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Steps to convert Maildir to PST file format

Read time: 5 minutes

Are you looking for a way to convert your Maildir email files to PST format? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Many businesses find themselves in the same situation when they switch email providers or need to access their email data on a different computer.

We’ll also give you some tips on using a third-party professional tool for converting Maildir to PST File and even perform Apple mail to MS Outlook migration along with some restrictions based on these below manual methods.

Before helping you out with the easy resolutions for converting Maildir Files to Outlook PST, we will go on to have a basic overview of these files.

Maildir overview

The format is used exclusively for storing messages. This allows mailboxes to be organized and systematic. The Qmail client introduced it, and many other applications, such as Mozilla Thunderbird, are using it. For each incoming message, it creates its own file with a unique name.

It was found that Maildir++ was an extension for Maildir that could support mail quotas and subfolders. The subdirectories within Maildir++ files begin with (dot) “. (eg, “. Inbox “, ” .Drafts “, etc.). Both Maildir++ and Maildir follow the same specification.

Outlook PST overview

The Personal Folders file (. PST) is a Microsoft Outlook data file for storing local copies of your Outlook mailbox’s messages, calendar items, events, & others. It contains all of your Outlook folders, like Inbox, Calendar, & Contacts.

Additionally, Outlook Data Files (.pst) can be used to export or backup files from any type of account. A user can also import information from another Outlook Data File (.pst).

Maildir to PST: Why Do We Need It?

It is common for users to convert Maildir files to PST. Here are a few reasons why:

Converting Maildir to PST manually

To convert Maildir files to PST files, you need to download Maildir files from the server and then one can convert them easily.

How to download the Maildir files from the server?

To export the Maildir files from the network server, follow the steps below.

  1. Connect securely to any website server.
  2. From the menu, select the mail folder, and then look into the files in the preview.
  3. In this window, you can see the Maildir folder (.Sent, Draft, Trash, tmp, cur, new, etc.).
  4. You should make a local backup of your Maildir file, including all the folders.

Converting Maildir to PST

  1. Log into Outlook and tap on File.
  2. On the left side dashboard, click Open & Export & then navigate to Import/Export.
  3. Next, select Import from another program or file and tap on Next to continue.
  4. Browse for the directory of your converted file and click Next.
  5. Lastly, tap on Finish to end the conversion process.

This manual method for conversion seems easy but there are quite some limitations when we use them. Apart from being a bit complex and time-consuming, there is a high risk of data loss. Moreover, users cannot convert the multiple Maildir files to PST in one go.

We can see this manual method needs a lot of technical expertise so, to help you out with these limitations and make your resolution easier, keep Kernel MBOX to PST installed in your system. As Thunderbird is using the Maildir files, you can easily convert MBOX files of Maildir files to PST files.

As this is also an MBOX to PST converter, this advanced tool not only supports Thunderbird but also Apple Mail, Eudora, Zoho mail, etc. This tool converts MBOX/MBS/MBX/MSF to Outlook PST, EML, DBX, or MSG. Moreover, users can migrate to Gmail, Outlook.com, Office 365, etc. With the Split File feature, Live preview, and selective data migration, this software is the most convenient to convert MBOX to PST file. It is also compatible with all versions of Windows & Mac.

The Bottom line

We got all the info covered to deal with the process of converting Maildir to PST. With some limitations and a bit of technical expertise, we tried to put the manual method in the easiest way possible. As an added bonus, we got your issues sorted out with the advanced MBOX to PST Converter tool easily. Get ready to export all your valuable data from the Thunderbird to MS Outlook PST files with absolute precision and integrity.