Guide to Export Outlook PST Files to Thunderbird

MS Outlook email program is an emailing application that’s part of MS Office’s suite of applications. The major usage of Outlook’s tool is managing emails. Additionally, Outlook also provides other features like management of tasks, contacts’ management, taking notes, storing journal entries and their management, and much more. In many enterprises, MS Outlook program is used in conjugation with the MS Exchange Server. But, Outlook can even be used in the form of a standalone emailing application. But due to some reasons, the need to Export Outlook PST files to Thunderbird carries. Therefore in this write-up, we will discuss all such reasons.

About Thunderbird

Developed by Mozilla Company, Thunderbird application happens to be a free email tool that is also cross-platform. Thunderbird is basically a mails/newsgroups/chats email client. Using Thunderbird, users can very conveniently manage their emails in multiple numbers, newsgroups, as well as news-feed account, and more. Additionally, this email tool also provides certain other features including those of saved search folders, quick-search, advanced filtering of mail messages, a grouping of mail messages, and much more.

Need to Export Outlook PST files to Thunderbird

With many multiple useful features of Thunderbird’s email client as compared to Outlook, users may consider migrating from MS Outlook to Mozilla Thunderbird. But, there can be numerous other reasons for such a thought process wherein transferring Outlook PST Files to MBOX of Thunderbird becomes mandatory for the user to perform.

Queries Often Encountered by Outlook Users

Outlook sometimes is the default email client for some users. Users who often have PST files on their computer systems that have been exported from MS Outlook usually consist of all email addresses. Now, many such users want to know the process to Export Outlook PST files to Mozilla Thunderbird as it supports MBOX file format. After a couple of failed attempts on importing Outlook’s Address into Mozilla Thunderbird’s Address Book as they did not work properly, any user is likely to think about other better ways of carrying out this migration. Either there is an absence of any default email client or their existing email client is unable to fulfill these messaging requests.

Solution to Manually Export Outlook PST Files to Thunderbird

There surely is manual techniques available using which one can transfer Outlook data Files to Thunderbird. One of such usual methods is as follows:

First and foremost, you need to set the MS Outlook emailing tool as your default email client
After that, in Mozilla Thunderbird

1. You need to go Tools.
2. Then Import
3. And then select: Address books
4. After that, click Next
5. On doing so, you now have to select: Outlook
6. And finally, click Next

Another Method to Export Outlook PST Files to Thunderbird

In MS Outlook email client, you have to export the contacts address book as CSV
After that, in Mozilla Thunderbird email client


1. You have to go to Tools first
2. And then go to Import
3. Here, select: Address books
4. The next step involves clicking on Next
5. Once done with this, you now have to select: Text file (.csv, .tab, ldif, .txt)
6. And after that, click Next again
7. Here, now you need to locate the saved .csv file
8. And after that, click Open
9. Mapping of fields might be required

Note

It is possible to export Outlook PST files to Thunderbird after the conversion of file format. This is because, Mozilla Thunderbird is supporting MBOX format for storing all mailbox items. When PST files are converted to MBOX format files then the data contained in them can be easily exported to Thunderbird. However, for full-fledged mailbox data exportation, no manual methodology is available. So, the only option available to the users is to look around for a third party tool for the conversion

SysTools PST to MBOX

For having an easy, instant, safe and result-oriented solution to export Outlook PST files to Thunderbird, users can try seeking help from third party vendors by availing their superior software solutions like SysTools PST to MBOX Converter. Users can get help from their supreme methodologies to govern the process of conversion in everything but foolproof manner.

Concluding Words

So we saw that how some users wish to change their email client from Outlook and in the course of this switchover, they face the requirement to export Outlook PST files to Thunderbird. Carrying out this conversion via a manual way is rather tough and seems like an onus task. On the other hand, the same method using some 3rd-party wondrous tool seems like a cakewalk even for novice users.