When you think of importing OST file to Thunderbird it becomes a problem. As the process is complicated so it needs support. This article helps you in exporting OST to Thunderbird email client.
Let us first know about OST file and Thunderbird.
Table of Contents
OST or Offline Storage Table
OST is an Outlook file that allows to save files for you in offline mode. OST and PST files of Outlook help users in accessing data offline and syncing changes when back online. But you can’t use OST file to import data.
OST file does not work outside Outlook. So, you can’t perform export data to OST and use OST to import.
With these restrictions, it becomes problem for you how to import OST file to Thunderbird. But why users want to go with Thunderbird application?
There are a lot of email clients and Thunderbird is one such freeware client produced by Mozilla. It is an open-source application that can be accessed on multiple platforms like Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems.
Now, let us know about the method for importing OST files into Thunderbird.
How to import OST to Thunderbird manually?
There is no direct method to transfer OST file to Thunderbird. As Thunderbird supports MBOX format so users need to convert OST to Thunderbird supported file format. To manually convert the data, there are two steps –
- Convert OST to PST
- Import PST to Thunderbird
Now, let us know how to complete the conversion.
Convert OST to PST
Here, we have discussed multiple ways to convert OST to PST. You can choose any of them.
- Archive OST to PST
For this, follow the given steps:
- Load Microsoft Outlook.
- Go to File menu and then archive.
- Move your file/folder to archive and Browse the location to save the archived file.
- Now, click on the Finish button.
- Import and Export OST to PST
For this, you need a connection with Exchange Server and the next thing is Outlook must be installed on local system. Follow these steps:
- Launch Microsoft Outlook.
- Click on File menu. Choose Import and Export.
- Click on Export to a file option and click Next button.
- Select Outlook data file i.e. PST and click Next.
- Select the mailbox folder to export from. You can include & subfolders.
- Finally, browse and select target folder where you want to save the new PST file and click on Finish button.
- Drag and drop OST to PST
In this method, you can create a new PST file after that drag & drop all folders to it and save. For this:
- Open Microsoft Outlook and create a new PST file in Outlook.
- After that, choose and drag all mailbox folders you want to move into PST file.
Once you have got PST file with any of the methods then you can proceed to export PST to Thunderbird.
PST to Thunderbird
The pre-requirement to import PST to Thunderbird is that Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbird should be installed on the same machine. Then, you can easily import Outlook emails to Thunderbird as –
- Ensure that Outlook is default program for sending/receiving emails. For this, go to Start button and click Default Programs > Set your default programs.
- Search Outlook from Programs tab and set this program as default. Then, save the changes and click OK.
- Load Thunderbird and click on Display the Thunderbird Menu option.
- Go to Tools > Import
- Select Mail and you can select Import Everything option. Click Next.
- Click on Finish button to import OST to Thunderbird.
The manual methods are needed to be follow with accurate precision. It needs technical knowledge to follow these steps. In case, you want a quick solution, go for OST to MBOX Converter. With this tool, one can directly export Outlook OST file into Thunderbird MBOX file format. The software maintain data integrity of mailbox during the conversion of Exchange OST file to Thunderbird MBOX format.
Ending Lines
We often get queries about how to import OST file to Thunderbird. It becomes problematic to find a direct solution for the conversion. So, we have explained all the possible manual methods to import OST to Thunderbird. These manual methods have few limitations and need time & patience. Therefore, we recommend third-party software for quick, instant and accurate solutions. For any issues, contact our tech support staff.