How can I save business emails with attachments on USB HDD?

Question

How can I save business emails with attachments on USB HDD?

I'm a retired designer and I still do a little side consulting/artwork for old customers. There's a lot of interactive correspondence and many times the emails include graphic proposals which I've saved from Photoshop, Corel, or Visio programs as either JPGs or PDFs.

I hate to admit it but my mail folder has over 3000 emails in it. Maybe a third of these emails contains one or more image files. I would very much like to purge the mail utility and my root HDD, and put the bulk of my client emails (with attachments) on a USB HDD. I'd also like to somehow be able to access them and read them at a later date if needed. Is there any _easy_ way to do this?

Using a iMac Intel 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 6GB SDRAM, circa 2007-2008 (7,1) Mavericks OS X v.10.9.1 64-BIT mode.

Airport Express-OTHER, Mac OS X (10.6.8), iMac, MacBookPro, iPad, iPhones

Posted on Jan 18, 2014 11:32 AM

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Answer 1

Delgadoh

Level 4

1,481 points

Jan 20, 2014 2:09 PM in response to LightningMike

Hey LightningMike,

Exporting might work for you. You can export a mailbox to create a backup copy of it, so that later you can retrieve messages from the mailbox if you need to:

Lion Mail: Export mailboxes

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4811

Have a good one,

Delgadoh

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Answer 2

Jan 20, 2014 4:22 PM in response to Delgadoh

Hey Del...

That sounds promising but I'm trying to get 3000 emails _off_ my machine, so can that exported mailbox be set up with folders for specific clients or types of business so that I can dump all the emails into the correct folders and then export it completely? And when I want to retreive a particular client's emails, do I have to retreive the entire mailbox and restore it on my iMac or can I selectively go to "Client Mailbox2011/SmithPlumbing" and just see all the emails to/from Smith Plumbing? If that can be done... I think we have a winner. I might have to do it by year so I'd have multiple exported mailboxes and a way to keep current (2014) client email correspondence separate.

I hope you say yes LOL. Then you give me some tips on HOW to do that!!!

Mike

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