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Idea #2580: Split Evolution into individual Mail, Calendar, Contacts, and Memo applications!

bug This idea is a duplicate of Idea #4281: Replace Evolution with more modular PIM system.
Written by qaaq the 2 Mar 08 at 21:26. Related project: Evolution Mail and Calendar. Status: New
Rationale
Evolution should be split into separate Mail, Contacts, Calendar/Tasks, and Memos applications in the Ubuntu Applications Menu. Each application should open in a separate menu.

This would make Evolution less intimidating for people who only need email and object to leaving a full-on Outlook clone running all the time. Evolution is very well integrated in GNOME, but these people still switch to Thunderbird because Evo feels so 'huge'. They're missing out on the integration, and they're *still* running evolution-data-server in the background!

If you look at the source, it's evident that Evolution is already made up of separate programs - Mail, Calendar, Tasks, Contacts, etc. - all held together by a 'shell' program which combines them into a single window.

Also, most of the work of connecting to mail servers and storing data is already performed by evolution-data-server and friends, which are completely separate from the Evolution UI.

This change has been discussed on the gnome-desktop list before.

It should also be possible to switch back and forth between the Combined Evolution UI and the Separated UI mode being proposed here.




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Solution #1: Auto-generated solution of idea #2580
Written by qaaq the 2 Mar 08 at 21:26.
Ubuntu Brainstorm was updated in January 2009. Since the idea #2580 was submitted before this update, its rationale and solution are not separated. Please vote accordingly, and if you have the necessary rights, please separate the rationale from the solution. Thanks!

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Comments
travist120 wrote on the 2 Mar 08 at 21:29
That's a good idea. Sometimes people may not want to have their email address with evolution just so they can access the calendar intergration part of it.

sdsalsero wrote on the 2 Mar 08 at 21:34
Evolution is part of Gnome, not Ubuntu. So what you're really asking for, it seems, is the development of a new modular PIM application ... which ain't gonna happen. I'm not saying it's a bad idea to make it modular but it's not for Ubuntu (Canonical) to do.

qaaq wrote on the 2 Mar 08 at 21:44
@sdsalsero:

Evolution is ALREADY a collection of separate applications. I'm just suggesting it be presented as such. Look at the code, it's not development of anything new - I explained that in the original idea. Reading before commenting is a good plan.

While it may not be completely straightforward, doing this may well be a packaging decision. Canonical developers do patch upstream sources before they are built. They could do this if they wished.

Also, Ubuntu ships GNOME by default. Therefore, Evolution is part of GNOME, which is part of Ubuntu.

:)

bgfeldm wrote on the 2 Mar 08 at 22:19
evolution is not developed by ubuntu. Evolution was originally developed by Novell the owners of Suse Linux.

Go to evolutions website and give them feedback.
http://www.go-evolution.org

qaaq wrote on the 7 Mar 08 at 22:46
@bgfeldm:

I know that, and have been using Evolution for years. Still, I think that if the Ubuntu organization spearheaded an effort to do this, the idea would get much further.

qaaq wrote on the 30 Apr 08 at 01:40
Guess nobody likes the OSX way. Split up Evolution and you end up with something like Apple's iApps - iCal, Mail, etc.

qaaq wrote on the 25 May 08 at 23:11
This idea is NOT a dupe of #4281.

This idea:

* was posted long BEFORE #4281.
* is specific to splitting Evolution (which is already modular, but presented as a single app), while #4281 wants to replace Evolution with a different application. Not the same thing at all
* this idea is more likely to happen than is #4281, since Evolution is very tightly integrated with GNOME. It's unlikely that Ubuntu will start ripping out tightly-integrated GNOME desktop components. Better to change the behaviour of what we have.

Mods, please split these ideas.


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