Import from Outlook Express

This article was written for Thunderbird but also applies to Mozilla Suite.

There are two simple ways to migrate from Outlook Express to Thunderbird:

• If you are starting up Thunderbird for the very first time, the Import Wizard will pop up, and you can then select the "Outlook Express" option to import your mail, address books, and settings. (With Mozilla Suite, you may not see the Import Wizard when starting up for the first time.)
• Subsequent to launching Thunderbird for the first time, you can also go the the "Tools" menu, select "Import...", and then individually import your mail, address books, or settings from Outlook Express.

Importing more than one Outlook Express identity

The above procedures should work fine if you have only one identity in Outlook Express. However, if you have more than one identity (home, work, school, etc.), Thunderbird will only import the information from the identity set as default in Outlook Express. To import the information from other identities:

• Start up Outlook Express, select "File -> Identities -> Manage Identities" and change your default identity to another one which you wish to import. Close and restart Outlook Express for the setting to take effect, then close Outlook Express completely.

• Next, run Thunderbird's import function ("Tools -> Import..."), and when finished verify that the information has been imported properly.

• Repeat the process for each identity in Outlook Express.

Note: When changing your identity, under "Manage Identities", make sure the Identity you want to import is selected in the two options: Under "Use this Identity when starting a program" and under "Use this identity when a program cannot ask you to choose an identity"