Move sbd and msf files into Local folders
I migrated Thunderbird to my new computer (both run Win 10, both Tbird 78). Owing to warranty issues with the new computer requiring a new mother board and other issues, I ended up with several MS user accounts and several Thunderbird profiles. In the installation of Thunderbird on the new computer I was missing all my old archived emails which I had kept in "Mail\Local Folders" in their profile on the old computer. I located them and copied them into my new profile on the new computer. I did this by first copying the contents of "Mail\Local Folders" to This PC\Desktop ( I didn't want to compromise those files), then deleting them from Local Folders then copying the contents of Mail\Local Folders from the old computer into Mail\Local Folders. This was successful. However, the files I copied to the desktop included some archives, in a number of sub-folders, which are more recent than the ones restored and I am not sure how to add them back to those newly restored archives. On my desktop I now have 2 shortcuts called Archives.msf and Archives.sbd. The deleted contents of Mail\Local Folders are available to restore from the recycle bin. Can someone please explain how to put the newer archives back into the appropriate subfolders of archives in Local Folders?
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Note MSF and sdb are not mail archives, one i just a file system folder and the other is an index into your mail. Mail is by default stored in a file with no extension of the same name as the folder. the SDB folder can have mail files in them as they signify mail in a "sub" folder in Thunderbird.
See https://thunderbirdtweaks.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html I try to make it clear there.
To merge stuff from multiple local folders, just add a sub folder to hold the second lot.
so add a folder in Thunderbird for each "lot" of local folders you with to restore. Then restore the local folders from each profile to the sub folder on disk
SO you create backup1 in Thunderbird in local folders, they will appear in the file system as files backup1 and backup1.MSF files. You add a backup1.sdb folder in the file system and add your local folders from backup one to the sub folder backup1.sdb.
Thanks, Matt, for coming to my rescue. I attempted to implement your instructions, I hope accurately, and decided to go through the process using a redundant profile as a test with one archive subfolder. I managed to get it showing in Local Folders when I started Thunderbird, but the subfolder is empty, though it shows in Explorer as having 121 Mb. I take that as due to my deleting the files after "saving" them by copying all the contents of Local Folders to the desktop. I'm thinking I must now restore from the recycle bin. How would this work?: Working in Explorer, I back up all the newly created archive folders (all the suffixes and no suffix), subfolders and contents onto a portable hard drive, then temporarily rename the archive folders, then restore the archive folders I deleted. Then, having launched Thunderbird, it is easy to drag files from one archive folder to the other to create an integrated archive, delete the now empty archive folders and change the name back.