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Importing .WAB Address Book into Thunderbird 102

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  • Last reply by david

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Hello, I'm migrating from Outlook Express to Thunderbird 102, in Windows 8.1. I'd like to import my Address Book (.wab file) into TB 102. It seems a direct import is not possible (?). I have to convert my .wab file to a .csv file that TB can import. But doing so, I loose all the organization of my old address book (1500 contacts and tens of folders and sub-folders) ! How can I save the organization (folders) of my old address book in TB ? Tks in advance for your answers and solutions.

Hello, I'm migrating from '''Outlook Express''' to Thunderbird 102, in Windows 8.1. I'd like to '''import my Address Book (.wab file) into TB 102'''. It seems a direct import is not possible (?). I have to convert my .wab file to a .csv file that TB can import. But doing so, I loose all the organization of my old address book (1500 contacts and tens of folders and sub-folders) ! How can I '''save the organization''' (folders) '''of my old address book''' in TB ? Tks in advance for your answers and solutions.

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Hello there! I understand your situation and I'm here to help. While Thunderbird doesn't directly support importing .wab files, you're right that converting to .csv might lead to losing the organization. What you can try is to use a two-step approach. First, convert your .wab file to a .csv file (I know, it's not perfect). Then, before importing into Thunderbird, organize your .csv contacts into folders that mirror your old structure. This should help maintain some of the organization. When importing into Thunderbird, make sure to choose the option to import into the system address book, and those folders you created should be preserved. It's not seamless, but it should keep your structure intact. Good luck, and let me know if you need more guidance!

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Thank you Suram ! But I'm afraid that "organizing my (newly converted) .csv contacts file into folders..." means starting from zero and creating new folders by hand ! I'd prefer (if possible ?) to import all my (already done) old organization from my original .wab file. If I have to create new folders, I suppose I can do that in TB after having imported the .csv contacts file. And creating new folders directly into TB's address book should be easier and cleaner. Am I wrong ?

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What do you mean by folders? Is that another name for an addressbook?