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Simple Methods to Convert Thunderbird SBD to PST Files

author
Published By Kumar Raj
Aswin Vijayan
Approved By Aswin Vijayan
Published On January 24th, 2024
Reading Time 4 Minutes Reading

Are you worried about converting data from Thunderbird SBD to PST and not getting any relevant solution. Then, need not to worry. This article will guide you step by step procedure how user can migrate Thunderbird SBD to PST.

First, we will talk about SBD files and see why users are switching from Thunderbird to Outlook. Afterward, we will describe impeccable methods to import Thunderbird SBD files into PST format. Keep reading to learn most effective approach.

Let’s begin with a brief introduction of SBD folders.

What are SBD Files in Thunderbird?

SBD is a sub directory file in Mozilla Thunderbird used to maintain the folder hierarchy. It contains MSF and MBOX files.  MSF file stores indexes of emails and MBOX files comprises of the actual content i.e., email messages.

When switching email client, users often miss the SBD folders of Thunderbird and hence forget to transfer some email messages to Outlook. Sometimes, simply processing the underlying mailbox files only transfers the emails and not the folder hierarchy. That’s why users wish to convert these SBD folders to PST format so as to copy Thunderbird subdirectory structure to Outlook.

Manual Method to Import Thunderbird SBD to Outlook PST

In order to transfer all the sub directory files into MS Outlook a user has to follow the two phase process. These phases further includes some steps which are mentioned below.

Phase 1: Export Thunderbird messages to EML files.

  1. Create a new folder on desktop.
  2. In Thunderbird, and select messages to be exported.
  3. Drag all of select emails and drop into the folder on desktop.

Make sure to select all the emails of each folder, sub-folder and save them on the desktop.

Phase 2: Import EML files into Outlook.

  1. Open Outlook application.
  2. Navigate to the folder where you wish to import the Thunderbird messages.
  3. Drag all contents of the desktop folder into the Outlook folder.

Note –  This is a free manual workaround. Not a direct solution. So users will need to create the same folder structure on their desktop and in Outlook as present in the Thunderbird account. This is the only way to maintain folder structure while converting SBD to PST.

Drawbacks of Manual Methods

A user might face some problems while converting SBD files into PST. Here are some limitations of the manual process:

  • It is not suitable for large business organizations because the business users doesn’t have much time to operate the repetitive steps for a huge database.
  • Since users have to repeat the whole process for each mailbox folder, the manual method is too time-consuming.
  • Human intervention results in data losses.
  • It does not maintain the folder hierarchy structure. Users will need to put extra efforts for preserving it.

Now, let’s have a look at the automated method. Read below and overcome all the limitations!

Effortless Solution to Import Thunderbird SBD to PST

There is another better solution available to convert SBD to Outlook PST files is by using MBOX to PST converter. It easily migrates inbox.mbox, sent.mbox, drafts.mbox, trash, and all custom folders into Outlook PST format. Furthermore, it has an option to export data into various formats like PST, EML, MSG, NSF, HTML, PDF.

download software

After downloading and installing professional software, run it. Then, follow the below steps:

  • Step 1. Click on the “Add Folder” button.
  • Step 2. Select MBOX files option & and hit on the “Next” button.
  • Step 3. Browse the SBD folder from the system.
  • Step 4. View mails in “Normal Mail” to export in Outlook.
  • Step 5. Choose the “PST option” and click on the “Export” button.

Users can also select the Mozilla Thunderbird option in software and directly process the SBD folders into PST format. No need to select the MBOX files

Why Thunderbird SBD to PST Converter Preferred Over Manual Process?

A quick way to see if it is right for you is to look at its major benefits. Some of the highlighted features are listed below:

  • It merges all the SBD data files into single PST.
  • It rapidly migrates multiple emails with attachments in bulk.
  • It can auto-detect the supporting email client present in the system.
  • It maintains the folder hierarchy.
  • It provides high level data protection and security.

Additionally, a user can split the PST according to a particular size using a split PST option available in the software.

Concluding Thoughts

This article emphasizes resolving the user queryon how to migrateThunderbird SBD to PST. We defined SBD folders and why most of the users want to move it to Outlook. The manual method has some limitations which were mentioned above. Hence, to overcome those problems we recommend an effortless solution to import SBD folder into Outlook PST.