CentOS - Sep 2008 - OT: Migration from Evolution to Thunderbird (Thunderbird mbox files)

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!

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).

Lanny Marcus wrote:
<snip>
> 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
This is irrelevant, whatever tool you are using to see the "type" of 
that file is wrong.

> If someone on the list can point me to where the mbox files for 
> Thunderbird on Linux are located, that will be much appreciated. 
You didn't tell us where you're looking, so I can't be sure... But I
suspect you're looking in the right place.
However with IMAP the mail can stay on the server, so unless you tell 
your MUA to download a copy locally you only see index files.

Nicolas Thierry-Mieg wrote:
<snip>
>> If someone on the list can point me to where the mbox files for 
>> Thunderbird on Linux are located, that will be much appreciated. 
> 
> You didn't tell us where you're looking, so I can't be sure...
But I
> suspect you're looking in the right place.
I am trying to find the mbox files in .thunderbird which is where the 
Thunderbird help documentation says they should be.
> However with IMAP the mail can stay on the server, so unless you tell 
> your MUA to download a copy locally you only see index files.
With the Evolution MUA, also using IMAP on gmail.com the mbox files are 
easily seen. in .evolution

I suspect that I should post on a Thunderbird mailing list and ask where 
the mbox files are located on my Desktop, or, if using IMAP, as I am, 
there are no mbox files on my Desktop. Probably it's one or the other.