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Using Thunderbird as an Offline Backup Email Reader

  • 3 replies
  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by sfhowes

gekiganger
gekiganger
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Hello!

I have some old Gmail accounts I don't use anymore and just want the old emails on them stored locally so I don't have to go back to them again.

If I can get all of those emails into a mbox format. Is there a way to use Thunderbird strictly as an offline old email reader? Everytime I start it, it ask for me to enter an account and I'm not sure how to get around that ?

Hello! I have some old Gmail accounts I don't use anymore and just want the old emails on them stored locally so I don't have to go back to them again. If I can get all of those emails into a mbox format. Is there a way to use Thunderbird strictly as an offline old email reader? Everytime I start it, it ask for me to enter an account and I'm not sure how to get around that ?

All Replies (3)

sfhowes
sfhowes
  • Top 10 Contributor
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Copy the mail to subfolders of Local Folders, then start TB in offline mode: Preferences/Network & Disk Space, Offline Settings.

gekiganger
gekiganger Question owner
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In a default installation of Thunderbird where is this folder located? I see two folders in Profiles (xxxxx.default, yyyyy.default) I don't see a mail folder in either.

sfhowes
sfhowes
  • Top 10 Contributor
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You don't need to look in profile folders. Local Folders is shown in the Folder Pane of every TB setup, assuming you haven't renamed it (not recommended). If you've never added a mail account to TB, Local Folders won't be automatically created until a mail account is added, even a fake one.