Where is a mailbox "on my mac" in the finder so I can copy

Question

Where is a mailbox "on my mac" in the finder so I can copy

Running OS 10.6.8 with Mail program on a Mac Mini. On that computer we have a mailbox "On My Mac" in the mail program with old emails going back to 2007, which we want to move and put on a newer laptop (also running 10.6.8).

1. Where is this folder/mailbox in the finder? I would want to copy it to a USB thumb drive to put in the appropriate location on the newer laptop.

Any other suggestions related to my question and plan of action is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Mac mini (Early 2006), Mac OS X (10.6.8), iPod Touch 3rd gen. 64GB(late 2009)

Posted on Jan 2, 2014 11:39 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

sanjampet

Level 5

7,988 points

Jan 2, 2014 12:26 PM in response to Tara Hollander

On My Mac is a location that messages are stored(as opposed to say your providers server that would have folders(mailboxes) , To find the on my Mac mailboxes you can from Finder press SHIFT COMMAND G (or click GO in the menu bar>Go to Folder ) then enter ~/Library/Mail/Mailboxes there you will find all the mailboxes on my mac. Click on a mailbox>messages, there you will see all the emails in that mail box, they will be .emlx

If you have been dragging messages there and never created different mailboxes, may just be one the says messages, using the path above. (I've always had multiple mail boxes, so I'm not certain if there is only one how it would be named, messages I would think

Hope this helps

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Answer 2

Jan 3, 2014 11:42 AM in response to sanjampet

The solution for me was to move both the .mbox file AND the folder to the USB drive via copying in the Finder. Then opening Mail on the newer laptop and Importing the two selected files from the USB drive.

I had tried moving the folders and mbox file INTO the proper location on the 2nd Mac through the Finder, and it created the folders in the Mail program once I launched the program, but the folders were empty and no messages were to be found.

The other solution worked.

Thanks for all inputs, it was a combination of the great advice that led to success!

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Answer 3

FALcatkin

Level 3

894 points

Jan 2, 2014 2:29 PM in response to Eustace Mendis

Even if the two computers are not connected, you could Archive the mailboxes on the first computer, then move the .mbox packages to the second computer via a USB drive, then import on the second computer from the archives.

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Answer 4

Jan 2, 2014 2:16 PM in response to Tara Hollander

There is an easier way to move mailboxes, but the two computers have to be connected and File Sharing enabled on both.

Go to: Mail / File / Import Mailboxes.

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Answer 5

Jan 2, 2014 12:34 PM in response to sanjampet

Excellent. Further question though.

Do I move the folder, or do I move the file called the "xxxname.mbox"???

The folder is 851MB and the file xxxname.mbox is 2.19GB!

I have no idea which one to move. The emails seem to be in both the folder and the file. It looks like the attachments are saved within the .mbox file as well as the email messages. And there are folders within folders in the folder, but not the .mbox.

Any further answers?

Thanks.

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Answer 6

sanjampet

Level 5

7,988 points

Jan 2, 2014 1:36 PM in response to Tara Hollander

Make a new folder with a different name (xxxname2.mbox) and put it all in the new folder, keeping the same structure as you have now. I would try to just move within it all into the new folder. Then make a new mail box in mail and drag it in there. this will be a archive type of thing. Do a back up on this first. Then you should probably create a new mailbox (different name) moving forward.

As I mentioned before, I have always had multiple mail boxes for different customers, uses,... to help organize things, but this should work, as long as the names are different.

The file is larger because (if I understand you) it contains the attachments, with the messages)

Try putting it on a USB and see that you can open it all.

Now you know where to find where your mail is.

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Answer 7

sanjampet

Level 5

7,988 points

Jan 2, 2014 5:23 PM in response to Tara Hollander

All these will work, what I have suggested will give you a "hard copy" in the event of a corruption.

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