While
> many have no interest in supporting Linux, we have more friends than you
> think.  ;)

'Giving up' was never an option. :)  I have not as yet tried WINE but
have heard of it.  Contacting the IT department at Harley-Davidson
directly was something I had not done yet.  Perhaps it's time.  

Red Hat www.redhat.com has a nice intro to the concept of
'virtualization' basics.  I have started looking into using VMWARE, and
know that PCLOS has instructions on setting it up for use.  Not quite
ready to take that step yet though.  Still testing things.

> > What I need to know I guess is if Evolution is going to be able to well
> > and truly replace Outlook, or if I am going to have to use 'cross-over
> > office' or something similar and install MS Office on a virtual server?
> > I figured this would be the place to ask that. :)
>
> If you're setting up an office for the first time I don't see why you
> would need to import e-mails at all.  If you standardize on Evolution
> from the beginning this isn't an issue.

That's true enough.  What I was thinking about was all of those
'friends' we have out there that are forced for whatever reason to use
MS apps, whatever they may be.  It's a lot easier to get management's
attention if you have as close to an 'apples' and 'apples' situation as
possible.  MS folks are used to living in a 'point and click' world.  We
really can't expect them to change just to run Linux can we?

> Best of luck!
>
> Michael Schurter

Thanks much.  Really looking forward to it. :)

Bill Turner