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Any Way to Import Old Emails?

  • 7 cavab
  • 7 have this problem
  • 6 views
  • Last reply by MarjaE

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I've been using Thunderbird for most of the past year. I'd like to import old emails from Apple Mail, another instance of Thunderbird, and Evolution.

The instructions here don't work: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/switching-thunderbird

My current Apple Mail shows up on the list, but selecting it doesn't let me import anything. I get an *empty* folder labelled "Apple Mail Import." My old mailboxes for the others do not show up on the list.

I've been using Thunderbird for most of the past year. I'd like to import old emails from Apple Mail, another instance of Thunderbird, and Evolution. The instructions here don't work: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/switching-thunderbird My current Apple Mail shows up on the list, but selecting it doesn't let me import anything. I get an *empty* folder labelled "Apple Mail Import." My old mailboxes for the others do not show up on the list.

All Replies (7)

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Did you check that the exported mailbox from AppleMail was in .mbx format (i.e. apple-import.mbx) ? What errors if any are you seeing via or from Evolution?

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"Did you check that the exported mailbox from AppleMail was in .mbx format (i.e. apple-import.mbx)"

... uh, no.

The directions for the import function don't say anything about that. I linked the directions above. I can't find directions on how to import without the import function.

"What errors if any are you seeing via or from Evolution?"

The extra mailboxes exported from other software aren't even showing up in the import function.

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Also, I had to copy the dot evolution directory, rather than export.

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I have tried import-export tools too. No luck so far. I got a bunch of folders labelled .mbox, and no Thunderbird-readable messages in them. I think these are Safari mboxes from a previous computer. I will need to tackle the Safari mboxes from this computer, Evolution, and so on too.

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The instructions here don't work either. If I select an mbox, then the "open" button is grayed out.

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Importing_folders

The options in Import-Export Tools itself are not mutually intelligible with my dialect of English.

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I can select the "mbox," but not "folder name.mobox."

If I select the "mbox," Import-Export Tools does nothing.

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I see now. It gets hidden under the first inbox. *phew*