Thunderbird Index files v actual messages

JohnMike · 16 Nov 2012, 02:24 AM

Ok so making preparations to get out of this mess. Totally fed up with this.

Please excuse my ignorance but I have not had need to look at this for many years.

I have played with Thunderbird which isn't the same as the old FM but it's free and I can't afford anything else at the moment.

So where I am at - I have accessed FM via IMAP and subscribed to all my folders so I can see my complete folder structure - All good so far.

But I note that the files created on my hard drive are merely index files sbd's for top level folders and msf's for sub folders. So I am thinking that if I drop FM I will loose everything - not good!

I am thinking that I need to get everything out and safe somewhere other than on FM.

So I am not quite sure how I make the next step. I want to pull the actual messages that have been indexed across to thunderbird. Then I can keep everything in sync until I am ready to move everything to a new host.

I may of course be going about this in completely the wrong way Guidance welcomed.

zidium · 16 Nov 2012, 02:38 AM

First, you should consider getting a PolarisMail account.

I just compared my costs at Fastmail to Runbox (another competitor) and it was like $80 for 2 accounts at Fastmail and $140-180 (without file storage) at Runbox. Then I found the same options (or better! 24 GB for email!) for $50 at Polaris ($25/mailbox).

Go ahead and change your domains to point to polaris and then forward everything to your username@fastmail.fm account, to aid in the migration process. The admin, George, will be happy to import all of your existing Fastmail mail into Polaris and it only took a few hours for it to import several GBs of my email.

Second, Thunderbird does *NOT* store email from IMAP, by default, so you're right, if you were to cut Fastmail now, you'd lose EVERYTHING.

What you're looking for is a program named MailStore. Once you archive the email, you can use that program to output the mail into a) Thunderbird profiles, b) zip files of text on a hard drive / DVD, c) Outlook, d) other email servers (via IMAP), etc. It's a really great program. I donated $50 to them just to say thanks.

http://www.mailstore.com/en/mailstore-home.aspx

Then it's just a matter of manually migrating your stored files, aliases, and notes.

George has been extremely attentive, leaps and bounds better than Fastmail at present. I wish him and his company the best, and plan to be w/ them another 10 years like I did w/ Fastmail.

the bishop · 17 Nov 2012, 11:25 PM

I wonder how MailStore compares to iMAPSize?

janusz · 18 Nov 2012, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zidium

Thunderbird does *NOT* store email from IMAP, by defaut.

Not by default, but it's trivial to make Thunderbird store local copies https://support.mozillamessaging.com...ynchronization

JohnMike · 19 Nov 2012, 05:37 PM

Ok so getting used to TB now. I am continuing to use IMAP temporarily until I have everything safely copied away.

A confusion to me was creating a new folder in TB immediately displayed as being subscribed to but did not show up on the FM side.

Click on create/edit folders in FM and bingo it refreshes and the folder is active on both sides.

I have used LDAP for addressing BUT the ONLY way I found to get all my addresses safely stored away from FM is to Export each address Folder (give local file name as the name you want your folder to be in TB and then Import them to TB. Not exactly what I wanted but it didn't take long and it worked.

Must be aware that LDAP only goes one way FM -> TB.

William9 · 20 Nov 2012, 01:14 AM

Why wouldn't you use IMAP permanently? It's a good protocol for any system that supports it -- especially if you have more than one device (client). Your messages will be in sync on all of your devices and on the web.

16 Nov 2012, 02:24 AM	#1
JohnMike Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 78	Thunderbird Index files v actual messages Ok so making preparations to get out of this mess. Totally fed up with this. Please excuse my ignorance but I have not had need to look at this for many years. I have played with Thunderbird which isn't the same as the old FM but it's free and I can't afford anything else at the moment. So where I am at - I have accessed FM via IMAP and subscribed to all my folders so I can see my complete folder structure - All good so far. But I note that the files created on my hard drive are merely index files sbd's for top level folders and msf's for sub folders. So I am thinking that if I drop FM I will loose everything - not good! I am thinking that I need to get everything out and safe somewhere other than on FM. So I am not quite sure how I make the next step. I want to pull the actual messages that have been indexed across to thunderbird. Then I can keep everything in sync until I am ready to move everything to a new host. I may of course be going about this in completely the wrong way Guidance welcomed.

16 Nov 2012, 02:38 AM	#2
zidium Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 30	First, you should consider getting a PolarisMail account. I just compared my costs at Fastmail to Runbox (another competitor) and it was like $80 for 2 accounts at Fastmail and $140-180 (without file storage) at Runbox. Then I found the same options (or better! 24 GB for email!) for $50 at Polaris ($25/mailbox). Go ahead and change your domains to point to polaris and then forward everything to your username@fastmail.fm account, to aid in the migration process. The admin, George, will be happy to import all of your existing Fastmail mail into Polaris and it only took a few hours for it to import several GBs of my email. Second, Thunderbird does NOT store email from IMAP, by default, so you're right, if you were to cut Fastmail now, you'd lose EVERYTHING. What you're looking for is a program named MailStore. Once you archive the email, you can use that program to output the mail into a) Thunderbird profiles, b) zip files of text on a hard drive / DVD, c) Outlook, d) other email servers (via IMAP), etc. It's a really great program. I donated $50 to them just to say thanks. http://www.mailstore.com/en/mailstore-home.aspx Then it's just a matter of manually migrating your stored files, aliases, and notes. George has been extremely attentive, leaps and bounds better than Fastmail at present. I wish him and his company the best, and plan to be w/ them another 10 years like I did w/ Fastmail. Last edited by zidium : 16 Nov 2012 at 02:39 AM. Reason: Added link to Polaris Mail

19 Nov 2012, 05:37 PM	#5
JohnMike Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 78	May be useful to know... Ok so getting used to TB now. I am continuing to use IMAP temporarily until I have everything safely copied away. A confusion to me was creating a new folder in TB immediately displayed as being subscribed to but did not show up on the FM side. Click on create/edit folders in FM and bingo it refreshes and the folder is active on both sides. I have used LDAP for addressing BUT the ONLY way I found to get all my addresses safely stored away from FM is to Export each address Folder (give local file name as the name you want your folder to be in TB and then Import them to TB. Not exactly what I wanted but it didn't take long and it worked. Must be aware that LDAP only goes one way FM -> TB.

17 Nov 2012, 11:25 PM	#3
the bishop Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: May 2005 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 676	I wonder how MailStore compares to iMAPSize?

20 Nov 2012, 01:14 AM	#6
William9 The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 2,281	Why wouldn't you use IMAP permanently? It's a good protocol for any system that supports it -- especially if you have more than one device (client). Your messages will be in sync on all of your devices and on the web.