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google hangouts chats won't download to thunderbird imap account local folder

  • 1 reply
  • 1 has this problem
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  • Last reply by sfhowes

Jim
Jim
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In the past I have read it is possible to get Google Hangouts chat messages or transcripts to download to an IMAP account in Thunderbird, but I have not been able to get it working. The messages are visible in the Gmail web interface using the Chats label, i.e. "label:chats: or "in:chats" as the search phrase. Other Gmail label will synchronize to a local Thunderbird folder and appear in Thunderbird, but I can't get Chats to do this yet.

In the Gmail settings page, I've got IMAP enabled at Settings > Forwarding and POP/IMAP. At Settings > Labels, I have "Show in IMAP" checked for the "system label" "Chats". In case Thunderbird has a problem with the Chats label, I have also applied a filter in Gmail so that additional labels are also assigned to the messages labeled with "Chats", for example labels named "messages" and "hangouts".

In Thunderbird, on the settings page for this particular Gmail account, I've got my proper email address inserted in the "Email Address" box, and the User Name box in Edit SMTP server > User Name.

On the Server Settings page, I've got IMAP Mail Server as the Server type, imap.gmail.com as Server Name, Port 993, User Name is my gmail address, connection security as SSL/TLS, authentication method as Normal password, Check for new messages at startup is checked, Local directory is set to "E:\Users\jsw\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\nxginfij.jsw\ImapMail\imap.googlemail.com". On the Syncrhonization & Storage page, I've checked "Keep messages in all folders for this account on this computer". Under Disk Space, I have selected "Synchronize all messages locally regardless of age", also "Don't delete any messages". When I click the Advanced... button to bring up the "Items for Offline Use" dialog, I have checked the Chats, Hangouts, and Messages folders (trying to get one of them to download the chat messages).

In the folder tree, when I right click this account (named "gmail - myusername - imap", I have clicked "Subscribe", and in the Subscribe dialog, I have checked the folders Chats, Hangouts, and Messages, all the folders actually. I have also right-clicked the "Chats", "Hangouts", and "Messages" folders in the folder tree, and then clicked Properties, and then on they Synchronization tab, I have checked "Select this folder for offline use". I have also clicked the "Download Now" button. Some messages have downloaded when I have done this, but NOT any of my Google Hangouts chat messages.

So I have done all I can think of right now to get my Hangouts chat messages/transcripts to download from Gmail into Thunderbird, with no luck at all. Does anybody have a solution, or can someone shed any light on the problem?

In the past I have read it is possible to get Google Hangouts chat messages or transcripts to download to an IMAP account in Thunderbird, but I have not been able to get it working. The messages are visible in the Gmail web interface using the Chats label, i.e. "label:chats: or "in:chats" as the search phrase. Other Gmail label will synchronize to a local Thunderbird folder and appear in Thunderbird, but I can't get Chats to do this yet. In the Gmail settings page, I've got IMAP enabled at Settings > Forwarding and POP/IMAP. At Settings > Labels, I have "Show in IMAP" checked for the "system label" "Chats". In case Thunderbird has a problem with the Chats label, I have also applied a filter in Gmail so that additional labels are also assigned to the messages labeled with "Chats", for example labels named "messages" and "hangouts". In Thunderbird, on the settings page for this particular Gmail account, I've got my proper email address inserted in the "Email Address" box, and the User Name box in Edit SMTP server > User Name. On the Server Settings page, I've got IMAP Mail Server as the Server type, imap.gmail.com as Server Name, Port 993, User Name is my gmail address, connection security as SSL/TLS, authentication method as Normal password, Check for new messages at startup is checked, Local directory is set to "E:\Users\jsw\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\nxginfij.jsw\ImapMail\imap.googlemail.com". On the Syncrhonization & Storage page, I've checked "Keep messages in all folders for this account on this computer". Under Disk Space, I have selected "Synchronize all messages locally regardless of age", also "Don't delete any messages". When I click the Advanced... button to bring up the "Items for Offline Use" dialog, I have checked the Chats, Hangouts, and Messages folders (trying to get one of them to download the chat messages). In the folder tree, when I right click this account (named "gmail - myusername - imap", I have clicked "Subscribe", and in the Subscribe dialog, I have checked the folders Chats, Hangouts, and Messages, all the folders actually. I have also right-clicked the "Chats", "Hangouts", and "Messages" folders in the folder tree, and then clicked Properties, and then on they Synchronization tab, I have checked "Select this folder for offline use". I have also clicked the "Download Now" button. Some messages have downloaded when I have done this, but NOT any of my Google Hangouts chat messages. So I have done all I can think of right now to get my Hangouts chat messages/transcripts to download from Gmail into Thunderbird, with no luck at all. Does anybody have a solution, or can someone shed any light on the problem?

All Replies (1)

sfhowes
sfhowes
  • Top 10 Contributor
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I'm not a Hangouts user, but it seems the upshot of this article is that while you can set up a chat account for Google, you can't view or download previous conversations. So, it appears you have done everything that is logical, but the capability simply doesn't exist in the current TB.