[CentOS] OT: Migration from Evolution to Thunderbird (Thunderbird mbox files)

[mouss]

Lanny Marcus wrote:
> Background is that I have been using Evolution for my MUA for a number 
> of years. Migrated to Evolution from Mozilla Mail.  I only use Evolution 
> for email and contacts. Getting bored with the issues (frequently not 
> being able to exit and needing to kill it; Bug Buddy popping up in 
> GNOME, etc) that Mark (MHR) and I and I'm sure others have experienced.
> 
> About 24 hours ago, I installed Thunderbird (on CentOS 5.2  32 bit) and 
> am testing it with this mailing list. So far, Thunderbird doesn't seem 
> to have any issues, based on this very quick trial.
> 
> The Thunderbird documentation says that it uses mbox files, but if so, 
> where_are_they? Here's what it says:
> 
>> http://www.mozilla.org/support/thunderbird/faq#import
>>
>> Thunderbird's mail files are in the standard plain text "mbox" format, 
>> which almost all mail programs can use or import. Many proprietary 
>> mail programs have a function to import from Eudora, which also uses 
>> the "mbox" format; this function should read your Mozilla mail files 
>> properly.
>>
>> Your mail files are inside your profile (see the Profile Folder), in 
>> the Mail and (if you use IMAP) ImapMail folders. Each mail folder 
>> (Inbox, Sent, etc.) is stored as two files — one with no extension 
>> (e.g. INBOX), which is the mail file itself (in "mbox" format), and 
>> one with an .msf extension (e.g. INBOX.msf), which is the index (Mail 
>> Summary File) to the mail file. Tell the other program to import mail 
>> from the file with no extension.
> 
> However, in the imap.gmail.com folder
> INBOX.msf file properties,
> Type is shown as C source code
> and MIME type is shown as text/x-csrc
> 
> and I cannot find the mbox files....
> 
> In Evolution:
> Inbox has type: Mailbox file
> and is shown as
> MIME type: application/mbox
> 
> If someone on the list can point me to where the mbox files for 
> Thunderbird on Linux are located, that will be much appreciated. I do 
> not want to migrate from Evolution to Thunderbird, unless my email will 
> continue to be in the mbox format, in case I eventually decide to 
> migrate from Thunderbird, to another MUA. TIA!

look under $HOME/.mozilla* (if you see a funny dirname, that name is a 
profile id. chdir to ...).

The simplest way to migrate is to setup a local IMAP server, create an 
account on both evolution and TB. then copy your old mail to the imap 
server from one mailer, and get it from imap to the second mailer. may 
take time if you have a large mailbox, but this way you don't have to 
convert files (or even find them).