Gmail data not appearing in TB after install. No contacts, no folders.
Purpose: to have a backup of Gmail data (contacts and all folders).
Downloaded and installed. Changed appropriate settings in Gmail. TB has linked to the Gmail account and is receiving incoming mail. However, TB has created no folders to correspond to my Gmail account, and has imported no contacts. Have tried the import function and it only offers options for Eudora, Outlook, etc, but not Gmail. All I have in TB currently are the basic Inbox, Trash, and so forth.
Running Win 8.1 (don't use the Outlook Mail that is part of the OS, but it's there, of course, since one must have a MS account for various reasons.)
All Replies (3)
if you want a backup, why not just use the tools Gmail offers to backup your data? See http://gmailblog.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/download-copy-of-your-gmail-and-google.html The mail data is provided in MBOX format which is used by Thunderbird and many other mail programs.
Now to correct some obvious misconceptions. Contacts are handled by add-ons. such as;
- https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/google-contacts/?src=search
- https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/gcontactsync/?src=search
The support article is fairly inclusive on gmail. https://support.mozilla.org/kb/thunderbird-and-gmail
It sounds to me like you have set up pop instead of IMAP and set gmail for mail from now on instead of all mail.
While I appreciate the time to write a reply to my query, because time is a valuable commodity, it would be nice if the tone was a little more in keeping with addressing a newcomer to Thunderbird. No doubt issues from newbies are annoying to those with much greater knowledge, but then what can one do besides ask?
Several tech sites gave Thunderbird good recommendations, so I thought I would give it a try, and yes, I've already used Google's tools to create a zip file backup of all my mail and contacts. I wanted to set up a local mail client as a backstop against future Google problems.
I did read most segments of the article to which you are referring, and I do believe I followed the instructions which I also read with an eye to detail. In Gmail, I made sure that both Pop and IMap were enabled. I downloaded TB, followed those setup instructions, entering my Gmail account name and password. Having looked in TB account settings/server, I see that it is pointed to a POP server. I found no option for altering this to an IMAP setup. Perhaps one is supposed to uninstall and start over again, or, perhaps TB is for the more advanced user with a higher IQ.
The last sentence is thus not terribly helpful: the first part I can't seem to fix, and I don't know what "set gmail for mail from now on instead of all mail" even means.
You don't like my tone.... well I am sorry about that, but it will not be bothering me.
The first part is fixed by deleting the account you have created and creating one of the default IMAP type. Tools menu (alt+T) > account settings and use the account actions button.
The second part is the setting in Google where to tell Gmail which mail it is to download.