Chris
Thunderbird is the only email client that allows archiving with ImportExportTools and the only client that allows migration to linux from windoze Outlook Express importing all Outlook settings. All outlook folders are then in thunderbird's outlook mail.sbd directory. Rather poor that Evolution can't provide their own method for Import.
Then you can import into any linux email client. You've chosen Evolution [ghastly programme imho and plenty of bugs]. You select File--Import [import assistant window opens and you select import a single file, choosing the mbox file]. If you have problems copy manually - exit evolution, copy files to ~/.evolution/mail/local. Set filters and create her 60 folders or so... shouldn't take that long.
the ImportExportTools add-on for Thunderbird but Evolution doesn't seem to understand the format of what it exports.
It is a pain moving email ! I seem to recall that ImportExport does an html export with an index which could be done for each of the wife's directories. It is not for exporting to another email client. If you use IMAP then you don't have this problem - the new email client will just download all emails when the app starts. May take a while if there is a large amount.
What will you do for backup if you transfer all email folders to evolution - when the files get v.large what will you do?
I only use Thunderbird now for downloading emails for archiving using the ImportExportTools - bi-annually. The new themes that googlemail offers are great for customising so i don't see the point of an email client for everyday use. I also use more than one machine so webmail suits me better.
I'd say archive those 60 folders and set up evolution using IMAP so you can use the Palm Treo. No one has ever told me what they do with huge mail boxes... eventually they just crash or like me back in 2003 a virus messes it all up... another reason why i stuck to webmail since.
james
2009/2/2 Chris G cl@isbd.net:
I am moving my wife over to xubuntu from windows XP, the move has been precipitated by the disk drive on her XP system dying. Fortunately I was able to extract all the data before it expired completely - but that's another story. (I'll post about that in a minute)
She was using Thunderbird and Firefox on XP so the initial transition to Linux has been fairly painless. I have got all of her Thunderbird mail on the Linux system now.
However it would be better if I could move her to Evolution because that synchronizes "out of the box" with her Palm Treo - I have the synchronization working already.
The trouble is I need to get all of her mail across from Thunderbird to Evolution. It's easy enough copying individual mailboxes across but she has an extensive, hierarchical, mail archive with hundreds of messages in a complex hierarchy of fifty or sixty folders. It would take forever to copy this folder by folder.
So, can anyone suggest a way to export the folders from Thunderbird and import them into Evolution preserving the structure? I have found the ImportExportTools add-on for Thunderbird but Evolution doesn't seem to understand the format of what it exports.
-- Chris Green
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