Best Ways to Import PST File to Mozilla Thunderbird

Summary: “In this write-up, you will find effective solutions to export PST to Thunderbird. You will also understand the main reasons that instigate users to import PST to Thunderbird. This article will provide the manual as well as a direct approach to find the solution of How to import Outlook PST file in Thunderbird.”

Save Your Time using Outlook Converter

MS Outlook has a wide range of active users throughout the globe. It is a desktop-based email client that comes as a package deal with Office 365. Microsoft Outlook used the PST file format to store calendar events, contacts, and email messages. This PST file format is also known as the personal storage table. Many people are using this PST file format to share information amongst individuals and organizations. 

On the other hand, Mozilla Thunderbird is an open-source email client that provides many intuitive and powerful features to enhance email productivity. It provides you with a self-explanatory and easy-to-use interface that makes it comfortable to work. Thunderbird runs on a variety of platforms such as Web, macOS, Windows, and Linux. There are some more advantages of Thunderbird that instigates the need to export PST to Thunderbird.

Reasons To Import Outlook PST To Thunderbird

Thunderbird provides some advanced features that make it the best desktop email client. It is a free, full-featured, and secure email application that concerns the needs of the users. 

Following are some key features of Mozilla Thunderbird that trigger the need to import PST to Thunderbird.

  • Supported Platforms: Thunderbird is compatible with almost all the operating systems including, Windows, macOS, Linux, UNIX, and Ubuntu. 
  • Filter Toolbar: This feature allows you to filter the messages by address book, contacts, tags, and new messages. It is suitable for easy accessibility of your messages. 
  • Junk Folder: Thunderbird has some advanced features. It learns the kind of messages that you mark as spam. So, the next time when such a message comes, it automatically sends it to the junk folder.
  • Smart Folders: You already know that Thunderbird facilitates you to add multiple email accounts. With the help of this feature, you can have all your emails coming into one inbox. It saves your time and brings everything in one place.  
  • Attachment Reminder: Sometimes, we forget to add the attachments. It will remind you to check the attachments before sending an email. 
  • Tabbed Emails: This feature facilitates you to open multiple emails at the same time. It will help you when you need the reference of another email while working on a new one.
  • Exclusive Plugins: You can add various helpful plugins in Thunderbird. These plugins can make your task easier. 

The Mozilla Thunderbird comes up with different powerful features that enhance email productivity. Now, let’s move ahead to find the solution of How do I import Outlook mail into Thunderbird.

Convert PST to MBOX Thunderbird – Manual Methods

Mozilla Thunderbird doesn’t provide any direct method to import PST to Thunderbird. Hence, you need to convert PST files into MBOX for migrating the Outlook emails into Thunderbird. 

You can carry out the conversion of PST to MBOX by using the manual or a professional approach. Following are the two manual methods that help you to export PST to Thunderbird.

  • By using drag and drop when Gmail is configured in Outlook.
  • By using Google Takeout to convert PST to MBOX. 

1. Import PST to Thunderbird when Gmail is configured in Outlook

We know that both Outlook and Thunderbird facilitate adding the different IMAP accounts. It helps users to import data into the configured email account. So, to import Outlook PST to Thunderbird, you need to perform the following steps.

  • Open Microsoft Outlook and launch it with the configured Gmail account. 
  • Then, create a new folder into your configured Gmail account. 
  • Now, drag and drop the Outlook mail into this newly created folder. 
  • It imports the Outlook emails into your Gmail account. Now, configure the same Gmail account in Thunderbird. 
  • After configuring the Gmail account successfully, you can easily view and access the PST files into Thunderbird.

2. Import Outlook PST to Thunderbird by using Google Takeout

This method requires the configuration of your Gmail account with MS Outlook. After that, you can import PST to Thunderbird by using Google Takeout. You can execute this by following the steps mentioned below:

  • Login to your Gmail account and click on the Setting option.
  • Then, navigate to Forwarding and POP/IMAP and select the Enable IMAP option.
  • Now, open MS Outlook and navigate to the File menu.
  • Click on the Add Account option. Now, enter the login credentials of your Gmail account to configure it.
  • After that, create a new folder in the newly configured Gmail account. Then, move the Outlook emails that you want to import into this newly created folder. 
  • Now, log in to this Gmail account in Chrome and open Google Takeout by using https://takeout.google.com/settings/takeout.
  • Then deselect all the options and check on the Mail option only. Also, select the include all messages in the mail from the All Mail Data Included option. Then click on the Next button.
  • Specify the Delivery Method, Export type, File type, and size from the Customize archive format tab. Then, select the Create Archive option.
  • After generating the archive by Google, you can download the Zip file that contains PST file data into MBOX file format.
  • Now, extract the downloaded Zip file and then import these MBOX files into the Thunderbird email client. 

Note: You need to download and install the Add-on ExportImportTool to import the downloaded MBOX files. 

These are the two manual techniques that will help you to import PST to Thunderbird. However, in case of any difficulty in implementing the above methods, you can try the professional technique to convert PST to MBOX.

Import PST to Thunderbird without Outlook – Professional Approach

This professional approach consists of an automated tool that exports PST to Thunderbird directly without using Outlook. You can try the MCT PST Converter to accomplish this task by ensuring high data integrity. Following are the key features that make it a reliable solution to import Outlook PST to Thunderbird.

  1. It allows converting PST files into different file formats like MBOX, PDF, MHT, EML, EMLX, TXT, HTML, etc.
  2. You can also migrate PST to Office 365 and directly into various email clients such as Thunderbird, Gmail, Yahoo, Opera Mail, etc.
  3. It maintains the original file hierarchy throughout the process. 
  4. You can comfortably perform the migration process with its self-explanatory user interface. 
  5. It allows you to convert multiple PST files in a single run with its multiple file mode options. 

These are some advanced features that will allow you to execute the conversion process effectively. You can also analyze its performance by using the demo version of this software.

Final Verdict

This article helps you to find the answer to How do I import Outlook mail into Thunderbird? It also explains the detailed manual methods and the key features of professional software to convert PST to MBOX. This PST Converter will help you import PST to Thunderbird without Outlook. 

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