How to Export Thunderbird Mail

Exporting Thunderbird mail is often necessary as it is a means to back up data.

1

Download the ImportExportTools plugin.

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    Download the plugin from https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/importexporttools. Click Download Now to install it and click OK on the dialogue box that opens. This saves the plugin to your computer.
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2

Open Thunderbird.

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    You'll find Thunderbird on your Start menu or in your Applications folder.
3

Go to your Add-ons menu.

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    Click the Tools menu and select Add-ons. This displays all installed add-ons. You can also install new add-ons here.
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4

Click the Tools menu and choose "Install Add-on from file."

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    This opens a dialogue window.
5

Select the file you downloaded and click "Open."

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    The file should be in your default downloads folder. This folder is usually called Downloads.
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6

Click "Install Now" to install.

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    This installs the add-on in Thunderbird. When the installation is complete, you'll see the option to restart Thunderbird.
7

Click "Restart now" to restart Thunderbird.

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    This button is at the top-right corner of the window. Thunderbird will shut down and relaunch.
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8

When Thunderbird restarts, open ImportExportTools.

  1. Click the Tools menu and choose ImportExportTools. This opens the new plugin.
9

Select "Export all messages in a folder."

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    Now you'll see all of the options for exporting your messages. Choose the desired options to export your mail from Thunderbird.
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About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 43,803 times.
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Co-authors: 3
Updated: June 6, 2022
Views: 43,803
Categories: Mozilla Thunderbird
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