Guide to changing host

[larrycfc]

My email has been hosted on my own site, and I'm moving that to a new hosting company. After years with POP3, I just converted to IMAP, but I'm not sure I've configured it the way I'd like. I have numerous filters that sort emails into folders, which of course weren't visible from other devices, since they were local folders. I did the same in setting up IMAP but realize that won't help the multiple device issue. So I guess I should create the folders on the server. If I do that in TB, are they automatically created on the server side?

On the other hand, until the host move is complete, perhaps I'm better off keeping all but the main inbox in local folders, so there's less to move. Basically make this as much like POP3 as possible to simplify the moving process, right? After the move, I can transfer in TB, correct?

And - there's another email account that has been IMAP for some time, a simpler folder structure, with settings to sync locally. Where are those copies stored?

[DanRaisch]

1. If you create folders or sub-folders within the IMAP account in Thunderbird, the structures should also be created on the server. There may be limitations on what the particular server will allow or support but in general there should be no issues.

2. After the move, you can copy messages from the Thunderbird POP account Inbox folder to folders of the desired folders of the new IMAP account. I suggest copying to minimize any risk of data loss that might arise from a Move rather than Copy.

3. The messages displayed in Thunderbird in the folders of the IMAP account are stored on the server, with copies stored on the local system for off-line access. Once you create a new IMAP Account you can also copy the messages from the folders of the old IMAP account to the folders of the new one, if that's what you choose to do.

4. After all of the copying is done and you have confirmed that messages are available in the new IMAP account, you can decide which messages to delete from the old account and which accounts to remove from Thunderbird. Before doing any deletions, it is always a good idea to backup the entire profile -- http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_backup

[larrycfc]

Thanks, Dan. Regarding the Syncronization & Storage tab, I see that it only offers the IMAP account name inbox and it's subfolders as options. So where are they actually stored, since Local Folders doesn't have an inbox?

[DanRaisch]

Under that option the messages are stored in the folder of the same name on the local hard drive in a directory related to the account provider. That is, if your provider was Gmail, the directory would be C:\Users\WINUSERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\xxxxxxxx.default\ImapMail\imap.gmail.com (or imap.google.com). WINUSERNAME stands for your Windows user ID and the xxxxxxxx stands for the 8 character random string assigned during installation of Thunderbird and creation of the profile.