So I managed to export my Win10 Thunderbird v138 settings and import into Zorin OS Thunderbird (apt) v115.18 without too much hassle although it seems to have lost my email on opening a second time - maybe because I haven't configured the IMAP/SMTP passwords. However it looks quite clunky in comparison to v138. I'm not sure if this is down to version changes or simply going from Win10 to Zorin versions of Thunderbird?
So I installed the flatpak version v138 and lost 3 hours trying to import the backup files and configure the folder paths. It seems Flatpak uses .var folder and for unknown reasons I can't access the profile root folder using the app's Help Troubleshooting information Open button which indicates something wrong. It's not in .var either, here's the path: /home//.thunderbird/asdsdasd.Default User.
It fails to import, it creates incorrect folders all over the place, mainly pointing to cache folders in .var
Oh dear, this really is painful for a nuub!
How do I get Thunderbird to install and import a profile successfully using Flatpak?
You are correct, Flatpak packages use a different path for the configuration and installed files and that's what's causing your profile earlier imported from not being detected. Take a look at this post to solve this issue:
Having skim read the 20 pages I really am starting to believe this is just all too difficult. Sorry, but this should be a case of export/import. Why oh why all these issues with packagers, it's one significant reason why MS steals the market. The typical potential Win10 convert can't / won't want to spend hours trying to get the app to simply run in the first instance (and whilst that's fun) it's frustrating.
What is the root cause here, Thunderbird, Zorin, Packagers, or?
I think all I need is to create the symbolic link so the Flatpak installed version can see the files at /.thunderbird?
Correct, but there's a slight wrinkle: since you've launched Thunderbird and tried to set things up, you first need to remove the existing directory at ~/.thunderbird. To make sure it's stays out of the way without actually deleting it, run this first:
Btw, you should close Thunderbird first just to make sure the profile directory is not re-created while you do this cleanup.
mv ~/.thunderbird ~/.thunderbird.bak
If this commands shows an error saying that it doesn't exist or whatever, that's also a good sign and you can proceed anyway. This is just a precaution.
You have the patience of a saint and sound like me when I speak to paying clients lol!
Folder renamed successfully (it was there), link created (although doesn't show in File manager Nautilus), I know it was created successfully as terminal reports already created if I try creating a second time.
TB still cannot open the path in About Profiles (the 'open button' fails to open anything).
After an import of previous TB profile (which seemed to conclude far too quick) I still receive ' Unable to open the summary file for inbox on perhaps there was an error on disk or the path is too long.' I suspect TB simply can't find the right path even with the symbolic link?
Oops, this is embarrassing... I just made the same mistake again as from the other thread that I linked to.
That's a nuance with terminal commands, casing matters. The correct command is with an uppercase "T":
Sorry about that... follow the instructions I gave in the post above: delete the symbolic link you just created and run the same command, but make sure you enter capital "T" Thunderbird:
Yes, any file that starts with a dot (like in .thunderbird or .var) is a "hidden" file and won't show up by default. You can toggle this setting in Nautilus through the preferences menu. There are quite a lot this which is why it's disabled by default.
This may be an error with the application itself, not with how it's installed. As I don't use Thunderbird myself I'm not too familiar with what it is that it's supposed to be looking for when importing profiles. If you're importing from another file that exists in your file system, make sure to place that file inside the Downloads folder (this has to do with Flatpak packages, I'll explain later).
There's nothing special about hidden files, just the name and how each application (in this case, Nautilus) handles them. I suppose it's just not created properly... which might explain why the profile import doesn't work.
In any case, this whole thing with the symbolic links it's just a way to fix the issue that arises from installing Thunderbird as a Debian, or APT, package and then installing it as a Flatpak. If there is no ~/.thunderbird file nor directory and you want to use the Flatpak version, you don't need to do anything else.
However after some back and forth of copying folders/files from the backup to the new default profile beneath .var and selecting one option at a time during the import stage I've finally got it up and profile imported! And it's beautifully skinned replicating the Windows version, so it was the version of TB.
5 hours later and lots of your help.
I want to now replicate the whole process and update my notes!
Good job! I think what happened here is a conflict with installing the APT version first and then Flatpak. You see, the application itself (Thunderbird in this case) doesn't care how it's packaged up and installed, and will look for configuration and other files at specific locations in the file system. The problem is that Flatpak runs in isolation from the rest of the file system and this "sandboxed" environment limits the visibility of certain locations.
Often times, this isn't a problem but some times it can be. Another important thing to understand this sort of issue is that when uninstalling software, there are usually some files left behind, that can help with things like re-installation at a later point or to fix a particular issue. A feature that aims to be helpful but sometimes can get in the way — In this case, the profiles folder.
The combination of these two things is what caused this problem, and I'm sensing that more people have run into this but didn't come here to ask for help... I should probably write this up so that people can find it more easily.
If you're sure you've fixed it, please update your post here on how exactly. It can be very helpful to others who might run into this as well.
Did You take a Look at the Thunderbird Website? You can download their the new Version and there are Instructions how to set it up. It's not that easy but maybe worth a Try. It is a .tar File, so it isn't simply clicking on it like a .deb File. Here is the Describtion (in Case You want save it in the home Folder):
A new post preferably and then we can mark that as the solution for this whole thread. I'm planning on writing a quick guide to troubleshoot this as well, but I'm not sure how Thunderbird works or handles profiles so I'm curious about this, so every body wins
I much prefer Evolution, the de facto mail client for Zorin. This 'might' be better:
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To migrate a Thunderbird mail profile from Windows 10 to Evolution in Ubuntu 22.04, follow these steps:
Backup Thunderbird Profile on Windows : First, locate and back up your Thunderbird profile on Windows. The profile folder is usually located in C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\[profile folder] . Copy the entire profile folder to an external drive or a cloud storage service for safekeeping.
Install Evolution on Ubuntu : Ensure Evolution is installed on your Ubuntu system. You can install it using the command sudo apt install evolution .
Transfer Profile to Ubuntu : Move the backed-up Thunderbird profile folder to your Ubuntu system. Place it in the .thunderbird directory in your home folder. The path should be ~/.thunderbird/[profile folder] .
Convert mbox Files : Thunderbird uses mbox files to store emails. You need to convert these mbox files into a format that Evolution can read. One way to do this is to use a tool like mb2eml or mbox2maildir to convert mbox files to a format compatible with Evolution.
Import Converted Files into Evolution : After converting the mbox files, import them into Evolution. You can do this by going to File > Import in Evolution and selecting the converted files.
Set Up Email Accounts in Evolution : Finally, set up your email accounts in Evolution. Go to Edit > Preferences > Mail Accounts , and add your email accounts using the same settings you had in Thunderbird.
By following these steps, you can migrate your Thunderbird mail profile from Windows 10 to Evolution in Ubuntu 22.04 without re-downloading your emails.
