How To: August 2004 Archives

I've prepared detailed instructions on migrating your mail messages from Microsoft Outlook to Mozilla Thunderbird.

I am not an expert on Mozilla software or mail clients, but I do have a lot of experience with software, and went through this process several times before getting it to work the way I wanted. The steps below are not mandatory for success and may not be the most efficient method, but if followed, they should bring you success.

Note that there is a very easy way of migrating your messages: Just open Outlook, and from the File menu, choose "Export..." Choose to export to a file, and then choose the file type ".pst". After you install Thunderbird, just import the messages from this .pst file. This post is so long because it discusses customizing the migration process, and putting the mailboxes in a location where they can be easily backed up.

For me, the greatest benefit of performing the migration this way -- besides the actual switch itself -- is that it makes backing up and restoring your email much easier than it would be with Outlook. All you have to do is burn one directory to a CD, and you know you have everything. I never had confidence that would work with Outlook.

I performed the migration using Thunderbird 0.7.3 with Windows 2000 Professional and Outlook 2002, so YMMV.

Here are the directions: