Thunderbird Inbox



In order to view Thunderbird inbox file that is orphaned, you have to opt for Choose Folder option. Extra Tip – Use ‘Open Configured Thunderbird Accounts’ option, if you have Thunderbird tenant installed on your system. Here, select the folder having inbox file (s) of Thunderbird. Mozilla Thunderbird saves your personal information in a set of files called a Profile. The Profile houses local mail, copies of messages that reside on the mail server, and changes made to the Thunderbird account settings or toolbar. Thunderbird inbox file viewer is a standalone software that requires only Thunderbird files, its configuration is not required. If your Mozilla Thunderbird open source email client got corrupted and unable to run then you can read Thunderbird emails using this mentioned software.

From MozillaZine Knowledge Base

(Redirected from Moving your mail storage location (Thunderbird))
Thunderbird Inbox

By default, your mail is stored in your profile folder, along with your address books, settings, addons and other files. If you want to move your mail (but not the entire contents of the profile folder) to a different location, follow the steps below.

Thunderbird email sign in

Thunderbird checks that you are not specifying a directory where something might accidentally delete your data or cause other problems, but its not infallible. Before you change where your mail is stored, read Dangerous directories to check whether you are making a safe choice. Also, make certain the directory location(s) are set as exclusions in your antivirus and antimalware software. And think about how this affects backing up your data. Mozbackup for example only backs up directories in the profile.

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For accounts using the Global Inbox (Local Folders)

1. Set Thunderbird to use offline mode by selecting File -> Offline -> Work Offline. It only takes a minute to change the local directory but working offline eliminates any chance of downloading a new message while you are doing that.

2. Exit Thunderbird. Create a directory in the new location where you would like to store your mail.

3. Go to your existing profile folder and copy your mail files over to the new location. By default accounts using the Global Inbox have their messages stored in Local Folders, which is located in the 'Mail' folder in your profile folder. Copy the entire contents of 'Local Folders', including all subfolders, over to the new location.

Inbox

4. Start Thunderbird and go to 'Tools -> Account Settings', and then click on 'Local Folders' in the left pane (you may need to scroll down to see it). Where it says 'Local directory', click on the 'Browse...' button to select the folder you created in step 2 and click the 'OK' button. Verify that the 'Local directory' field shows the correct path to the new storage location of your mail.

5. Set Thunderbird to use online mode again by selecting File -> Offline -> Work Online. Once you're certain that Thunderbird recognizes the new location of your mail, you can go back and delete the old mail files from your profile folder.

For accounts not using the Global Inbox

1. Set Thunderbird to use offline mode by selecting File -> Offline -> Work Offline. It only takes a minute to change the local directory but working offline eliminates any chance of downloading a new message while you are doing that.

2. Exit Thunderbird. Create a directory in the new location where you would like to store your mail. If you are changing the storage location for more than one account, create a separate directory for each account.

Thunderbird

3. Go to your existing profile folder and copy your mail files over to the new location. For each account you want to move find that account's folder in the 'Mail' folder (POP3 accounts) or the 'ImapMail' folder (IMAP accounts) and copy its entire contents, including all of its subfolders, over to the new location. If you're not sure where an account stores its folders look in 'Tools -> Account Settings -> [account name] -> Server Settings -> Local directory.

4. Start Thunderbird and go to 'Tools -> Account Settings -> [account name] -> Server Settings'. Where it says 'Local directory', click on the 'Browse...' button to select the folder you created in step 2. Click the 'OK' button and verify that the 'Local directory' field shows the correct path to the new storage location of your mail.

5. If you have more than one mail account, repeat step 4 for each account whose mail you moved in steps 2-3.

6. Set Thunderbird to use online mode again by selecting File -> Offline -> Work Online. Once you're certain that Thunderbird recognizes the new location of your mail, you can go back and delete the old mail files from your profile folder.

