Importing and exporting your mail

Introduction

To import your e-mail and settings from the most common e-mail software programs, just click "Tools -> Import" in Thunderbird or Mozilla Suite's mail component.

Back up first! No matter how you import or export your e-mail, always back up your e-mail first! Unexpected things happen during exports and imports and if you lose your personal e-mails, they can't be replaced.

Specific programs

Mozilla Suite and Netscape 7

• Import to Thunderbird
• Export from Thunderbird

America Online (AOL)

• Import to Thunderbird:
  • If all your e-mail is on AOL's server, configure Thunderbird for AOL and download the mail.
  • (Windows only) Export from AOL to Outlook Express using ePreserver or TrueSwitch then import from there into Thunderbird (see instructions below).

Apple OS X Mail.app

• Import to Thunderbird
• Export from Thunderbird

Eudora

• Import to Thunderbird
• Export from Thunderbird

Google Gmail

• Import to Thunderbird: See "Webmail", below.
• Export from Thunderbird

Incredimail

• Import to Thunderbird

Outlook and Outlook Express

• Import to Thunderbird
• Export from Thunderbird

Pegasus

• Importing from Pegasus

Webmail (including Google Gmail, MSN Hotmail, or Yahoo)

• Import to Thunderbird: Configure Thunderbird for your webmail program and download your e-mail.

Misc.

• This guide provides extensive help for moving to Thunderbird from other programs.
• The Official Thunderbird FAQ lists tips for a few additional programs.
• eMailman's Conversion page is a large list of conversion options for many e-mail programs. Note that Thunderbird uses mbox format (see below for details).
• Emailchemy claims to import/export between Thunderbird and many other formats.
• The MboxImport extension imports mbox formatted e-mail (see below for description) into Thunderbird.
• Aid4Mail can convert between many different formats, including Mozilla Suite and Thunderbird.
• TrueSwitch exports from many programs to Outlook Express; from Outlook Express you can import into Thunderbird.

Alternatives and More Information

mbox: Understanding Mozilla's format

Understanding the format that Thunderbird and Mozilla Suite use to store your e-mail may help you find a solution:

Thunderbird and Mozilla Suite store e-mail in the standard mbox format. Eudora, Netscape, Apple's Mail.app, and many others also use mbox. In theory, you can just move mail files between them with no conversion and it will open right up. In reality, there are slight differences in format that often cause problems. Still, if you can export to one of those programs you can usually find a way to import. Some technical details of the mbox format, which is only structured plain text, can be found at these links: [1] [2] [3] [4].

Alternative solutions

Importing to Thunderbird or Mozilla Suite:

• Look under Misc., above.
• Convert the e-mail to one of the formats listed under "Tools -> Import" and then import from there.
• Convert the e-mail to any mbox format (see above). Users with programming skills may be able to manually create mbox files, which are only structured text. (See the technical notes above.)
• Import manually (see below).

Exporting from Thunderbird or Mozilla Suite:

• Look under Misc., above.
• In the e-mail program you're moving to, if Thunderbird or Mozilla isn't listed as an import option, try these, in order of preference: Netscape, Eudora, Apple OS X Mail.app, or any another program using the mbox format as described above.
• Move your e-mail to a third-party bridge program that can import Thunderbird or Mozilla Suite e-mail and from which your desired e-mail program can import.
• If the e-mail program you're moving to uses mbox format, try a manual import (see below).

Manually importing and exporting

For intermediate to advanced users: Because of slight differences in mbox formats, it's generally preferrable to use an automatic import/export if it's available. If you use IMAP, plan carefully regarding IMAP synchronization issues. To manually import/export mbox formatted files (you must have mbox formatted files),

1. Create the e-mail account you want to use for the imported mail (unless you will use an existing account).
2. Exit Thunderbird or Mozilla Suite.
3. Back up your profile or Mail directory, especially if you plan to overwrite existing mbox files.
4. Find the mbox files in your account directory: In your Profile folder, you will see a "Mail" directory and in there you'll see one account directory named for each account.
5. Copy the mbox files you are importing, for example, copy "Inbox" (not inbox.msf) to the Mail account directory where you want to see the mail. Note: If you want to keep the existing mbox file of the same name in the new location, rename the file you wish to import before copying it over. For example, rename "Inbox" to "InboxOld" and "Sent" to "SentOld".
6. Open Thunderbird or Mozilla Suite. A folder for each file you copied should be displayed.
7. Open each folder and verify it contains the correct number of e-mails, that they are readable, and that you can open attachments. Sometimes, differences between mbox formats cause multiple emails to be combined into one larger e-mail or can make some e-mails unreadable.

Troubleshooting is beyond the scope of this article, but if you examine the mbox technical links and the links to importing specific programs, you may find helpful information.