Robert Moskowitz <rgm at htt-consult.com> wrote: > This all comes out of figuring out how I might run > Evolution like I run Eudora. > I see where Evolution places its data in a hidden > directory: ~/.evolution > Now why it is felt necessary to put all of this stuff in > hidden directories is beyond me. User settings, index files, filters, etc... > So it would seem that Evolution is treating each useid as a > personality for the logged in user. Correct. This is because Evolution taps into the CORBA system (Bonobo) to exchange objects with other GNOME applications. That is tied to the GNOME Session, it's Bonobo instance, etc... which is the logged in user on the current X session (default of ":0.0" for a local X Server). > Given the way Evolution organizes its data, I could create > some more Linux users, and either: > Give my main user file permissions to them and somehow run > copies of Evolution using those /home/user directories. NFS? More on that below. > Anyone know how to do that? I'm confused here. Why do you need more than 1 instance of Evolution running on a system? I can understand more than 1 system accessing the same user home directory. In that case, GNOME 2.x, it's Bonobo and Evolution 1.4+ all respect the same user home directory mounted via NFS (with NFS locking) from multiple systems with multiple instances. Although I do highly recommend you use IMAP folders instead of the default mbox mail folders, or at least maildir for the local mail folder formats. Likewise, if you have multiple users accessing the same mailboxen from different user accounts (and resulting GNOME logins and Evolution sessions), then use IMAP to store those folders as well. In such cases you're talking more login/server-level details that Evolution -- just like if you had an Exchange/Outlook setup as well. As I've stated before on this list and others, Evolution is not designed as an Internet e-mail client, it is an enterprise collaboration client. It does not compare well with Eudora, Thunderbird, etc... If you long for the more "direct/straight-forward" features of Eudora, check out Thunderbird. If you are looking for the 1:1 single sign-on (SSO), desktop environment integrated collaboration client, then the GNOME-Evolution is the solution you are looking for. > Or do I somehow have to have multiple simultaneous logins? I don't see why. What are you trying to do _exactly_?! I think you're coming to conclusions based on what you think you need, when you're not providing what you really need to do -- that's something we can advise you best on. > And switch between them? I know there is a way to have 4 > desktops.... You're thinking of the "pager" functionality -- "desktops" and/or "viewports" where the terminology varies based on X framework. Despite not shipping something in stock Windows, you _can_ get "pager" like functionality for Windows as well. A "pager" is still part of the same root desktop -- again, :0.0 for a system that has a local X Server that comes up at boot. You _can_ run multiple X sessions allowing multiple logins. In fact, you can use XDM (e.g., :1.0 on Ctrl-Alt-F8, :2.0 on Ctrl-Alt-F9, etc...), XDMCP (local or even remote "Windows Terminal Server-like"** access), Xnest (avoids the need for and security issues of XDMCP) and/or Xvnc (another option that uses remote framebuffer, instead of X11, so non-X clients can access the desktop -- kinda like Symantec pcAnywhere**) to setup physical, nested, virtual, etc... X sessions on a single system -- each with their own logins. But, again, I don't think that's what you want to be doing. BTW, you don't even need to go that far. You can give another user X Authority (xauth) to access your _single_ :0.0 X session, then switch user (su) and display programs on the same desktop. If you really don't care about security, you can just run "xhost +" and that allows _any_ user to launch a program to your desktop (I do _not_ recommend this). This is yet another option, kinda like Citrix ICA "seemless windows-like"**. I use xauth to authorize select users to launch 2-3 different Firefox (one for Internet, one for Intranet, one for secure web administration, etc...), Thunderbird and even the occassional, multiple Evolution programs running as _different_ users on the _same_, _single_ :0.0 X desktop. The respective GNOME framework, including Bonobo, for each respective user -- completely separate from one another _except_ they are displayed on the same :0.0 X desktop**. [ **NOTE: These comparisons to Microsoft WTS/RDP and Citrix ICA are rather insults to X-Window, which pre-dates both. But I only make them to relate to those Windows familiar -- Xvnc is like Symantec pcAnywhere, only you can have dozens of simultaneously sessions, XDMCP/Xnest is kinda like WTS/RDP "full desktop" and normal Xauth/X11 operation is kinda like ICA in "seemless windows" where you still have your single desktop. ] -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, Technical Annoyance b.j.smith at ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ---------------------------------------------------- *** Speed doesn't kill, difference in speed does ***