How to Download All Attachments from Thunderbird? Easy Guide!
Mozilla Thunderbird is a very popular email client that is easy to use, maintain and customize. It lets you work with emails, contacts, calendars, tasks, notes, etc. The emails are stored in MBOX files along with their attachments. Sometimes, users need to download all attachments from Thunderbird and store them in a single or separate folder(s).
There are several reasons why users might want to download attachments from Thunderbird clients. For example – the profession of teachers/professors are often required to download attachments from multiple emails in Thunderbird (that contain assignments) sent by their students.
Just like this, there are multiple queries where the user might want to download all attachments from Thunderbird. In the coming section users will find solutions to complete the process. So, let’s start the post, and here is the topic that we are going to discuss throughout the post.
Why Extract All Attachments from Thunderbird?
There are various reasons why users may want to save all attachments from Thunderbird.
- Open attachments offline: – When a user saves or downloads all Thunderbird attachments, they can be easily opened offline without any internet connection.
- Generate backups of important files:- If the attachments contain personal information, users should generate backups to deal with any unforeseen circumstances.
- Saves storage space: – Thunderbird saves a copy of your data on his PC’s hard drive. Downloading and deleting all attachments from Thunderbird will save space on your hard drive.
- Accessibility: – Once users save all attachments locally on their PC, they can easily share files with others via Email, Drive, and other platforms.
How to Download Attachments from Thunderbird Manually
- First of all Open Thunderbird on your computer.
- Open the email message that contains the attachment by double-clicking on it.
- Look for the attached files at the bottom of the interface and click on the Save.
- Browse the location to save the Thunderbird attachment & click OK to finish the process.
Limitation – You will need to retrace all the steps again and again for each individual email message. Thus, making it a hectic and time-consuming process.
Free Steps to Download all attachments from Thunderbird
- Open Thunderbird on your system.
- Install the “AttachmentExtractor Continued” add-on.
- Restart Thunderbird after installing the add-on.
- Right-click on the mailbox file, and select Extract All Attachments.
- Click on Browse and select the folder to download Thunderbird attachments.
- Click okay to Complete the process. Let the process complete.
Limitation – This add-on is only compatible with Thunderbird 68.0-68.* versions. And the latest versions (78.*) have long since surpassed that compatible version.
Best Method to Download All Attachments from Thunderbird
The best and most reliable method to extract all attachments from Thunderbird in the folder is to use the expert-recommended MBOX Attachment Extractor. Using this tool, you can easily process the MBOX files and download attachments from multiple emails in Thunderbird.
This wizard also provides you with multiple options to choose how and where you want to download your attached files. You can even choose the type of attached files that you want to save. This software is available for both Windows and Mac to tend to your needs regardless of your preferred OS.
Steps to Download Attachments from Multiple Emails in Thunderbird
- Install ImportExportTools NG add-on in Thunderbird. Right-click on the mailbox folder (say, Inbox) and choose the Export option to export the emails into the MBOX file.
- Open this software wizard and click on the Add File(s) button.
- Once the files are added to the software, choose the required Folder hierarchy option.
- Choose the location to save the attachments after processing and click Next.
- Now, apply any criteria and click on Extract to start the download process.
That’s all for the automated software to download all attachments from Thunderbird.
Understanding the Folder Hierarchy Options
During the download process, some users wish to get all the attachments in a single folder, whereas some want them separated. Apply 4 different kinds of folder options provided in the tool to achieve this:
- Maintain Folder Hierarchy– With this option, you can ensure that the folders are created as per the on-disk folder hierarchy of the added MBOX file/folder.
- Create Folder For Each File Type– With this option, you will find all the attached files downloaded and separated by file types (For example – PDF, JPG, and Doc files are stored in separate folders containing attachments only of one file type)
- No Folder Hierarchy– This option will ensure that no folder hierarchy maintained.
- Create a Single Folder– This option will allow Thunderbird to save all attachments to a single folder
Other than these options, the software also provides various naming conventions to ensure that the attachment extraction takes place with specified format names.
Observational Verdict
While using Mozilla Thunderbird is easy, that cannot be said for performing certain tasks on it. For example – download all attachments from Thunderbird to a folder. With the only native method to extract attached files one at a time, users often look for other alternatives. One such alternative used to be Thunderbird Attachment Extractor add-on which only works with Thunderbird 68-68.*. It is now outdated with no planned updates.
In the end, the only method using which you can save attachments from multiple emails in Thunderbird is by using the recommended tool. Fortunately, this method is also the best method out of all three. Use the software wizard and download the attached files from Thunderbird at your discretion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How do I extract all attachments in Thunderbird?
Ans. With the help of the above-mentioned application, users can extract all attachments in Thunderbird without facing any issues.
Q. Can I download all emails from Thunderbird using the manual method?
Ans. Yes, users can download all emails from Thunderbird using the manual method. But remember one thing if you are using Thunderbird versions 68.0-68.* and if you are using the latest editions then you must use the solution mentioned above to extract all emails from Thunderbird instantly.