How to Export Thunderbird Emails to PST in Easy Steps?

This guide aims to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of how to effortlessly export Thunderbird emails to PST. We’ll explore a step-by-step manual procedure for this process. However, if you encounter any challenges along the way, you also have the option of using a professional Thunderbird Backup Tool. Furthermore, to know the reasons why users tend to export from Thunderbird to PST, let’s proceed with the blog.

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Generally, users tend to convert Thunderbird emails to open Thunderbird emails or MBOX files in Outlook. Other advantages of Outlook and PST files, that compel users to do so are:

• Thunderbird is mostly used for personal purposes, while Outlook is the preferred choice for businesses and organizations.
• Though free, Thunderbird lacks advanced features and security options such as setting up Exchange server connections and password protection.
• Migrating data from Outlook PST to cloud platforms like Office 365 and Google Workspace is a more straightforward process.
• Outlook is accessible on both Windows and Android mobile devices, providing users with a seamless experience across platforms.

Apart from this, many other reasons insist users export Thunderbird to PST. 

Now, let’s transition to the main content of the blog, i.e., the procedural section.

Manually Export Thunderbird Emails to PST

The manual procedure can be quite extensive and somewhat complex. If you’re not well-versed in technical tasks, you might find some of the steps challenging. To make it easy to understand and perform, let’s break down the process into three parts:

#1. Enable IMAP Settings Gmail Account

• Open Gmail and log in with an existing account(if not already logged in).
• Go to Settings and click on the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.
• Scroll down to the IMAP Access section. Tap on Enable IMAP.
• Now, click on the Save Changes button.
• Proceeding further to export Thunderbird Emails to PST, you must generate a new app password in the next step. Follow the steps for creating a New App Password:Click on your Gmail profile and select Manage Your Google Account.
• Go to the Security tab, and firstly, enable 2-step verification.
• Return to the Security section, and click on 2-step verification.
• Scroll down to the App Passwords section. There you have to generate a new App Password.
• Follow the prompts, specifying Mail as the App, and click Create.
• Copy and save the newly generated 16-digit code. Press Done. 

The next step involved in the procedure to export Thunderbird to PST is to configure/add Thunderbird to the Gmail account.

#2. Configure Thunderbird with the Gmail Account

• Launch Mozilla Thunderbird.
• Go to Menu (≣) on the top right. Click on Account Settings.
• In the Account Settings window, tap on Account Actions.
• Now, choose ‘Add a Mail Account…’ 
• Provide your login details, including your full name and Gmail account ID.
• Paste the newly created App Password in the Password field. Click Continue.
• Thunderbird will automatically configure the settings and complete the setup. Once setup is complete, access the Thunderbird interface. 

Now, the next part is the complete and final process to export Thunderbird emails to PST. However, to complete this process, first, you need to transfer the desired emails from Thunderbird to your Gmail inbox. You can do this by dragging the message directly to the Gmail folder or by selecting the email and using Thunderbird’s Copy/Move feature. Further, moving on to the next part which is configuring Gmail with MS Outlook, to ultimately convert Thunderbird to PST.

#3. Re-Configuring Gmail for MS Outlook

(Note: Create a new app password for the Gmail to Outlook setup.)

• Open Microsoft Outlook.
• In the File section, click on Account Settings and then on New.
• Next, enter your Gmail address and tap on Advanced options.
• Check the ‘Let me set up my account manually’ checkbox and click Connect.
• Choose the IMAP option. (If asked, provide the Gmail New App Password, then click Connect.)
• Lastly, when a confirmation window appears, it indicates successful setup, click Done.

Similarly, you can set up an account with the other older versions of MS Outlook. Next, you can save all your emails of Thunderbird exported to Gmail into PST. But it is important to note that, Gmail has a storage limit of 15 GB. Therefore, you can migrate only 15 GB of data at a time from Thunderbird to Gmail.
Nevertheless, if you find the manual procedure hard to perform or fear data loss, the Thunderbird backup tool is a better choice to convert Thunderbird to PST.

Best Solution to Export Thunderbird Emails to PST

DRS Thunderbird Backup Software is the most effective and efficient solution to backup Thunderbird data to PST. It is a fully-featured and advanced tool for exporting Thunderbird data to other file formats or email clients. Also, the tool is easy to operate and widely compatible with all Windows OS. It allows you to convert Thunderbird email to PST, EML, MSG, CSV, PDF, DOC, etc. Moreover, you can directly Migrate from Thunderbird to Office 365, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and other email clients. 

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Steps to Export Thunderbird Emails to PST

• Install and run the Thunderbird Backup tool.
• Select the profile that you wish to backup and click on Next.
• From the tree structure, select the mailbox folders. Click Next.
• Expand the Save/Backup/Migrate As field and choose PST.
• Apply filters for precise backup, if required. Click Convert.

Also Read: Archive Thunderbird Emails

Conclusion

This comprehensive guide details ways to export Thunderbird emails to PST while enhancing your email management experience. You can adopt any of the methods discussed. Although choosing the manual method is not always a wise choice, it completely depends on your preference.

Frequently Asked Questions