How can I move from Thunderbird to Gmail/Google Apps?

Seriously, there is no migration path. They are two different animals.

Thunderbird is a desktop email client and manages mail from multiple POP and IMAP mail accounts in one place.

Gmail is a web site for managing your gmail account. Just as Yahoo have one and GMX and AOL and just about every mail provider in existence.

Hi Matt,

I understand that they are different and how each one works. :) What I am trying to figure out is if anyone has successfully been able to move from one to another and, if so, how they have done it.

as you understand they are different, is your mail account all Google mail. Or do you have other mail providers account in Thunderbird as well?

It's not all Google mail. :-/ I wish it was! That would make this much easier! :) I am using a IMAP account in Thunderbird that's set up through my domain/hosting provider. I want to set up a Google Apps account in Gmail (so it's the same email address), and this is where I'm stuck going in circles to try and figure out the best way to move all the emails off Thunderbird.

Go to the relevant google website and create your new account.

When that's working, set it up in Thunderbird using an IMAP connection.

Then you can copy or move messages into that new account, in Thunderbird. Then you can stop using Thunderbird if that's what you want to do.

I can't see any good reason here to stop using Thunderbird. It works just fine with Google accounts. The alternative, on a proper computer, is probably to use webmail. Given a choice between webmail and an email client, I'd take the email client every time. Cleaner, faster, consistent interface across multiple accounts, abilty to have multiple accounts open all at once, and you're able to move messages between them. And no advertising or editorial noise.

I think the intent here is to use the google mail app perhaps on an Andriod phone