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Lv 7
? asked in Computers & InternetSoftware · 7 years ago

Is there an email program that's compatible with the Outlook Express database?

I may be behind the times, but I like what I like. And I like using POP3 email so that I can download email messages and store them locally rather than keeping them on a remote server as with IMAP. I've used Outlook Express for many years and have a ton of old messages saved, all categorized into folders the way I want. But last year I retired one old windows XP computer and my other one died, leaving me with a new computer running Suse Linux since I'd been wanting to move away from Windows products. I have Thunderbird on it, but the Linux version of TB is buggy and TB is not compatible with my old OE email database (.dbx files).

So, is there another email program that can be set to access the store folder from Outlook Express, read from and save to the .dbx files, use the database exactly as OE did, and keep the database files compatible with OE in case I ever switch back? It doesn't matter if it's Linux or Windows based, because I can run a windows-based program in Wine (windows emulator). Thanks!

Update:

No, I don't want to import the messages into Thunderbird because it creates new files. I want to maintain and use the old OE files for backwards compatibility purposes. And there reason I don't want to use the Linux Thunderbird is because it's buggy and freezes all the time, so I wanted to find some other program for email that I can use in Linux that can access the OE database files exactly as they are.

2 Answers

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  • 7 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Install the Windows version of Thunderbird, use it to import all your old messages from OE (and don't forget the address book!), then use the Linux Thunderbird to import the files the Windows Thunderbird has created..

    Source(s): I have the exact same problem, and this is the solution recommended everywhere I look.
  • 7 years ago

    In case, you are interested to move towards new email platform then MS outlook is a good choice.

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