Thunderbird Inbox
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See also

External links

  • MozillaZine forum thread with information about the settings used.
  • Bug report requesting move cache outside of the regular profile folder
  • Bug report requesting breaking up the profile for roaming, sharing and performance
  • Bug report requesting ability to split prefs into multiple files
  • Bug report requesting location of index (global-messages-db.sqlite) be customizable
Retrieved from 'http://kb.mozillazine.org/Moving_your_mail_storage_location_-_Thunderbird'

Thunderbird saves personal information such as messages, passwords and user preferences in a set of files called a 'profile', which is stored in a separate location from the Thunderbird program files. While it is possible to have multiple profiles, most users just use the single default (see Using Multiple Profiles for more information).

Table of Contents

  • 2Where is my profile stored?
  • 3How to find your profile
  • 5Restoring a profile backup

In Thunderbird, the profile stores two main sets of items. First, it stores your local mail, and possibly copies of messages that reside on the mail server (depending on your account configuration). Second, it stores any changes you make while using Thunderbird (for example, changes to account settings and changes to the toolbar).

When you install Thunderbird it creates a profile called 'default'. This profile will be used automatically unless you invoke the Profile Manager and create a new profile.

Profile files are stored separately from the Thunderbird program files. The program files are static and do not change (except when you upgrade the Thunderbird application version). Because we store profile and program files separately, you can uninstall Thunderbird without losing your messages and settings, and if something goes wrong with a Thunderbird update your information will still be available. It also means that you don't have to reinstall Thunderbird in order to delete your information or troubleshoot a problem.

Each profile is stored on your hard drive in a profile folder. The folder is named using the following convention:

<random_string>.<profile_name>

...where '<random_string>' is eight digits randomly generated by Thunderbird and '<profile_name>' is the name you assigned to the profile. The location of the folder will vary according to the operating system (and whether or not you specified a non-default location when you created the profile):

Profile Location Summary

%APPDATA%ThunderbirdProfilesxxxxxxxx.default

  • %APPDATA% is shorthand for the 'C:Users<username>AppDataRoaming''C:Documents and Settings<username>Application Data' folder, which depends on your Windows user account name.

~/Library/Thunderbird/Profiles/xxxxxxxx.default/

  • The tilde character (~) refers to the current user's Home folder, so ~/Library is the '/Macintosh HD/Users/<username>/Library/' folder.
  1. Click on the menu button or menu bar.
  2. From the Help menu, click Troubleshooting Information.
  3. In the Application Basics section, Profile FolderProfile Directory, click on .
  4. The Windows ExplorerMac FinderFiles window will show the name of the profile as well as the path to it.

Thunderbird Inbox

Finding your profile without opening Thunderbird

Thunderbird stores your profile folder in this location on your computer, by default:
'C:Users<your Windows login username>AppDataRoamingThunderbirdProfiles'
Windows hides the AppData folder by default, but you can find your profile folder as follows:

  1. Press +R on the keyboard. A Run dialog will open.
  2. Type in:
    %APPDATA%ThunderbirdProfiles
  3. Click . A window will open containing profile folders.
  4. Double-click the profile folder you wish to open. If you only have one profile, its folder would have 'default' in the name.
  1. From the Start Screen, click the Desktop tile. The Desktop view will open.
  2. From the Desktop, hover in the lower right-hand corner to access the Charms.
  3. Select the Search charm. The Search sidebar will open.
  4. In the search box, type in:
    %APPDATA%ThunderbirdProfiles
    without pressing Enter. A list of profile folders will appear.
  5. Click on the profile folder you wish to open (it will open in a window). If you only have one profile, its folder would have 'default' in the name.
  1. Click the Windows button. The Start menu will open.
  2. In the Search box at the bottom of the Start menu, type:
    %APPDATA%ThunderbirdProfiles
    without pressing Enter. A list of profiles will appear at the top of the Start menu.
  3. Click on the profile folder you wish to open (it will open in a window). If you only have a single profile, its folder would have 'default' in the name.
  • Alternatively, you can find your profile by pressing the key and then start typing: %APPDATA%ThunderbirdProfiles

