How to Import an Outlook Express Mailbox in Mac Mail
More and more folks migrate from a Windows computer to a Macintosh these days, and most want to move their data to the new Mac. Moving standard files is easy. It can be more confusing to move application data such as email and calendars. You can make the process easier by following a few simple steps.
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Things You'll Need
- Outlook Express on the Windows computer
- Thunderbird on the Windows computer
- Mail on the Macintosh
- USB memory stick
Instructions
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Download and install Mozilla Thunderbird for Windows. You can find it at the link in Resources, below. During the installation process, Thunderbird will ask you if it should import your email from Outlook Express. Agree that it should perform the import. If you already have Thunderbird installed, open the "Tools" menu, and click on "Import". In the window that opens, choose "Mail" and click the "Next>" button. In the next panel, select "Outlook Express" and again click the "Next>" button. When the import process ends, click the "Finish" button. You will find your Outlook Express email in a folder called "Outlook Express Import" in Thunderbird's left-side column.
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Right-click on the "Outlook Express Import" folder in Thunderbird and choose "Properties" at the bottom of the menu. In the "General Information" panel is a "Location" field that tells you where Thunderbird is storing the imported email.
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Get Windows to show hidden files and folders. In Windows XP, open "My Computer". Click on the "Tools" menu then "Folder Options". Open the "View" panel and click "Show Hidden Files And Folders" under "Hidden Files And Folders". Click the "OK" button. In Windows Vista or Windows 7, click on the "Start" button. In the "Search" field, type "Folder Options" and click on "Folder Options" in the results. Click on "View" and choose "Advanced settings". Uncheck "Hide Extension For Known File Types". Click the "OK" button. Navigate to the location where Thunderbird stores the imported email. You should see a number of files and folders there, but the important one is a folder called "Outlook Express Import.sbd".
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Close Thunderbird. Copy the "Outlook Express Import.sbd" folder to the USB memory stick. You may instead copy this folder to a disk or directly transfer it to the Mac through a network. Close the USB memory stick and remove it from the Windows PC, then plug it into the Mac.
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Open the Mail application on the Mac. In the "File" menu, select "Import Mailboxes" and check off the radio button next to Thunderbird in the subsequent panel. Click the "Continue" button. Mail will ask you to locate the Thunderbird mail you wish to import. Navigate to your USB memory stick and highlight the "Outlook Express Import.sbd" folder. Click the "Choose" button. When the process ends, click "Done".
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Find your imported email in the left-side column of Mail. It is in the "ON MY MAC" category in a folder marked "Import". If you wish, you can drag and drop email messages from any of the imported folders to any other folder.
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Tips & Warnings
Software that will automate the migration for you include MessageSave ($49.95), Outlook to MacMail ($14./95), and Emailchemy ($29.95). All prices as of September 2010.
Back up your files before you try to reconfigure them.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit network image by Allyson Ricketts from Fotolia.com
