Problem scenario
You want to view the emails in a .mbox file. You are using Thunderbird. What do you do?
Solution
Overview: Install the ImportExportTools NG add-on. Have another email account (an empty one or something else) that can accept the emails in Thunderbird configured.
Procedures
- Open Thunderbird
- Click the hamburger symbol (of three horizonal bars in the upper right hand corner)
- Go to "Add-ons"
- Search for "ImportExportTools"
- Click the hamburger symbol (of three horizonal bars in the upper right hand corner)
- A mailbox, even an empty one must be configured.
- Warning: this will import your .mbox emails into the mailbox you have configured. Right click the "Local Folders" on the left-hand side in Thunderbird.
- Go to "ImportExportTools NG" -> "Import mbox file"
- It should have the default option checked of "Import directly one or more mbox files" and click "OK"
- Browse to your .mbox file, highlight it, and press Enter.
- It may take time for the messages to be viewable. You may want to close Thunderbird and re-open it.
- Optional step: We recommend right-clicking the header row of "Subject"…"Correspondents"…"Date" and choose "From:". Many .mbox files have spam, trash, and inbox emails all in one folder.