Bump.

Basically I am asking - is there a way to move all the account identities (current mbox setup) to a new profile with maildir setups - with all the individual IMAP related settings?

Why don't you just select "File per message" in Server Settings tab?

Why don't you just select "File per message" in Server Settings tab?

You mean after importing from backup profile .zip? It's disabled. There is no option to select it.

Check Settings > Config Editor > mail.serverDefaultStoreContractID ... set it to 1 and restart.

Thanks.

I am just confirming the order of things once. So, what I should do is:

1. Backup profile to a .zip and store it elsewhere 2. (Better remove the profile using profile manager) 3. Create a fresh/empty profile 4. Before adding/importing accounts and doing anything else - do this: Settings > General > Message Store Type for new accounts set to File per message (maildir) 5. Then import accounts and settings from backed up profile .zip

Up until here ^^ is what I had also done in my migration attempt.

And now you meant to say I should do this:

Check Settings > Config Editor > mail.serverDefaultStoreContractID ... set it to 1 and restart.

(And I assume this is different from what I did in STEP 4 above, right? Or the point is that it should be done again, after accounts import as they would retain their previous mail store type settings because it was an import from a profile which was in fact mbox based - is this so?)

So this will change the message store type settings for all the imported accounts back to maildir (as I tried to do with my STEP 4) which had been automatically set to mbox with import despite of my step 4. Correct?

(PS. I just wanted to understand whether I am doing all this in the correct order)

When I read this thread, I became excited for the third or fourth time about switching from mbox to maildir, recalled earlier warnings, did some research, and found that an old knowledgebase article had finally been updated:

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/maildir-thunderbird

See also: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Thunderbird/Maildir

and:

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/buglist.cgi?classification=Client%20Software&classification=Components&f1=short_desc&f2=OP&f3=short_desc&o1=nowordssubstr&o3=anywordssubstr&product=MailNews%20Core&product=Thunderbird&resolution=---&short_desc=maildir&short_desc_type=allwordssubstr

I am no longer excited about switching.

I do not know the answer to your question about how to avoid re-creating accounts and re-setting options when switching to maildir. When I played with maildir in the past, I started with a new profile and re-created everything. When I read this thread, I experimented to see what would happen if I changed only the configuration editor setting that Wayne mentioned. It did not enable the change in the server settings. So I still believe that the maildir option works only on new accounts. I am guessing that importing accounts will not switch their storage format. Have you tried it?

Wayne may know more.

I could not resist. I re-created my profile (accounts, add-ons, settings, configuration editor settings, et cet.) with maildir as the storage format. I'll see how it goes.

I am guessing that importing accounts will not switch their storage format. Have you tried it? Wayne may know more.

Yes, I tried it. I posted this question after that. Accounts were sticking to mbox from the old profile from where those were being imported with no way to change that setting.

I re-created my profile

As in manually setting up everything from scratch, not importing anything from some export or backup, right?

Either way, maybe you can share your experience here or in a separate post.

As in manually setting up everything from scratch, not importing anything from some export or backup, right? Either way, maybe you can share your experience here or in a separate post.

Yes, everything from scratch.

What I did, roughly in this sequence:

1. I copied all the local folders in my old profile to a storage location outisde Thunderbird.
2. Created a new, empty profile.
3. In general settings, set maildir as the storage format for new accounts.
4. Set my other general setttings, including customizations in the configuration editor.
5. Copied my Chrome folder with userChrome.css and userContent.css to the new profile.
6. Installed my add-ons and set options in them.
7. Set up the one account that I use now.
8. Confirmed that it was using the maildir format by checking settings and the files in my profile.
9. Set layout options, toolbars, et cet.
10. Imported one folder of messages into the local folders account to confirm that it was using the maildir format.

It seems like much work, but it probably took me less than an hour because I know my settings and customizations well.

Everything has worked fine since. I am not a good test case because I have only one account, I keep few messages on the server, and I am using local folders very little right now. Maybe some operations are a little faster; I cannot tell. What I like mostly about maildir is the efficiency and elegance. No compacting, no transfers of large folders, fewer concerns about large folders becoming messed up.

I have re-discovered one reason why I decided against using the maildir format in the past: I do not know any way to convert/import mbox files to maildir. The excellent add-on ImportExportToolsNG does not import mbox files into a maildir structure. If I put an mbox file in the local folders of a Thunderbird profile set for maildir, Thunderbird ignores it.

I store most of my messages outside Thunderbird. Many are in mbox format, some are in eml format. Whenever I need access to messages in an mbox format, I will have to import them into a Thunderbird profile set for mbox, then export them, then import them into a Thunderbird profile set for maildir.

Unless someone else knows an easier way and will share it here.

Oh, there are scripts to do the conversion: http://batleth.sapienti-sat.org/projects/mb2md/

I would rather not use scripts.