Don’t Know?
How to Import Outlook to Thunderbird Local Profile & Folders
Majority users switch from Outlook Mail to Thunderbird (TBird) due the fact Thunderbird is open-source email client (free of cost), compatible with Windows, Mac OS, Linux. However, they confront a noteworthy issue while importing Outlook to Thunderbird Local Folders like invalid characters, missing folders & are unable to find proper step-by-step process importing Outlook Profile to Thunderbird from Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013 & later editions.
Well now,
You have landed up in an apt blog, where you will find different ways import mail from Outlook to Thunderbird Default, Local Profile & Folders.
To import Outlook mail to Thunderbird, it requires a compatible version of Outlook to be installed on the machine. As it’s a well known fact, that Microsoft Outlook stores data in PST file format, which is a proprietary format. Thus, Thunderbird does not actually understand a “PST” file & data present within the file. Moreover, there is no In-built or intergral Import facility by Thunderbird which lets you browse PST File or directly import to Thunderbird Local Folders, if Outlook 2013, 2016, 2019 is not installed.
The greater part of the clients download Add-ons from a hazardous webpages to import mail from Outlook File to Thunderbird Default Profile. However, they are not aware that they can be the victim of data breach, identity leak problems.
Do Not Worry – Just Take A Deep Breath!
In this section, we are going to introduce different methods using which the user can import Outlook to Thunderbird without any data-related issues.
| S.No. | Table of Content |
| 1 | Native Thunderbird (TBird) Import |
| 2 | Using IMAP Account |
| 3 | Looking for a Quick Way to Import |
Download SysTools Outlook to Thunderbird Tool : Download Now
100% Safe & Secure
There are many users who are unaware of the Original Import option provided by Thunderbird. To use this Native Tbird Import option, you need to set Outlook as the default email client then to go to Tools > Import > Mail in Thunderbird. Basically, this method uses SimpleMAPI calls to Outlook and Outlook accesses the contents of the personal folders (.pst) file.
To make use of Import option provided by Thunderbird the user need to set Outlook as the default email client. If it is not set then the error will occur:
How Do I Export Outlook to Thunderbird with this Native Import?
To import Outlook Mail to Thunderbird via using Native Import feature of Thunderbird, the user need to follow the step-by-step process given below:
Another way to import Outlook to Thunderbird is to sign up for a free IMAP account (Gmail) and then add Gmail account to Thunderbird & Outlook. This IMAP account acts as an intermediary to migrate Outlook Mail to Thunderbird. IMAP supports remote folder on the server that the user can access just like the local folder. Thus, IMAP email account method can be applied.
A Word of Caution: :
In Outlook all the folders are stored within a single PST file. Thus, Outlook does not care about the folder names. However, Thunderbird stores all the messages for each folder in a file named after the folder. So, characters in the folder name can cause problems when importing to Thunderbird. As the characters can be invalid filename characters for the user’s operating system. If the user is facing an error message that is Thunderbird is unable to create a folder. Then the user needs to rename all the folder in Outlook to use 7-bit alphabetical ASCII characters and then try again. Sometimes, the issue occurs when two child folders with the same name are present under two different parent folders. Then, in such case, the user needs to rename one of the child folders.
Import Outlook to Thunderbird in Just 4 Steps
The most reliable and easiest way to move Outlook emails to Thunderbird is:
Let us Dig A Little Deeper!
Step 1: Find Local PST Files
Outlook stores PST and OST file in the application data folder on the user’s Windows system. Thus, first, the user needs to find the exact location of PST/OST files in the system.
Step 2: Convert Email from PST format
Step 3: Find Thunderbird ‘Local Folders’ Directory and Copy MBOX Files
To find the local folders directory in Thunderbird:
Browse MBOX in Thunderbird
Finally, you have to restart Thunderbird and you will be able to see the mailbox in local folders list.
See How Simple That Was!
When users need to migrate Outlook to Mozilla Thunderbird, then they search for a simple and reliable process to Import Outlook to Thunderbird Profile & Folders. Thus, in the above section, we have explained different methods using which the user can easily transfer Microsoft Outlook emails to Thunderbird.
