Question: I have followed all the instructions on how to archive and save Mac Mail folders/emails and have saved one folder to my USB to test it out. When I plug the USB drive into the PC and run the software, it says it can’t find any files ending in .mbox or .mbx even though I can see folders ending with that suffix. Can you tell me what the problem is? What if my Mac Mail application does not have an option to Archive Mailbox? What should I do if my Mac OS X Mail application do not allow me to archive mailboxes?
Answer: Right click to the Mac Mail folder containing emails and use the “Export Mailbox…” option to save it into mailbox file. Do the same for other folders to archive them then use the main program guide.
Please don’t read below if the Export function is available and you may use it.
If the “Export Mailbox…” option is not available (older Mac Mail versions) you may need to find the folder containing the source mailboxes. Older Mac Mail versions store emails in *.emlx files and don’t allow to pack them into mailbox format. So you have nothing to do with email archiving option. You have to find the proper mailbox location and use the “Mailboxes” folder for the further conversion.
Note: Mac Mail may create several similar folders but the proper one is that which stores files with *.emlx extension. The message store location depending on Mac Mail application version and edition.
If you need to open Mbox files of an Apple Mail on a Windows system, you can use the Free Mbox Viewer. Download it here.
How to Find and Open the Folder Where Mac Mail Stores Emails
Do the following to find and open the folder where Mac OS X Mail v2, v3, v4 and above keeps your messages:
- Open a new Finder window
- Go to your home directory using the Home toolbar button or select Go | Home from the main menu
- Open the Library/Mail/Mailboxes directory
This will open up the correct directory where your Mac Mail stores emails. Usually this directory is called Mail and contains multiple sub-folders named the same way as your email accounts. POP accounts and IMAP accounts are named with prefix POP- and IMAP- respectively. Each account folder contains multiple sub-folders for your Mac Mail folders such as Inbox, Sent Items etc.
The folder called Mailboxes is the main storage for your emails. You should copy this folder including all subfolders and files inside to the Windows PC and use it as the Source Folder for the Mac Mail to Outlook Converter.
Take the following steps to open the folder where Mac OS X Mail v1 keeps your messages:
- Open Mac OS Finder application
- From the main menu select “Go” item
- Choose “Go to Folder…” menu item (You can also press Command-Shift-G).
- Type in “~/Library/Mail/V2” (for Mac OS X Mail 5-8)
or “~/Library/Mail/V3” (for Mac OS X Mail)
This is the location of the Mac Mail mailbox. You must use this folder as the source for the conversion.
Download Apple Mail Converter to convert your emails
- System Requirements: OS – Microsoft Windows (32 or 64 bit), Microsoft Outlook 2000-2019 (32 or 64 bit). Note: Outlook 2000-2002 must be installed in Corporate Workgroup mode. Outlook 2010, 2013 must be installed in standalone mode, click-to-run setup do not allow to import data.
Convert Apple Mail to Outlook PST
- Run the Mac Mail to Outlook Converter software.
- Click Browse button and select the location of Mac Mail Mailboxes folder.
- Click the Scan Folder button and then click the Save PST button.
- Enter the name of the PST file to be created and confirm to start the conversion.