Can't import csv files into Thunderbird
Hello, we recently shifted from Outlook to Thunderbird (then using POP and now IMAP) so we exported files from Outlook in the .csv format. But the problem now is that we cannot import these files into Thunderbird. We could import the address book (contacts) but would also like to import the emails.
We tried downgrading to an older version of Thunderbird and it didn't work. We also tried with gmail but I didn't work either.
Is there any option to import those emails into Thunderbird or are the emails lost forever?
All Replies (6)
CSV seems an odd choice for message export. I don't know of any tool to import messages from a CSV file. Nor has a quick googling session turned up anything that looks useful.
Are Thunderbird and Outlook still installed side-by-side on the same computer? If you have the right versions, Thunderbird may be able to import directly by negotiating with Outlook.
If you have an account that is currently using IMAP, you don't need to import messages. Just set this account up in Thunderbird using IMAP and it will see all the messages currently on the server.
If you can still run Outlook, it may be worth setting it up to use the account via IMAP and then copying all the old messages into the new IMAP account.
Thank you Zenos for the fast respond.
No, Thunderbird and Outlook are not installed on the same computer anymore. The thing is that the computer was infected and it had to be formated. Before the formation we used only the Outlook account on that computer to check our email and it was using POP.
So all the mails were there. We followed the Outlook export and backup instructions which allowed us to export mails in the .csv format.
We were only able to import the contacts of our address book.
Sounds like a typical Microsoft solution. 100% accurate and 100% useless.
Have you looked in the exported CSV file to see if there is an information that looks like an email? or it is just email addresses.
If I open the .csv files, the contents of the emails are visible but not in a reader-friendly form.
Ptich said
If I open the .csv files, the contents of the emails are visible but not in a reader-friendly form.
I suggest you get a copy of outlook (perhaps a 30 day trial) and try importing them back to where they came from. Then you can transfer them straight to Thunderbird from outlook.
(Edit: I think I will make that 30 day trial, not 230 day)
Modified by Matt
It worked!
So I installed Outlook on the new computer and imported the .csv files. Then I downgraded Thunderbird to the 17.0.8 version, and imported the files directly from Outlook. Voila.
Problem solved. Thank you Zenos and Matt for all your help.