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How to Export Thunderbird Emails to PDF Format? Best Expert Guide

export thunderbird to pdf

Raj | Modified: January 28, 2022 | Adobe PDF, Mozilla Thunderbird | 4 Minutes Reading

You can now export Thunderbird emails to PDF as the latter file types serve multiple purposes. In this article, we will be learning how to export Mozilla Thunderbird data into PDF format.

Mozilla Thunderbird is a free email client that can manage all of our emails, send & receive data across a connection. This email application can work on different operating systems that are Windows, Mac, Linux, and others. On top of that, it is a free and open-source email application.

A PDF file is a document format that can consist of text, hyperlinks, images, videos, and various other data formats. The best feature of PDF files is their small size that can be shared over the internet connection easily. It can store a large amount of data and can be accessed via the majority of operating systems.

Another advantage of using PDF files is the security it offers. One can apply a secret passcode to it that prevents it from going into unauthorized hands. Given the advantages, it is often seen that people wish to export data from Thunderbird to this format. In this article, we are going to discuss the method in detail.

How to Export Thunderbird Emails to PDF?

There are manual as well as automatic ways to complete this task. We shall see both of them one by one. First, let’s talk about the manual way:

  • Launch Mozilla Thunderbird in your system.
  • Click on any of the folders from the menu on the left (Inbox, Outbox, or Sent Items folder).
  • You must install an addon “importexporttools ng” for Thunderbird.
  • Now, click on “Tools” > and select this new addon.
  • Choose the ‘Export all messages in the folder’ button.
  • Click on the PDF option for exporting Thunderbird emails to PDF.

select pdf from Thunderbird addon

  • After you choose the PDF option, you will receive an alert message saying “If you export in this format, the attachment is not saved. If you want to save the attachments also, choose a different format”.
  • Hit on OK and search the location to save the file.
  • The process is now complete and the files will save in PDF file format.

Keep in mind that this free method will NOT SAVE ATTACHMENTS. So, if you wish to have the attachments with the emails, kindly move on to the next solution.

Automatically Exporting Thunderbird Emails into PDF

Thunderbird exports its emails in the MBOX file format. To convert this file type into PDF, there is no direct method. Hence, the best practice would be to go for the MBOX to PST converter that can convert into multiple file types. The inspiration behind the development of this utility is the need to export Thunderbird MBOX emails into PDF and other formats.

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You can easily download it on your computer and install it. Add the source email file into its interface and follow the steps prompted. Choose PDF type as the export option.

  • Launch the tool on your system and click on the “Add File” button.

add file button

  •  Select “Thunderbird” and choose either of the two options:
    • Default profile – If you have Mozilla Thunderbird installed on your computer and you want to convert its mailbox into PDF, then use this method. It allows automatic database detection.
    • Select file/folders – Use this option to directly browse and add Thunderbird MBOX files from the system.

select thunderbird

  • Preview the Thunderbird emails with all their details.

preview thunderbird emails

  • Select “PDF” from the list of export options.

select pdf

  • Apply the advanced options for the PDF file.

apply pdf settings

  • Choose “Export” to start exporting emails from Thunderbird to PDF.

use export button to start Thunderbird to PDF conversion

For facilities like Search option, filters based on subject, combination, etc., and forensic analysis, you can opt for our another MBOX to PDF conversion solution.

Advantages of the Software

  • Exports multiple Thunderbird emails in a single attempt.
  • Offers the option to export the MBX and MBS files too.
  • Recover & export files with attachment even after deletion.
  • Maintains data integrity and secures the metadata as well.
  • Supports exporting attachments with the source files to PDF.
  • Feature to export selective files or bulk files as needed.

Related: Import MBOX Files to Outlook

Conclusion

In this article, we suggested two different methods to export Thunderbird emails to PDF files. The above few sections explain both of these methods in detail that the users can easily follow. However, the software suggested is a much better option since it offers security and integrity to your source data.