I want to download all my messages in all my folders for permanent storage on my computer and also leave them on the server. How do I do this?
I'm on a Linux system. I want to get a copy of all my messages in all my folders in all my gmail email accounts onto my computer so if something happens to the remote-access accounts, I'll still have my downloaded messages. What are the steps I can take to do this? I already set up iMAP accounts for the email addresses. I just don't know if they're all locally stored automatically or if I have to do something. Thanks!
Isisombulu esikhethiweyo
Be prepared this being a bit of a tedious procedure.
Basically you mark all messages to be copied. Then right-click a highlighted message - Copy To - choose destination account and folder. You may need to manually create a folder structure underneath 'Local Folders' prior to copying.
Because you do have a large number of messages, don't copy all messages at once. Start with a single message. Then try smaller batches. Mail servers are not made for mass transactions, and tend to be a little unreliable with these kind of things. Compare the number of messages for each local folder with the corresponding folder on the server after copying all messages of a folder. This ensures you didn't miss anything. Take your time, be patient, and don't rush.
Funda le mpendulo kwimeko leyo 👍 2All Replies (3)
You need to turn on synchronization for all folders which you want to have offline copies. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/imap-synchronization
Note, the messages still belong to your IMAP account. If a message is deleted (intentionally or accidentally) also your offline copy is gone. So backups of your profile folder are essential.
If this isn't what you want, you can copy all messages from the IMAP account to your Local Folders account. That would then be a true copy independent of what happens to your IMAP account.
Thank you, Christ1. I think the option I want is the last one, copying all messages, because I want independent copies in case something happens to the remote account. But the problem is, I can't figure out how to copy messages to my local account without going in to each message and doing it individually (not feasible as there are thousands of messages.) Could you direct me to the steps to take? I seem to have a blind spot here! :)
Thanks so much!
Isisombululo esiKhethiweyo
Be prepared this being a bit of a tedious procedure.
Basically you mark all messages to be copied. Then right-click a highlighted message - Copy To - choose destination account and folder. You may need to manually create a folder structure underneath 'Local Folders' prior to copying.
Because you do have a large number of messages, don't copy all messages at once. Start with a single message. Then try smaller batches. Mail servers are not made for mass transactions, and tend to be a little unreliable with these kind of things. Compare the number of messages for each local folder with the corresponding folder on the server after copying all messages of a folder. This ensures you didn't miss anything. Take your time, be patient, and don't rush.