5

Thunderbird is freshly installed and with an Outlook.com email account using an IMAP connection. New messages can be written, sent and received, all new messages arrive both in Thunderbird client and can be seen in Outlook.com online through a browser.

However, there are also messages from a past service which were uploaded to the Outlook.com account; these messages are held in structured folders. These folders are wanted going forwards as new messages will be kept in them. All folders and messages are available via Outlook.com online. Within Thunderbird, the parent folder of the folder structure shows, and shows the first child folder created within it; however none of the other child folders are visible to Thunderbird - they are not visible in the message store list (left-hand column) and they are not visible on the Subscribe folders list.

Image showing folders in Outlook and sync folders in Thunderbird out-of-sync

The goal is to have all messages and all folders available in Thunderbird at all times and sync'ed with Outlook.com

How can I force Thunderbird to refresh the Subscribe folders list, and ultimately collect, display, and manage my messages?

Actions tried: Similar issues appear to have been around for several years, so these are the actions I've tried (and have failed):

Rollup and unroll folder list.

Close anti-virus, restart Thunderbird and refresh folders.

Subscribe folder list: Untick child and parent folders, retick, resubscribe. Use Refresh button - nothing appears to happen, no screen messages.

"Items for Offline Use" list Child and parent folders, untick and re-tick.

Folder Properties >> Synchronisation >> Select this folder for offline use - ticked Folder Properties >> General Information >> Include messages in this folder in Global Search results - ticked Folder Properties >> General Information >> When getting new messages for this account always check this folder - ticked Folder Properties >> General Information >> Repair Folder button - nothing appears to happen, no screen messages.

Tools » Account Settings » Server Settings » Advanced » Show only subscribed folders ... uncheck this option - checked and unchecked makes no difference

Tools -> Settings -> General -> Config Editor mail.server.default.check_all_folders_for_new - set to TRUE mail.imap.auto_unsubscribe_from_noselect_folders - false ... could not find this setting mail.server.default.using_subscription - false - false ... could not find this setting

Operating environment

Windows 10 Pro (64 bit) v22H2

Thunderbird 102.12.0 (64 bit) - new installation, Thunderbird has not been installed on this PC before

Outlook.com - new (free) account created June 2023 (account created prior to installing Thunderbird)

Simon BB
  • 51

2 Answers2

1

  1. If you used another application to access Outlook.com, and still have the app installed, with its local files, such as Outlook applications' .pst, you can import those messages to Thunderbird. Hopefully, this would also set up the folder structure in Thunderbird so that messages in subfolders are downloaded.

    A. In Thunderbird, go to Tools -> Import...

    Import to Thunderbird

    B. Select the application, e.g., Outlook.

    C. Press Continue and finish.

  2. If you do not have the application installed,

    A. Temporarily reinstall it.

    B. download all messages to that application.

    C. Proceed as above in 1.

    D. After checking that Thunderbird subfolders are populated, remove the application and delete its local files.

DrMoishe Pippik
  • 37,887
0

It's possible to add to Outlook a Gmail account and through it port the data to the MBOX format of Thunderbird.

Configure Gmail in Outlook

  • Login to Gmail, click the Settings button and position to "Forwarding and POP/IMAP", then select "Enable IMAP"
  • In Outlook, go to menu File > Add Account and provide the Gmail credentials and click Next
  • Use Outlook’s import/export wizard to add the PST file to the Gmail account.

Use Google Takeout to save the PST as an MBOX file

  • Start Chrome and position to the URL https://accounts.google.com/servicelogin?service=backup
  • In the screen for "Select data to include", click on "Download your data" and check the "Mail" option
  • For "Delivery Method", select "Export once"
  • For "File type & size", the file format of MBOX and the maximum file size (2 GB)
  • Click "Create Export" to save the MBOX file.

Import the MBOX files to Thunderbird

  • Open Thunderbird
  • Install the addon ImportExportTools NG
  • In menu Tools > ImportExportTools NG, select "Import MBOX file" to import the generated MBOX file.

For more information with screenshots see the article
How to Import PST to Mozilla Thunderbird Step by Step.

harrymc
  • 498,455