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How to Convert MBOX Files to PDF Documents on Mac

author
Published By Nilesh
Aswin Vijayan
Approved By Aswin Vijayan
Published On January 24th, 2024
Reading Time 5 Minutes Reading

Many legal advisers need to save important client information coming through email in a safe location. They export the messages and print them out in a document format. Many popular email applications use an MBOX file format. To print out these emails, one needs to convert MBOX to PDF file format. This post describes all the important tips to convert MBOX to PDF Mac in Bulk. These print out act as important legal evidence for advocates. It is a preferred method for the forensics team for data analysis, doctors for their medical reports, and much more.

Table of Content:

MBOX & PDF

A Portable Document Format(.pdf) is a portable file that can be read using Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader. It saves an email file in a document format and is available across platforms on Unix, Linux, Mac, or Windows computers. It can be used to print multiple emails in bulk after converting MBOX Files to PDF format on Mac. All email messages are printed with attachments after successful migration.

MBOX file is a simple file format that stores email messages. A number of email applications such as Mozilla Thunderbird, Apple Mail, Entourage, etc, use MBOX files to store their mailbox data. It is accessible on multiple Operating systems such as Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.

Why Do You Need to Convert MBOX Files to PDF Mac in Bulk?

  • To print out emails from an MBOX file format.
  • To read email messages through a document file.
  • If you open emails from a computer that does not have an MBOX-supported email client.
  • For legal advocates, save emails in a secure location.
  • For forensics and evidence team, for data analysis.
  • To extract an email message from an email client and read it.
  • To print out an email with its attachment.

Best Two Methods to Convert MBOX to PDF on Mac

Often legal advisers back up emails in an MBOX format. This can be an old .mbox from any email client. It needs to be used efficiently without data loss in a Macintosh computer to print out emails. These email messages with attachments act as evidence and need to be converted to document format in bulk. To print out these emails one needs to convert MBOX files to PDF Mac format. Following are some of the ways to do that:

Method#1 Manual Approach using Mac Mail

This is a free way to convert MBOX file format to document format on a Macintosh computer. It involves using the manual techniques involving Apple Mac Mail to PDF conversion. Repeat the steps properly to avoid data loss.

  • First, launch the Apple Mail application.
  • Then, go to File>>Import Mailboxes.
  • From the Import box, select Files in MBOX format and click OK.
  • After that, Browse to the folder path where the old .mbox file is present.
  • Then, click on the Done button.
  • Now, all emails from the MBOX are present under the On My Mac header.
  • After that, select each email within the MBOX Import folder.
  • Then, right-click on the email and go to File>>Save As.
  • Select to save it in PDF format.
  • Now, Repeat this step for each email in the Import folder.
  • All emails are converted from MBOX to PDF Mac format.

Another way could be using Entourage for conversion to PDF. However, users don’t use it because Entourage is a discontinued email client.

Limitations of Manual Process

  • Limited to Some Emails: This manual procedure is helpful in case of a small number of emails to convert MBOX files to PDF in Mac. It is not at all feasible for large mailbox data migration.
  • Time-Consuming: It is very tiring to move each email one at a time and save it in PDF format.
  • No batch support: Through this manual way, you can move a single email at a time.

Method#2 Use an Mac MBOX to PDF Converter

The manual solution is able to convert MBOX to PDF on a Mac computer individually. However, an automated solution is necessary to move multiple messages in batches with attachments. One such tool is the Mac MBOX Converter which can be used to convert Mac MBOX to PDF. This is an expert solution that can easily migrate bulk MBOX emails to PDF on Mac.

It is very easy to use and even a non-technical user can handle it. It is very effective in email migration without any data loss.

Simple Steps of Mac MBOX to PDF Converter:

  • Install & Run the software on the Mac system
    start mac mbox to pdf converter
  • Click on “Add File” to add multiple MBOX files
    add mbox file
  • Select “PDF” format
    select pdf
  • Apply “Advance Settings
    apply advanced settings
  • Export MBOX files to PDF with embedded attachments.
    export mbox file to pdf

Note: This article is all about converting files in Mac OS. For Windows Os, you can have a look at the conversion of Thunderbird to PDF.

Final Words

It can be difficult to read emails from an old .mbox file saved on a Mac computer. Sometimes it is important to save those emails from MBOX format to PDF for legal purposes. Hence, this post describes tips to convert MBOX to PDF Mac in bulk. It explains a simple manual process that is easy to use for any home or business user. But it has some limitations. For those looking for an alternative solution for a seamless transition experience, we recommend a more efficient software solution.