Thunderbird Download

Note: To set Windows to show the AppData folder and other hidden files and folders, see Show hidden files - Windows Help.
  1. Click the Windows button, and select Run….
  2. Type in:
    %APPDATA%ThunderbirdProfiles
    then click .
    A window will open containing profile folders.
  3. Double-click the profile folder you wish to open. If you only have one profile, its folder would have 'default' in the name.
  1. Click the Finder icon in the dock. On the menu bar, click the Go menu, hold down the option or alt key and select Library.
  2. Open the Thunderbird folder, and then the Profiles folder.
  3. Your profile folder is within this folder. If you only have one profile, its folder would have 'default' in the name.
  1. (Ubuntu) Click the Places menu on the top right of the screen and select Home Folder. A File Browser window will appear.
  2. Click the View menu and select Show Hidden Files if it isn't already checked.
  3. Double click the folder marked .thunderbird. Your profile folder is within this folder. If you only have one profile, its folder would have 'default' in the name.

To back up your profile, first close Thunderbird if it is open and then copy the profile folder to another location.

  1. Locate your profile folder, as explained above.
  2. Shut down Thunderbird.
  3. Go to one level above your profile's folder, i.e. to %APPDATA%ThunderbirdProfiles~/Library/Thunderbird/Profiles/~/.mozilla/Thunderbird/
  4. Right-clickHold down the Ctrl key while you click on your profile folder (e.g. xxxxxxxx.default), and select Copy.
  5. Right-clickHold down the Ctrl key while you click the backup location (e.g. a USB-stick or a blank CD-RW disc), and select Paste item.
  1. Shut down Thunderbird.
  2. If your existing profile folder and profile backup folder have the same name, simply replace the existing profile folder with the profile backup, then start Thunderbird.
    Important: The profile folder names must match exactly for this to work, including the random string of 8 characters. If the names do not match or if you are restoring a backup to a different location, follow the steps below.

Restoring to a different location

If the profile folder names do not match or if you want to move or restore a profile to a different location, do the following:

  1. Completely close Thunderbird, as explained above.
  2. Use the Thunderbird Profile Manager to create a new profile in your desired location, then exit the Profile Manager.
    Note: If you just installed Thunderbird on a new computer, you can use the default profile that is automatically created when you first run Thunderbird, instead of creating a new profile.
  3. Locate the backed up profile folder on your hard drive or backup medium (e.g., your USB-stick).
  4. Open the profile folder backup (e.g., the xxxxxxxx.default backup).
  5. Copy the entire contents of the profile folder backup, such as the mimeTypes.rdf file, prefs.js file, etc.
  6. Locate and open the new profile folder as explained above and then close Thunderbird (if open).
  7. Paste the contents of the backed up profile folder into the new profile folder, overwriting existing files of the same name.
  8. Start Thunderbird.

Thunderbird Inbox Empty

Occasionally, you might want to move a profile or tell Thunderbird to use a profile stored in another location.

  1. Shut down Thunderbird.
  2. Move the profile folder to the desired location. For example, on Windows XP, move the profile from C:Documents and Settings[username]Application DataThunderbirdProfilesxxxxxxxx.default to D:StuffMyMailProfile. (If you are reverting to a backed up profile, this step isn't necessary. Just note the current location of the profile you want to restore.)
  3. Open up the profiles.ini file in a text editor. The file is located in the application data folder for Thunderbird:
    • The path is %AppData%Thunderbird for Windows~/.thunderbird/ for Linux~/Library/Thunderbird/ for Mac OS X.
  4. In the profiles.ini file, locate the entry for the profile you've just moved. Change the Path= line to the new location.
  5. If you switch from a relative path to a non-relative path, the direction of the slashes may need to change. For example, in Windows, non-relative paths use backslashes, whereas relative ones use forward slashes. Change IsRelative=1 to IsRelative=0.
  6. Save profiles.ini and restart Thunderbird.

My Thunderbird Email Inbox

  • Profile Manager Article on MozillaZine
  • Profile Backup Article on MozillaZine