How to Convert MBOX file into EML File?

Summary: The MBOX file is quite a popular one, with many email clients using it to store their data. However, it has a few limitations which prompt people to switch from it to other formats like EML. What are these limitations and how can users convert Thunderbird MBOX to EML format is the focus of this article.

MBOX maintains an extensive text file that stores all messages in a string form, but it contains different files for different mailboxes. For instance, for Outlook, MBOX will maintain a single file for all emails, and a separate file for the emails on Gmail. UNIX had been the most predominant user of MBOX files but today, Mozilla Thunderbird, Qualcomm Eudora, and Microsoft Entourage are also using MBOX as their primary data file format.

What difficulties do users face with the MBOX file format?

MBOX is an open source file format which is used to store email messages in the String format, and it is used by many email client applications like Thunderbird, Opera, Apple Mail, and more. But still, users face many difficulties with MBOX file format as compared to another file format, the EML file format. Some of these difficulties are listed below:

• It doesn’t allow users to save individual email messages.
• MBOX File format doesn’t get indexed with Windows Desktop Search easily. Whereas EML file format gets indexed quite easily making it convenient for the users to search emails quickly.
• MBOX is not compatible with many email clients whereas EML File format is compatible with email clients such as Outlook and Windows Live mail, making it more useful for the users.
• Like MBOX, the EML file also saves email messages and it is mainly associated with Microsoft Outlook. The EML file, in addition to the text, can also organize the attachments.
• The formatting of an EML file is similar to that of an MHT file, and this feature makes it possible to open an EML file in the Internet Explorer. You can also open an EML file by using a text editor, for instance, Microsoft Notepad. This is not possible with MBOX file format.

The conversion from MBOX to EML becomes essential to enable users to open their mailbox files on different platforms, including Internet Explorer. That’s why users wish to convert MBOX to EML file format. Now let us explore some easy methods to convert MBOX to EML.

How to convert Thunderbird MBOX to EML?

Here are the methods by which you can do so:

Method 1: Use the “Save As” Or “Save Selected Messages” Option

Using the “Save As” Option

1. Select individual messages that you want to export, or press CTRL + A to select all the email messages present in the current folder. Then right-click the selected emails. Choose “Save As” from the options.
2. Now select the folder path where you want to save the EML files by clicking the “Select Folder” button.

Using the “Save Selected Message” Option

1. Select individual messages that you want to export, or press CTRL + A to select all the email messages present in the current folder. Then right click on the selected emails. Choose “Save Selected Messages”. Then select “EML Format”.
2. Now select the folder path where you want to save the EML files by clicking the “Select Folder” button.

Method 2: Use the free ImportExporttools Add-On

Mozilla provides an add-on named ImportExporttools for saving all the EML messages in the EML format in a single go for Thunderbird. Once you have downloaded it, follow the below-mentioned steps:

1. Open Mozilla Thunderbird. Go to “Tools” using the Menu Bar and click “Add-on”. (You have to press ALT button if Menu Bar doesn’t show up).
2. Using the Setting icon, choose “Install add-on from file”.
3. Select the file “importexporttools-3.2.4.1-sm+tb.xpi” from the location where you downloaded it earlier. Then click the “Open” button.
4. Click “Install Now” button. Once done, click  “Restart Now” button.

Once you have done that, you can use it to export messages into EML format using below steps:

1. Go to Mozilla Thunderbird and select the particular folder which you want to export. Then right click on that particular folder followed by choosing “ImportExportTools”. Then choose “Export all Messages in the folder”. Finally, click on “EML Format”.
2. Now select the folder where you want to save the EML files by clicking the “Select Folder” button.

What to do if none of these works?

If none of the above methods work to convert MBOX to EML, you can always place your trust in a reliable and competent converter tool, Stellar Converter for MBOX. Contrary to what its name suggests, this software converts MBOX to PST and several other output formats including EML, RTF, HTML, PDF, etc. It even offers free preview of the converted data before saving it, along with several other useful options.

Wrapping it up

There could be several reasons why a user may want to migrate an existing mailbox data from one mail client to another. Regardless of the reasons, mailbox migration is usually quite tedious, time-taking, and risk-prone. That is why professional converter software is considered to be the best solutions since they offer a clean and efficient way of performing the migration. In case you wish to convert Thunderbird to EML, consider using the manual methods detailed above. But if those don’t work or you find them too tedious, then free download Stellar Converter for MBOX —a one-stop solution for all your MBOX conversion needs!