Spanning Backup: What To Do With Your Exported .mbox File

Spanning Backup offers the option to export your emails into a .mbox file. But many people wonder, “What  do I do with that file once it’s been exported?” We’ll answer that question for you today.

1. Log in to Spanning Backup
2. Click on the Restore tab
3. Choose the emails that you want to export and click the Export button
4. You’ll get a notification saying that the compressed file will be emailed to you; click GO
5. You’ll be able to track the progress of your export via the progress bar at the top of the page.
6. Once the export is finished, a message will pop up to let you know.
7. Check your inbox; you should have a new email from Spanning with the file enclosed.
8. Download and unzip the file; the .mbox file will be in a folder.
9. Download Thunderbird from http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/ and open it
10. Click Create a new account in the main panel
11. Enter your gmail account credentials as you normally would
12. You may see an option around POP3 or IMAP; if prompted, choose IMAP.
13. Download the ImportExportTools add-on from https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/importexporttools/
14. In Thunderbird, go to Tools > Add-ons
15. Click the menu at the top right that is next to the search bar and looks like a gear
16. Choose the Install Add-on From File… option
17. Select the .xpi file that you downloaded from the Thunderbird add-ons page to install
18. Restart Thunderbird to activate the add-on, per the notification at the upper left of the panel
19. Right-click or Ctrl-click on Local Folders in the left sidebar
20. Go to Import/Export > Import mbox file
21. Choose the mbox file that you previously downloaded and unzipped
22. A folder will show up under the Local Folders section of your sidebar that will contain all of the emails that you exported.

Once you’ve done this the first time, you’ll have fewer steps the next time you need to export emails. We hope this has been helpful, and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected].