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Save email messages so they can be read in MS Outlook

Thunderbird Import and export email
CathGuth replied 7 hours ago
CathGuth
CathGuth

I have used Thunderbird for years, for two different work accounts and a personal account. I am retiring from one workplace, a small arts charity which runs occasional arts events for which I work from home using my own set up. My successor uses Outlook so I want to save relevant emails for them to be able to access previous correspondence if they need to. If I save relevant emails as .eml files into a folder in Dropbox, should my successor be able to open them in Outlook? If not, is there another solution apart from printing relevant emails to PDF and saving them? I am not a hugely techie user and generally find Thunderbird very straightforward! Many thanks for any advice! CathGuth

I have used Thunderbird for years, for two different work accounts and a personal account. I am retiring from one workplace, a small arts charity which runs occasional arts events for which I work from home using my own set up. My successor uses Outlook so I want to save relevant emails for them to be able to access previous correspondence if they need to. If I save relevant emails as .eml files into a folder in Dropbox, should my successor be able to open them in Outlook? If not, is there another solution apart from printing relevant emails to PDF and saving them? I am not a hugely techie user and generally find Thunderbird very straightforward! Many thanks for any advice! CathGuth

All Replies (2)

Lin
Lin
  • Top 10 Contributor

You're on the right track. I would use the add-on "ImportExportTools NG" (https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/addon/importexporttools-ng/) to export any emails you want to pass on the Outlook user. Be sure to set the ImportExportTools options to make sure it does what you want. Then you can export individual messages or entire folders to EML format. You will wind up with one or more folders on your computer filled with separate files, each representing one email message. You can transfer the whole lot to them using Dropbox or other method.

On their end, they can import them into Outlook by drag-and-drop for use. I found this recipe, which looks accurate to me:

https://www.clrn.org/how-do-i-import-emails-into-outlook/

Importing EML Files

EML files are commonly used for storing individual email messages. To import EML files into Outlook:

- Create a Destination Folder: Create a new folder in Outlook where you want to import the EML files. This can be a subfolder within your inbox or a separate folder in your Outlook data file.

- Locate EML Files: Locate the EML files on your local drive or external storage device.

- Drag and Drop: Select the EML files you want to import and drag them into the destination folder in Outlook.

- Import Process: Outlook will automatically import the EML files into the selected folder. The speed of the import will depend on the number and size of the EML files.

Note: If you have a large number of EML files, consider breaking them into smaller batches for import to improve performance and reduce the risk of errors.

CathGuth
CathGuth Question owner

Hi Lin. Many thanks - that looks relatively straightforward and I'll give it a go over the next few days - in batches as you suggest. If I hit any snags I'll be sure to let you know.

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