Email export & archive question

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Level 2

209 points

Email export & archive question

Hi all,

Because I'm reaching my ISP's 1G maximum limit for storing emails, I want to export and archive my Sent messages file before deleting them from my ISP's mail server. I'd like to be able to store these outside my Mac and access them if and when necessary — work related reasons — and then delete the Sent messages from my ISP's server, thereb y freeing up server space.

I was planning to Export the Sent file that's on my iMac to a file on the Desktop, then drag it onto an external hard drive.

Will I be able to access and search the Sent files after doing this? And are there any glaring issues with this plan?

Thanks in advance for any all all responses!

Maggot

iMac, OS X 10.11

Posted on Apr 28, 2022 10:39 AM

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Answer 1

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James Brickley

Level 5

5,074 points

Apr 28, 2022 10:46 AM in response to Maggot

Should be as simple as right-clicking Sent Items and choosing to export to the Desktop. It will create a folder and within that folder will be an "mbox" file which is all your sent email in one file and a "table_of_contents">. You should be able to import MBOX format to other systems as it's a standard email format.

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Answer 2

Maggot Author

Level 2

209 points

Apr 28, 2022 10:49 AM in response to James Brickley

Thanks, James.

I take it that accessing these is a relatively simple thing to do? And that once they are safely ensconced on an external drive, I can then delete all the emails in the Sent file on my ISP's server?

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Answer 3

Apr 28, 2022 10:58 AM in response to Maggot

Yes, you can re-import them on the Mac and likely many other email systems. The is an Internet standard for MBOX mail format. i.e. Thunderbird email client, etc.

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Answer 4

Maggot Author

Level 2

209 points

Apr 28, 2022 10:59 AM in response to James Brickley

Thanks, James — have a great day!

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Email export & archive question

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