KMail is a full-featured and easy to use mail client. This section focuses on KMail's common features. We encourage you to refer to the integrated help to learn more about its advanced features.
Launch KMail by choosing
→ from the main menu.
The first time you run KMail, a wizard appears to help you set up the mail account you will use with KMail. You only need to enter some connection data. Press the button to validate the information you entered and proceed with the setup.
Select the account type from the suggestion list and advance to the next step. Please bear in mind that the POP3 protocol downloads messages to the local computer (they can be kept on the server too), while the IMAP protocol doesn't. Otherwise the IMAP and POP3 account setups are the same.
Then you need to provide your account information and fill in your personal data. Note that the name you input in the Real name field is the one that will appear on your outgoing mails.
Then you must supply the account credentials: enter your login name and password. Your ISP or system administrator should have provided this information together with your e-mail address.
You are finally asked
to provide mail server parameters. Again, your ISP or
system administrator should have provided you with the incoming and
outgoing mail server information. Outgoing servers are usually of the
smtp.provider.net
form. Incoming
POP3 servers are usually of the
pop.provider.net
or
pop3.provider.net
forms. Incoming
IMAP servers are usually of the
imap.provider.net
form. The
mail.provider.net
form is also common for both incoming
and outgoing mail servers.
Toolbar. Where the main action buttons lie. See Table 2.1, “KMail's Toolbar Buttons”.
Message List. Where information (subject, date, sender, etc.) about messages stored in the currently selected folder is displayed.
Message View Pane. Where the contents of the currently selected message are displayed.
Folder List.
Where all folders are
listed. The default folders are inbox
(incoming
messages), outbox
(unsent messages),
sent-mail
(already sent messages),
trash
(deleted messages), drafts
(draft messages) and templates
(templates for writing
messages). There is also a special folder named
Searches
which contains the results of a search for
messages.
The following table shows the most important buttons available in KMail's toolbar, their equivalent keyboard shortcuts, and a brief explanation of the functions they provide.
Table 2.1. KMail's Toolbar Buttons
Toolbar. This is where the main message composition buttons reside. See Table 2.2, “Message-Composition Toolbar Buttons”.
Message Body. The area where you type the content of your message.
Message Recipients. The list of all recipients of this message. The following options are shown:
CC
(Carbon Copy): not-hidden secondary intended
recipient(s) of this message. All recipients have access to the
mail addresses to which this message is sent.
BCC
(Blind Carbon Copy): these recipients are also secondary
but are hidden from the other recipients of this message. No
recipients of the message have access to the other mail addresses
to which this message is sent.
The following table shows the buttons which are mostly used in the message-composition window, their equivalent keyboard shortcuts, and a brief explanation of the functions they provide.
Table 2.2. Message-Composition Toolbar Buttons
The filter tool is located in the → menu and can automatically sort mail into different folders according to specified criteria (sender, subject, date, etc.) by using filters.
Let's assume you want to
filter incoming messages according to the sender and you have at least one
message from that sender in your inbox
folder. You want
all incoming e-mail from someuser@somecompany.net
to go
directly into the SomeUser
folder. The first step is to
create a new folder to store the messages.
Choose → from the menu and give your new folder a meaningful name. Then, select the mbox mailbox format and click on to create the folder.
To create the filter, select one of the sender's messages and right click on it. From the contextual menu, select → , select the destination folder (Filter Actions) and accept that rule by clicking on and .