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AndyAinscowFlag for Switzerland

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Import thunderbird profile into thunderbird on another PC

Two PCs.  Both running Thunderbird as the e-mail client on Windows PC's.  (No DNS server.)
On PC_1 thunderbird is setup to get e-mail from two different servers on the internet.  eg.  foo@freestuff.ch and bar@paidstuff.ch
On PC_2 thunderbird is setup for yet another e-mail account eg. mystuff@somewhereelse.ch

What I want to do is copy the mail and settings of foo@freestuff.ch from PC_1 to PC_2 so that PC_1 gets mail from foo@freestuff.ch and bar@paidstuff.ch  and PC_2 gets mail from foo@freestuff.ch and mystuff@somewhereelse.ch

I know where I can find the folder containing all the thunderbird information, I just don't know how to import this into thunderbird.  The import options only list outlook and some others, not thunderbird as a possibility.  How do I accomplish this?
Avatar of crystal (strive4peace) - Microsoft MVP, Access
crystal (strive4peace) - Microsoft MVP, Access

I believe you can copy the mailbox files into the folder on the second computer that contains the mailbox information.  When Thunderbird opens, it will read what is there.

If you want to share the mailboxes, they need to be on a shared drive.  You can change the location of the mailboxes.
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Doesn't work.
If I copy everything (and overwrite files) then it will trash the current accounts.  That means folders are there but the accounts don't appear in thunderbird any more.
If I only copy the folders then the 'new' accounts don't appear, I just have the accounts that I started with.

I have found an ImortExportTool addon for thunderbird.  That will allow me to copy from one PC to another but then I have two separate profiles and I have to choose which to use when starting thunderbird.  I only want the one profile with all the accounts merged from both profiles merged into it.

I really find this hard to believe, one can import from eg. outlook when setting thunderbird up, one can import from other apps to existing profiles so why can't one merge two thunderbird profiles simply?  :-\
Andy, on computer 2, open your default profile, create the account for foo@freestuff.ch and Then copy your email folders from computer 1 that corresponds to foo@freestuff.ch to the same profile location on computer 2.  That should work. You may have to make sure you are viewing hidden files and folders on both machine. When copying these files folders, make sure Thunderbird is closed.
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AndyAinscow
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Well, you never said automatically. You actually said, "What I want to do is copy the mail and settings of foo@freestuff.ch from PC_1 to PC_2 so that PC_1 gets mail from foo@freestuff.ch and bar@paidstuff.ch  and PC_2 gets mail from foo@freestuff.ch and mystuff@somewhereelse.ch"

Which is exactly the instructions I provided.  

Unfortunately, sometimes, the correct answer is "you can't do that" which may also be the correct answer for your very last note.  Tell you what, I will take a few more minutes on this and see of I can find something for you, but you are correct, there is No built-in way of doing it.
I did also have this in the question body:
I just don't know how to import this into thunderbird.  The import options only list outlook and some others, not thunderbird as a possibility.
Maybe I could have made the question clearer.

If you are unhappy then I'm perfectly fine with letting a moderator decide how the question should be finalised.
Nope - No Import to COMBINE multiple Profiles, however, that Import/ExportTools from Paolo does Import a Thunderbird Profile to Thunderbird, BUT it will NOT Combine Profiles, so as to NOT Possibly Overwrite existing TB data.
You would then have Multiple Profiles on one system which is not what you said you wanted.

What I believe you are really looking for is HOW TO IMPORT SETTINGS but TB only imports from other email clients (not sure why, it may be because it is so fast and easy to set up emails accounts in TB, with their database of email settings).
If your email is set up as IMAP, that's all you have to do, if you have used POP mail, and have to repopulate your folder directory, then

What you CAN do,  is as noted above, First Manually Create the Accounts that you want to move to the main computer, Once that is created, select it in the folder list, then use the Import/ExportTools extension to "Tools->Import/ExportTools->Import mbox Files" and point it at the copy of the profile you moved over to this machine. If you select the Mail folder in your Profiles/randomdefault.5g2/ it will then ask you one at a time, which folders to import, OR you drill down and import one at a time.

But sorry, no way to import Full Settings and emails and Combine them with an existing profile without manual intervention.
>>but TB only imports from other email clients (not sure why,...

That is what I have come to conclude, weird.  One can easily delete an account from a profile, set up a new profile but not merge/import an an existing account into another profile.
Unless anyone knows different it isn't possible.