This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

can i use thunderbird to store in my pc the email and contents of other email

  • 9 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by Toad-Hall

more options

Hi, I want specific answer to my question.

                   May i be able to save the contents and text of email. Text is secondary importance to my pc from other emails without deleting the contents and email in the other gmail. To be blunt, can i store the contents to pc as an off line storage of file , like docx,xlsx as received by emails in other email. I cannot do so in gmail. It allows a back up , but that could not be retrieved . can i use thunderbird to store in my folder the contents of emails in the same form , so that it could be accessed in the absence of internet connection
Hi, I want specific answer to my question. May i be able to save the contents and text of email. Text is secondary importance to my pc from other emails without deleting the contents and email in the other gmail. To be blunt, can i store the contents to pc as an off line storage of file , like docx,xlsx as received by emails in other email. I cannot do so in gmail. It allows a back up , but that could not be retrieved . can i use thunderbird to store in my folder the contents of emails in the same form , so that it could be accessed in the absence of internet connection

All Replies (9)

more options

Yes. But you will have to be careful to keep your own local copies to be really sure of keeping email messages. Thunderbird provides the Local Folders special account for this.

more options

Thanks for jet speed answer. But how? I am new to thunderbird to give it a try. I use firefox as browser.

                         Will you give a link explanation for this. I mean, will the contents be saved in my local computer, without internet connection. Could i browse those offline. will those be in same format. 
                               the backup google provided has no use, but it occupies your folder inside our gmail account as other storage. 
                          Please
more options

Why my replies are posted differnetly , as in a scrolling page

more options

Don't indent them with spaces or tabs.

If you do it looks like this. We use it for code 
and file contents where layout is important.
more options
Will you give a link explanation for this.
http://xenos-email-notes.simplesite.com/416814285
I mean, will the contents be saved in my local computer, without internet connection.
Yes.
Could i browse those offline. will those be in same format.
Yes.

A mail client makes local copies and these are visible when offline. If the account uses IMAP then they are tied to what is on the server. To detach them from the server and make them absolutely your own, just move them to Local Folders in Thunderbird.

Modified by Zenos

more options

One last question

                  What would make you rate the email software thunderbird to be more prefereable.
                        The name thunderbird suggests it like a gaming software rather than email. Had it known to me, i would have preferred this as my email client as i use browser for all purposes since my interaction to web browsers.
                           Is it country specific  ? will it be able to browse to the regional languages contents in email. Thanks zone
more options

One last question

                 1.What would make you rate the email software thunderbird to be more prefereable. 2.The name thunderbird suggests it like a gaming software rather than email. Had it known to me, i would have preferred this as my email client as i use browser for all purposes . It is my mistake that i only find this off late.3. Is it country specific  ? 4. will it be able to browse to the regional languages contents in email. Thanks zone
more options

Hi, I just replied as per your suggestion. still n scroll form.

more options

Thunderbird email client has been around using that name since july 2003.

It can be downloaded in various languages for different OS.

There are various dictionaries and language packs:

There are many add-on extensions as well.


IMAP mail accounts see a remote view of the folders on the server. You subscribed to see those folders. Headers are downloaded and then when you select an email to read, it is retrieved from the server and stored in a temporary cache to faciliate reading - not stored in Thunderbird.

To get copies in Thunderbird: You would need to make sure subscribed folders are synchronised to get copies in the thunderbird imap folders. Here is link to more useful information regarding imap and setting up synchronising.

Then go into Offline mode (temporarilly stops synching) and use right click on emails to 'Copy to' a suitable folder in 'Local Folders'. check you can read emails in Local Folders. If yes, then you have a good copy on your computer in 'Local Folders'. Even if email is removed from imap mail account /server folders, you should still have copy.

info on 'Offline' mode:

Attachments are stored with email. However, I choose to detach them and store them in a different folder outside of Thunderbird. The attachment is replaced by a link to the attachment. So, I can still open the attachment via the email, but I can also open it independently. This reduces my file size and should anything happen to emails which for some reason you cannot recover then I have the attachments stored and backed up separately - but that's my preference and not something you have to do.

Backups are still important

As you are a new user, I'll include a few useful links that can help you maintain Thunderbird.