Outlook Express had .dbx files for each mail folder, that could be copied individually, saved elsewhere, deleted from the prog but copied back in. Does T'bird?
I have emails going back 20 years which I have had to leave in my T'Bird program because I can't find a way to delete/restore individual folders - only the entire mailbox.
With OE I could copy the relevant .dbx files for each folder, store them elsewhere and delete them from the OE mailbox - but I could restore individual .dbx folders without over-writing more recent mails (as long as the folders weren't the same name of course - and you needed to know the trick to get OE to read them but hey!)
As far as I can see the only backup/restore setup for Thunderbird backs up the entire program, and if you restore from backup you will over-write anything more recent than the backup I'm restoring from. This is no use. But I can't lose all these emails entirely.
When I say that my T'bird back ups are 9Gb+ each time you may get the picture.
The only idea I have had is to have a separate version of T'bird - either on a split hard drive on my main machine or on another machine - that is NEVER used to download mail, but could be used to hold the older folders so that I can read the emails if I need to check them - or even copy specific emails if needed for legal reasons. If I do this
a) Will it work and b) Can I add additional folders to the "dumb" copy of Thunderbird or do I have to have a seperate copy of the program for each set of folders that I want to remove from the main copy?
Chosen solution
I can't find a way to delete/restore individual folders - only the entire mailbox.
A folder in Thunderbird is represented by an mbox file (no file extension) in the filesystem. You can of course delete/restore individual mbox files. Make sure to do this only when Thunderbird is closed. Note, this only makes sense for POP accounts (except Inbox) or Mail underneath 'Local Folders'. Don't attempt this for IMAP accounts.
As far as I can see the only backup/restore setup for Thunderbird backs up the entire program,
There's no point backing up the program installation. You want to backup the Thunderbird profile.
and if you restore from backup you will over-write anything more recent than the backup I'm restoring from.
That's obviously what happens when restoring the entire profile backup. There is nothing which prevents you from restoring individual files. Note, you should know exactly what you're doing, as this may have undesired effects, depending on the specific file(s) you trying to restore. E.g. trying to restore just calendar data when the calendar doesn't exist in the profile will get you nowhere. The recommendation therefore is to always backup the entire profile.
The only idea I have had is to have a separate version of T'bird - either on a split hard drive on my main machine or on another machine
You could create a new profile only with your archived mail. When needed just start Thunderbird with the 'Archive' profile.
I'm certain there are other archiving options, also outside of Thunderbird. Google is your friend.
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Chosen Solution
I can't find a way to delete/restore individual folders - only the entire mailbox.
A folder in Thunderbird is represented by an mbox file (no file extension) in the filesystem. You can of course delete/restore individual mbox files. Make sure to do this only when Thunderbird is closed. Note, this only makes sense for POP accounts (except Inbox) or Mail underneath 'Local Folders'. Don't attempt this for IMAP accounts.
As far as I can see the only backup/restore setup for Thunderbird backs up the entire program,
There's no point backing up the program installation. You want to backup the Thunderbird profile.
and if you restore from backup you will over-write anything more recent than the backup I'm restoring from.
That's obviously what happens when restoring the entire profile backup. There is nothing which prevents you from restoring individual files. Note, you should know exactly what you're doing, as this may have undesired effects, depending on the specific file(s) you trying to restore. E.g. trying to restore just calendar data when the calendar doesn't exist in the profile will get you nowhere. The recommendation therefore is to always backup the entire profile.
The only idea I have had is to have a separate version of T'bird - either on a split hard drive on my main machine or on another machine
You could create a new profile only with your archived mail. When needed just start Thunderbird with the 'Archive' profile.
I'm certain there are other archiving options, also outside of Thunderbird. Google is your friend.
Modified by christ1
That's very helpful - I'll try and take a look on a quiet day!
Just a couple of points - 1. When I said my T'bird prog backup is 9+Gb I should have said my current T'bird PROFILE backup is 9+Gb. That's why it's been such a pain. I've exported my contacts as a CSV and can now start winnowing those - all 3,500 of 'em - but it hasn't reduced the profile size by more that a Mb
and
2. I have got folders, sub folders, and sub-sub folders under various subjects and clients - eg [Client x] membership/New Members/2009 - can I Archive the entire folders, or does it have to be message by message? How do I create another profile for the archive messages - and can I add more folders etc to the Archive profile or do I have to create Archive 1, Archive 2 etc profiles for each "batch" of folders I archive?
can I Archive the entire folders, or does it have to be message by message?
A mbox file represents a folder in Thunderbird. So with mbox format you don't have access to individual messages on the file system level, you'd need to use maildir for that.
How do I create another profile for the archive messages
Use profile manager to create a new profile. https://support.mozilla.org/kb/using-multiple-profiles
Also use the profile manager to start Thunderbird with the desired profile.
can I add more folders etc to the Archive profile or do I have to create Archive 1, Archive 2 etc profiles for each "batch" of folders I archive?
If you want to follow that route, I'd manually replicate the folder structure of the original profile in the new profile. Then you can copy over the mail files of the folders to be 'archived' from the original profile to the corresponding location in the Archive profile. You can create additional folders as you like.
Thanks for your help.
I'll talk to my IT help person (ex housemate!) and come back if I have probs interpreting your advice.
Thanks for your time.