How to Convert pst Files to mbox Format

[TALA]

Hello , I have lots of Microsoft Outlook .pst files which I would like want to convert to mbox format. So I would like know if there is one a tool that will straight convert the pst file to mbox format and it will be really nice if this tools is freeware , Please Help solve this Thanks in Advance for your replies

[Noels]

Hello If Thunderbird is installed on same computer as Outlook you maybe able to use Thunderbird to import the mail from outlook.In that case just open Thunderbird select Tools Menu > Import, select mail, select Outlook and continue the wizard. Note though that if your friend is using Calender, Notes, Journal or such in Outlook that stuff can't be used in Thunderbird.

[Techno01]

Microsoft Outlook .pst files use a proprietary format. Thunderbird not only doesn't understand that format, it has no idea that .pst files even exist. Thats why there is no import command that lets you browse to the location of a .pst file.

Normally you import the contents of a .pst file by setting Outlook as the default email client, and then use Tools -> Import -> Mail within Thunderbird. Thats makes SimpleMAPI calls to Outlook, which returns the contents of the personal folders (.pst) file. See this article for information on how to import from more than identity. If some of the messages aren't imported correctly a common workaround is to import the messages into Outlook Express, and then import the messages from Outlook Express into Thunderbird.

If you are running Windows there are several mail conversion utilities that support importing .pst files. However, they actually make SimpleMAPI calls just like Thunderbird does. If you just have the .pst file (and can't install Outlook on the PC) you could:

1. Install Thunderbird on another PC that has a compatible version of Outlook.
2. Make Outlook the default email client.
3. Copy the outlook.pst file to that PC and configure Outlook to use it. (may need to be in the default location)
4. Compact the .pst file using Outlooks File -> Data File Management commands to permanently get rid of any deleted messages. Don't confuse this with compressing or zipping a file.
5. Import the messages using Tools -> Import -> Mail. You can use Tools -> Import to also import the settings and address books.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 as necessary for any other .pst files.
7. Backup the Thunderbird profile. Mozbackup is a useful tool to do that.
8. Restore the Thunderbird profile on your PC.
9. Cleanup. (Uninstall Thunderbird on the PC with Outlook etc.)

What type/version of .pst file and what version of Outlook you are using matters. You normally can't open an Outlook 2003 .pst file (it defaults to Unicode) in Outlook 2002 (which only supports ANSI). You could export it as a Outlook 2002 compatible .pst file in Outlook 2003 using the File, New, Outlook Data File command, and then choose Outlook 97-2002 Personal Folders File (.pst) as the storage type.

Outlook doesn't care what the folders names are since it stores all of the folders within a .pst file. Thunderbird however stores all of the messages for each folder in a file named after the folder, so if you use characters in a folder name that are invalid filename characters it can cause problems. If you get an error message about Thunderbird being unable to create a folder you may need to rename all folders to use 7-bit alphabetical ASCII characters and try again. Another possibility is that you had two child folders with the same name under two different parent folders. Rename one of the child folders.

Thunderbird has no concept of Outlook identities or profiles so it only imports from the default identity or profile. If you have multiple identities or profiles you need to set one as the default, import it using Thunderbird, and then repeat.

[Trio]

Hello You can use ImportExportTools (MboxImport enhanced) MboxImport becomes ImportExportTools and gives you new features.Now the extension allows you to export and import messages with more flexibility, with the following options:Tools Menu --> Import/Export in mbox/eml format Hope it would be useful

[johnson22]

Hello Check this MessageSave for Microsoft Outlook

MessageSave for Microsoft Outlook
Easily save email messages outside of Outlook. Use MessageSave for email archiving, backup, document management, sharing, legal compliance, and much more.MessageSave supports exporting Outlook messages in MBOX format. It can convert both PST files and Exchange-based mailboxes. This functionality can be used for exporting Outlook email to other mail clients, such as Apple Mail, Entourage, Thunderbird, etc

To export Outlook messages in MBOX format:

1. Invoke the following menu command - "Tools -> MessageSave -> Apple Mac Export -> Export Messages".
2. Click "Start Export".
3. That's it! MessageSave will export your email messages to a folder on your desktop.

[Jackson2]

hello there is also MailNavigator which is a powerful system for retrieving information from the archives of the majority of popular mail programs. Versions 0.09 and later include the capability of reading mailboxes in DBX (Outlook Express 5, 6) format. Version 0.12 adds the capability of reading mail in PST (MS Outlook) format.

If you want to simply extract messages from the pst archives of MS Outlook programs, load the mail folders from MailNavigator, and then export the messages in ASCII format, RFC-822 format or in the MBX format of Eudora Mail. To do this you should use the menu command:
Message | Save as...

However, it is much more effective to use the system of message search included in MailNavigator.

The processing language of the filters includes the standard operators: OR, AND, NOT, NEAR, their synonyms, and parentheses for defining the order of operators. In this program you can use filters on the message content and on some fields of the message header. Also, the format of the messages you are searching for is not important. The search system will find them in the mail archives of any program, including pst and dbx files.