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How can I copy message filters to another account in Thunderbird?

FirstNation
FirstNation
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I have two separate email accounts running under Thunderbird -- one account is for messages addressed directly to me, the other is for orders and payment information.

I took an afternoon to set up message filters that would tag orders and sort them for specific categories, such as express, priority, special handling, etc., and would also sort payment receipt emails into a different folder.

After setting up the rules, I ran them and found that nothing happened ... because all eight of my rules apparently were set up while I was in my personal account -- there was nothing telling me that the rules were for one account, but not for both of my accounts.

Since the filters should apply to both of my accounts -- I sometimes get messages from customers on the order account, and sometimes a customer will send a special handling message to my personal account -- I want to make the filters "universal."

Is there a way to "export" or copy the filters to make them universal, or change the settings to make them work for all of my accounts, as rules do in Windows Live Mail?

Thanks in advance for your help!

I have two separate email accounts running under Thunderbird -- one account is for messages addressed directly to me, the other is for orders and payment information. I took an afternoon to set up message filters that would tag orders and sort them for specific categories, such as express, priority, special handling, etc., and would also sort payment receipt emails into a different folder. After setting up the rules, I ran them and found that nothing happened ... because all eight of my rules apparently were set up while I was in my personal account -- there was nothing telling me that the rules were for one account, but not for both of my accounts. Since the filters should apply to both of my accounts -- I sometimes get messages from customers on the order account, and sometimes a customer will send a special handling message to my personal account -- I want to make the filters "universal." Is there a way to "export" or copy the filters to make them universal, or change the settings to make them work for all of my accounts, as rules do in Windows Live Mail? Thanks in advance for your help!

Chosen solution

You should be looking in your profile.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-tb

I went to check, to make sure I had the filename right, and I found all these:

ImapMail/imap.aol.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.gmail-1.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.gmail-2.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.gmail-3.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.gmail-4.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.gmail-5.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.gmail.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.gmx-1.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.gmx.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.lineone-1.net: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap-mail.outlook-1.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap-mail.outlook.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.mail.yahoo-1.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.mail.yahoo.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.mail.yahoo.com/INBOX.sbd: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/mail.tamba.co.uk: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/outlook.office365.com: msgFilterRules.dat Mail/Feeds: msgFilterRules.dat Mail/Local Folders: msgFilterRules.dat Mail/pop-mail.outlook-1.com: msgFilterRules.dat Mail/pop-mail.outlook.com: msgFilterRules.dat Mail/pop.mail.yahoo.com: msgFilterRules.dat

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All Replies (4)

Zenos
Zenos
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Message Filter rules are stored in files named msgFilterRules.dat - one per account. With Thunderbird closed you should be able to copy this file from one account to another, using your file manager, for example Windows Explorer. When you run Thunderbird, be prepared for wrinkles if there are any differences in folder names or folder structure between accounts.

The Message Filter dialog has a drop down at the top, where it lists your accounts, so it seems clear to me that filters are particular to the currently selected account.

There are addons that export and import filter settings but they do little more than copy the msgFilterRules.dat files.

If you rely on filters a lot, then the QuickFilters addon may be of value to you. I haven't looked at it for some time but it may provide means to copy filters from one account to another within the Message Filter dialogue.

FirstNation
FirstNation Question owner
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Zenos,

Thank you for your answer! I searched the Mozilla Thunderbird folder under Program Files, and couldn't locate a msgFilterRules.dat file -- in fact, I only found one .dat file in the entire folder (and sub-folders).

(I also searched my entire C: drive, including hidden and system files, and couldn't locate it.)

Could you please confirm that's the file, and let me know where it might be hiding?

Thanks again!

Modified by FirstNation

Zenos
Zenos
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Seçilmiş Həll

You should be looking in your profile.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-tb

I went to check, to make sure I had the filename right, and I found all these:

ImapMail/imap.aol.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.gmail-1.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.gmail-2.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.gmail-3.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.gmail-4.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.gmail-5.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.gmail.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.gmx-1.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.gmx.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.lineone-1.net: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap-mail.outlook-1.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap-mail.outlook.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.mail.yahoo-1.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.mail.yahoo.com: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/imap.mail.yahoo.com/INBOX.sbd: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/mail.tamba.co.uk: msgFilterRules.dat ImapMail/outlook.office365.com: msgFilterRules.dat Mail/Feeds: msgFilterRules.dat Mail/Local Folders: msgFilterRules.dat Mail/pop-mail.outlook-1.com: msgFilterRules.dat Mail/pop-mail.outlook.com: msgFilterRules.dat Mail/pop.mail.yahoo.com: msgFilterRules.dat

FirstNation
FirstNation Question owner
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Zenos,

That worked perfectly!!! The msgFilterRules.dat file was right there in my profile, as you noted.

I shut down Thunderbird, copied and pasted the file, and it was picked up instantly when I restarted the program.

One test, and it filtered the messages exactly as I intended.

Thank you very much for your generous assistance!