Export/Backup
Evolution Email
This is a big question
with a pretty easy answer. If you are like me you probably
have
thousands of emails in your inbox or other assorted folders.
Since Evolution does not have a File--->Export
function we
will have to do it in a different way. The method is actually
fairly simple.
- Start Evolution
- Select which folder you
wish to export/backup. If you are like me you may have your
mail
in folders. For this exercise lets say you have a folder
named
"Fred's Junk".
- Highlight "Fred's Junk"
folder then you will need to select all. I am using
Evolution 2.10.1 and there is no Select All in the Edit menu.
No
fear, use the keyboard shortcut CTRL-A. This will highlight
all
the messages in that Evolution folder.
- Now that we have all the messages highlighted we need to
save them. No problem
- Go to File--->Save Message...
- You should have a dialog window pop up asking where you
want to save the message(s).
- Select a folder in which
you want to save messages and give the file a name. I suggest
you
give the file a name like Fred's Junk.mbx, the .mbx will denote to you
that it is a mailbox.
- Push the Save button and
the messages will be saved in Fred's Junk.mbx. Depending on
how
many messages there are will determine how long the process
is.
I saved over 500 messages in my inbox so it took about 30
seconds
to create the file.
- Repeat the process for each folder in your Evolution inbox.
After you
have all your email folders saved in this .mbx format they can easily
be imported to other emial clients such as Thunderbird.
You
may also want to
know how
to save your address book and filters. This is a fairly
simple task as well. Your
address book is stord in your home folder.
Adress book location
~/.evolution/addressbook/
I recommend
saving the address book as an archive since there are lots
of sub-folders. Open a file manager in the ~/.evolution
folder. By default Nautilus does not show hidden files and
folders. To show hidden files and folders open Naultilus and
go to View--->Show Hidden FIles. Now that you can see
hidden folders
right mouse click on the addressbook folder and click Create
Archive... Make sure you select .zip or .tar.gz as these
archives
will offer the
best compatibility for all platforms (Windows/Linux/Mac).
Your filters are
located in your /home folder in the follwing hidden folder.
~/.evolution/mail/filters.xml
I hope this
procedure helps.