I'm leaving Yahoo Mail - how do I save all my historic emails to my Mac?

Just a thought, may not accomplish what you need, but...

Have you thought of using a mail application -other than- Mail.app to log into your Yahoo account?

I'm thinking of something like Thunderbird.

You could:

1. create the account

2. Thunderbird would then download all the emails from yahoo to your Mac.

3. You could then "sort out" the emails in T-bird, deleting what you don't wish to keep.

At this point, you could either use T-bird to handle the emails, or, you could import them into Mail.app without having to actually log into the yahoo account -using- Mail.app.

Adrian Gates

Sr. System Admin - Apps4Rent

Hello ! Magsolo

Please see this method right now I tried in my system .

( 1 ) Enter in user library > select mail and right click on copy mail and then right click on empty desktop and click on paste item , the V5 folder will be saved on the desktop .

( 2 ) Open mail application and take cursor on top menu bar > file > import mail boxes > import data > select apple mail > click on continue > select desktop > click on continue > the data will start importing and the bar will start loading and let it be completed .

( 3 ) Go to system preferences > internet accounts > select the web mail account and click on minus sign it will be deleted .

( 4 ) You can see the mail data is transferred in the bottom mail side bar but everything is empty there are no mails in sent , inbox or archive they all are empty but a folder " import " is visible click on drop down arrows of each folders .

( 5 ) And if you plan to switch from yahoo to google or even change the internet servicer provider the folder " import " is still saved in the empty mail application .

( 6 ) When you configure the mail account by taking cursor on top menu bar > click on add account > choose a mail provider and select the box and click on continue > add new web mail address > click on next > and type the password > and click on done you will be joined to the new server say yahoo ( that is still empty for your mail account as you recently joined this new server and no data is saved on their server , but still the mail folder " import " is in the mail application .

You can scatter the mails in the desired mail boxes .

Note : While performing this step you will notice the fans will start running and the system will heat up but this a normal as the the data is transferred it will take time to stop the fans and system will cool down .

Mag,

I forwarded all of my Yahoo email to another account. This was much simpler.

However, there are other methods for backing up or saving your Yahoo mail.

The following may help:

https://help.yahoo.com/kb/mail/SLN4577.html?impressions=true

https://help.yahoo.com/kb/mail/save-multiple-emails-setting-pop-access-yahoo-mai l-sln22038.html

Other:

https://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/back-up-yahoo-emails-16025.html

From Mac help ... simply create an Archive mailbox and populate it with your Yahoo email. It will then survive after you delete your Yahoo mailbox.

If you'd actually read within them thoroughly or simply, carefully, it explains how to do just that & what Yahoo is capable of in that regard specifically.

I and only I forwarded mine to another email account in which I then EASILY & QUICKLY saved them to a Yahoo folder within and to an external drive. So, I put that there as a viable, reliable option I know to work efficiently and effectively.

Start googling Yahoo support. You'd be amazed at what you'd find to help with effort and thoroughness. Instructions for how to are made easily accessible directly through Yahoo.

The method what I suggested was applied in my Mac I deleted the account from system preferences - internet accounts the " import " folder was created ( not a single mail was missed ) .

Each and every upcoming steps were written on a white sheet so that there would be no confusion .

But you query is - I just want a record of all my past emails (sent and received) from my Yahoo email address and which will not change once I delete my yahoo account. I then just want them to sit on my computer until, perhaps, I want to read them at some point in future, or forward them to someone. I just want a permanent record of each of my past sent/received emails - that is all.

If you delete the account from system preferences > internet accounts the apple mail application is deleted from Mac but mails still reside on the yahoo server , in case if you create a mail boxes and drag and drop mails in it , but that is tedious job if there are thousands of mails or more than that , but that is only appropriate until you don't delete the apple mail application see this article Create or delete mailboxes in Mail on Mac - Apple Support

Another method is export all mails into another Mac and later on you can view them ( same copying all mails in V5 folder ) .

As all mail data is firstly stored in " mail folder " of user library after that there are sub folders V5 - then alfa numeric folders in which data from drafts , sent .. are stored but those alfa numeric folders are not be touched by the Mac users as deleting them will corrupt mail application .

But for this single Mac if you delete the account the mails are gone either Mac apple mail application must be connected to the server or choose the methods what I suggested .

In the last para you wrote about import folder - you have to click on " All " to view all current mails in your Mac .

I suggest not using tygb's approach. The reason is that Apple may well change the way it chooses to store data structures under the Library umbrella in the future. Apple tends to expect that users do not mess directly with structures in this area. That's why they make it difficult to even inspect the Library area in Finder.

I think the instructions I provided above provide good step-by-step suggestions. Use Mail's men to go to Help > Archive for even more information.

You can see the process is still going on I have plugged the charger when all mails are downloaded then I will quit the mail application .