Windows users can try mail conversion utilities, but they also make SimpleMAPI calls just like Thunderbird. Thunderbird is a 32-bit program, so it can't import from a 64-bit version of Outlook. If you're switching to a new PC where you're going to run Thunderbird (instead of Outlook) its recommended that you import your messages into Thunderbird before getting rid of (or cannibalizing) your old PC.

If some of the messages aren't imported correctly, a common workaround is to import the messages into Outlook Express, and then import the messages from Outlook Express into Thunderbird. See Import_from_Outlook_Express for information on how to import from more than one identity. This method uses SimpleMAPI calls to Outlook, and Outlook accesses the contents of the personal folders (.pst) file. Normally you import by setting Outlook as the default email client, and then use Tools -> Import -> Mail within Thunderbird. pst file, nor can it import data if Outlook is not installed. So there is no Thunderbird import command that lets you browse to the location of a. Thunderbird does not understand that format, nor does it know that. pst files, which is a proprietary format.

Most import tools, and Thunderbird, require that a compatible version of Outlook be installed on the machine being used to import Microsoft outlook data. See Migrating messages using a mail server for more information. This works because IMAP supports remote folders (on the mail server) that you can access just like they're local folders. Think of it as sort of like a file share, except it is for messages. Both email clients would be able to use those messages. You would do this by copying or moving the messages to the folders in the IMAP account. Īnother solution would be to sign up for a free IMAP account (such as Gmail), add the account to both Outlook and Thunderbird, and then use the IMAP account as a intermediary to transfer your mail (without importing or forwarding it).

See Go back to an old version of Thunderbird for links to older setup programs. If it breaks again you can work around this by temporarily using an older version of Thunderbird. Importing from Outlook in the built-in import wizard was disabled in version 38 as it broke. This article was written for Thunderbird but also applies to Mozilla Suite / SeaMonkey (though some menu sequences may differ).

Import outlook personal folders 2016