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Thunderbird: How do I move saved messages from an old account's "Sent" folder to a new account's "Sent" folder?

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  • Last reply by Zenos

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I am closing my POP account with one provider and opening an IMAP account with a different one. I have moved the hovering inbox messages from the inbox of the old account to the inbox of the new account because both folders appear under "Inbox" in the "Unified Folders" sidebar (and I assume the old account's inbox will disappear when I delete the old account). I would do the same with the messages in the old account's "Sent" folder but the new account's "Sent" folder doesn't appear in the sidebar. Ditto for the Drafts and Templates folders.

Right now, messages I send with the new IMAP account don't appear in the old "Sent" folder, and I sort-of understand why — that there are separate directories for storage for each account. But I can't figure out how to bring up the "Sent" folder for the new account. How can I do that, or otherwise move the old account's stored sent messages into a "Sent" folder for the new account? Do I need to "park" the messages in a temporary folder in Local Folders and then move them into a "Sent" folder for the new account that will magically appear after I have deleted the old account and with it its "Sent" folder? Ditto for the messages in the Drafts and Templates folders of the old account.

Even though this an IMAP account, I want to keep all the messages on my own computer, with the iCloud servers for backup and browser access when I am away.

Please help me sort this out. Zenos has earlier given me some good tips and insight, and helped get me this far, and now this is a whole 'nother question.

Thanks...

I am closing my POP account with one provider and opening an IMAP account with a different one. I have moved the hovering inbox messages from the inbox of the old account to the inbox of the new account because both folders appear under "Inbox" in the "Unified Folders" sidebar (and I assume the old account's inbox will disappear when I delete the old account). I would do the same with the messages in the old account's "Sent" folder but the new account's "Sent" folder doesn't appear in the sidebar. Ditto for the Drafts and Templates folders. Right now, messages I send with the new IMAP account don't appear in the old "Sent" folder, and I sort-of understand why — that there are separate directories for storage for each account. But I can't figure out how to bring up the "Sent" folder for the new account. How can I do that, or otherwise move the old account's stored sent messages into a "Sent" folder for the new account? Do I need to "park" the messages in a temporary folder in Local Folders and then move them into a "Sent" folder for the new account that will magically appear after I have deleted the old account and with it its "Sent" folder? Ditto for the messages in the Drafts and Templates folders of the old account. Even though this an IMAP account, I want to keep all the messages on my own computer, with the iCloud servers for backup and browser access when I am away. Please help me sort this out. Zenos has earlier given me some good tips and insight, and helped get me this far, and now this is a whole 'nother question. Thanks...

Chosen solution

Switch to View|Folders|All.

Right-click the new account, then select Subscribe.

Do the missing folders appear? Are their checkboxes ticked?

Right-click the new account again and this time select Settings and then Synchronisation & Storage.

Again review the folders shown and tick the checkboxes for any you want to have downloaded.

Also, right-click the account, select Settings and then Copies & Folders. Here you can choose where Sent, Archived, Drafts and Templates are saved.

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Chosen Solution

Switch to View|Folders|All.

Right-click the new account, then select Subscribe.

Do the missing folders appear? Are their checkboxes ticked?

Right-click the new account again and this time select Settings and then Synchronisation & Storage.

Again review the folders shown and tick the checkboxes for any you want to have downloaded.

Also, right-click the account, select Settings and then Copies & Folders. Here you can choose where Sent, Archived, Drafts and Templates are saved.