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Import Maildir to Thunderbird: Learn the Best Technique

author
Published By Raj
Debasish Pramanik
Approved By Debasish Pramanik
Published On February 22nd, 2024
Reading Time 6 Minutes Reading
Category Thunderbird

Maildir is the most common way to save emails on a server. There was a time when it was the default mechanism of Thunderbird! But now, there is not even a manual or native option to import Maildir to Thunderbird directly without putting the data at risk!

Try Emaildoctor’s professional solution to get rid of this inconvenience. This software lets you add complete Maildir data on any Thunderbird configured profile. Start reading this blog to know the complete process of importing Maildir file to Thunderbird. By the time you finish reading this, you will be fully knowledgeable about Maildir to Thunderbird migration.

Table of Contents:

  1. Learn More about Maildir File in Thunderbird
  2. Reasons to Migrate Maildir File to Thunderbird
  3. How to Import Maildir to Thunderbird? Expert Solution
  4. Additional Benefits of using Thunderbird Maildir Import
  5. Manual Method to Migrate Maildir File to Thunderbird
  6. Conclusion & FAQs

Learn More about Maildir File in Thunderbird

In case you want to migrate Maildir file to Thunderbird but you have no clue what is a Maildir file, here is some more information for you.

  • Maildir files are created in Thunderbird if users choose to save data in this format from Advanced Settings.
  • This file stores data in three different subdirectories: New, Temp, and Cur.
  • This file is faster than MBOX and is also considered more stable than it.
  • Each email is stored in a single file within Maildir directory.
  • This file type is fully secured and ensures minimum corruption.
  • Sharing Maildir files over a Network is easy as it brings compatibility issues.
  • Quickly classifies emails and puts them into proper subdirectories.

Now that you have gathered some knowledge about Maildir files, let’s move on to know the method of importing this file in Thunderbird.

Reasons to Migrate Maildir File to Thunderbird

There are multiple reasons why users want to import their Maildir files into Thunderbird, we have discussed a few of the most common of them below. 

  • Users might want to switch to another email client and for that Thunderbird is the most popular format as it supports various mailbox formats and is available on multiple platforms such as Windows, Mac, and Linux. 
  • Thunderbird is the primary choice for users because of its impressive features, user-friendly interface, and customization options, and can also be integrated with other Mozilla products such as Firefox for more benefits and a unified user experience. 
  • The email client has an active and supportive user community and a variety of add-ons as well as extensions that allow users to fulfill the requirements with the help of certain specific features. 

How to Import Maildir to Thunderbird? Expert Solution

As we have mentioned earlier, Thunderbird does not offer any native option to import Maildir file in it. For this reason, people used to convert Maildir file into MBOX and then migrate it into Thunderbird. But, those days of hassle are gone now. Presenting the latest version of software to Import MBOX to Thunderbird directly, it can also import any size of Maildir files along with its sub-folders.

Download the software now and start to import Maildir to Thunderbird it is some easy steps:

  1. Open and launch Thunderbird Maildir Importer.start the thunderbird maildir import
  2. Click on Add File or Add Folder option. Then, add Maildir files into the software.add maildir files via add file/folder
  3. After adding the files, apply the date filter if you want. Else, select the All Mails radio button to upload all the added files.apply date filters
  4. Choose from the auto-loaded Thunderbird configured profiles.select thunderbird identity

    Note: To import the file into an IMAP account, you need to select Local Folder from the Identities list. After importing, you can easily move or drag and drop the imported maildir emails into your preferred IMAP configured profile.

  5. Now, Click on Import to import Maildir to Thunderbird.import the maildir files
  6. Start Thunderbird and you will be able to open and read Maildir data on it.process successful

Additional Benefits of using Thunderbird Maildir Import

If you prefer to use this software over other tools that are available, you can avail some additional benefits such as:

  • This application can import all MBOX files including Google Vault and Gmail to Thunderbird.
  • Any number of EML files generated on Windows or Mac email clients can be imported with this software.
  • Allows importing EMLX file to Thunderbird account.
  • Users can choose to keep the original folder hierarchy intact while they import Maildir to Thunderbird.
  • By using the date-filter option, one may choose to import selective emails into Thunderbird.

Manual Method to Migrate Maildir File to Thunderbird

Users first need to install the ImportExportTools NG on their system and then select the Maildir files from their system and right click on it to open all the files in the Thunderbird application. This solution may seem to be simple but it is important to note that ImportExportTools NG is only compatible with a particular version of Thunderbird and doesn’t support any other versions.

Also, there is very limited support and development related to this tool, hence users can’t get any help and face many challenges while importing their data files. Non-technical users might feel this to be very complex and thus, it will increase the chances of data corruption or permanent data loss.

Conclusion

Many users come up with the query about how to import Maildir to Thunderbird into technical forums. For them, we have suggested the most efficient tool in this regard. By following the full guide to running this application given in this blog, users can easily import Maildir files to Thunderbird in bulk numbers without damaging any data.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Can this software import Maildir to Thunderbird with all the subfolders located within the file?

Ans. Yes, this application is capable of importing complete data of Maildir files including all of its sub-folders.

Q2. I need to process an MBOX file long with the Maildir files into Thunderbird. Which solution do you suggest?

Ans. You should opt for the given software. This all-in-one application can import Maildir, MBOX, EML, and EMLX files.

Q3. Will there be any changes in the meta properties of Maildir emails after importing them into Thunderbird?

Ans. No, there will be no changes in the original metadata of this source file even after importation to Thunderbird.