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cant see TB folders but can see on outlook.com acct

  • 11 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 10 views
  • Last reply by bill

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hi, cant see TB folders but an see them on outlook.com which is my email server...just installed TB on my new pc, it found my acct at Outlook. i should have maybe chosen imap not pop3

i want to see folders in TB on my pc and i have previously

thanks, anyone

hi, cant see TB folders but an see them on outlook.com which is my email server...just installed TB on my new pc, it found my acct at Outlook. i should have maybe chosen imap not pop3 i want to see folders in TB on my pc and i have previously thanks, anyone

Chosen solution

Hi If you now have all your past emails visible in Thunderbird (IMAP) - you can go through them and add the people to Thunderbird address book from the past emails. That may be easier than writing them down, and less prone to error. Click on the sender name/email in From and select Add to Address Book. You should also get a chance to enter their name/nickname, or you can go through the address book later and add further details. If there is a solid colour star next to the From name, they are already in the address book. Hope that helps!

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bill said

i want to see folders in TB on my pc and i have previously

Than you should have chosen IMAP! Delete the account and start again.

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thanks for that, ive done it. fine now

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hi, i retrieved folders ok from outlook.com but not address book. on outlook.com email web page theres nothing in "contacts" but all my names/addresses show in drop down menu if i go to enter an address

any ideas appreciated thanx

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hi, can anyone help with this, its a continuation of original problem thanx


hi, i retrieved folders ok from outlook.com but not address book. on outlook.com email web page theres nothing in "contacts" but all my names/addresses show in drop down menu if i go to enter an address

any ideas appreciated thanx

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to moderator hi, can you please say if my posts are as they should be as im not getting replies. do i need to be more polite etc

i did use IMAP [as advised] thanks

Modified by bill

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re :on outlook.com email web page theres nothing in "contacts"

'contacts' is the address book in the webmail account. If it is empty then it seems there are no saved contacts.

re: but all my names/addresses show in drop down menu That is using the autocomplete cache not the 'Contacts' address book.

Suggest you see if you can get them restored:

How to export as .csv file which can be imported into Thunderbird.


You could connect via.... Use the TbSync/Provider for Exchange ActiveSync add-ons to sync outlook.com calendars and contacts. https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-us/thunderbird/addon/tbsync/

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thanks for that, there was nothing in the deleteted folder so that seems to be that. any idea why Moz bvackup restored adsdresses fro 10 years ago, i made a rcent backup. have had several new pc's over that time

Modified by bill

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If the 'Contacts' address book which is viewed via webmail is empty and their method of restore is not helpful - but autocomplete works - Did you ever actually add contacts into the outlook.com webmail contacts address book or did you assume the contacts were stored because autocomplete worked?


Mozbackup Author states: MozBackup is not being developed anymore. There are known issues and there is no time on my side to fix all issues and develop new features. Use MozBackup only on your risk. Thanks for understanding.

The last time the author updated anything was a decade ago. I would not advise using that product.

In Thunderbird, there have been changes regarding address books. They used to be stored in .mab files which can still be imported, but the format completely changed as of version 78.0 - first offered to channel users on July 17, 2020 - and now Thunderbird stores them in .sqlite format. It is likely Mozbackup has no knowledge about recent changes as it has been abandoned.

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thanks for that very usful info...i just assumed as you said. i will manually copy them with a pen :)

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Chosen Solution

Hi If you now have all your past emails visible in Thunderbird (IMAP) - you can go through them and add the people to Thunderbird address book from the past emails. That may be easier than writing them down, and less prone to error. Click on the sender name/email in From and select Add to Address Book. You should also get a chance to enter their name/nickname, or you can go through the address book later and add further details. If there is a solid colour star next to the From name, they are already in the address book. Hope that helps!

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thanx AgnesRM. good idea