Snow Lion Mail, IMAP, and Thunderbird 8.0
 

I've been wrangling with an email problem since September, and I believe I'm at a point of resolution but wanted to get some feedback about it from OS X Hints members, too..

Nutshell: Lion mail.app doesn't agree with the web server, yet Snow Leopard, and Tiger mail.apps both do.

Here's where it gets interesting...

Thunderbird 8.0, installed in Lion, agrees with the web server..

by "agree," I mean that the local mail client has the exact same email count as the web mail shows. Not close. EXACT.

I've done more fiddling with this than is probably healthy and Lion Mail.app under no amount of re-installing of accounts, synching, diddling with settings, will show the correct number.

So..I'm at the point of shelving Lion's mail.app, and going with something else...such as Thunderbird, since it appears to be better at IMAP than Lion's Mail is.

Is Thunderbird my best choice among things out there that are free? Also, I have a license for Gyaz Mail but have read that it's IMAP support is weak, and I sure don't want to go through that again!

Thanks for any thoughts on this. Apple says it's not Lion or Lion mail, but for my money, something about Lion mail simply isn't working correctly. Either it shows all the mail or it doesn't and my tests show that it doesn't.

a

If free is a must-have, then Thunderbird is your best bet simply because I don't know of any other free email clients out there that are actively supported. I'm referring to stand-alone applications, so I'm disregarding an option like Opera with its built-in email client. Well, I see there is a free, ad-supported version of Sparrow. If you're open to paying, there's MailMate, Postbox, Outlook, and PowerMail. As for GyazMail, I'd give it a shot as long as you already own a license.

My one opinion on all this is simply that if you're like many folks today and spend a bit of time in an email client, then find the one that best fits your needs and preferences, whatever they may be. I've tried most of the applications listed above, and I always found myself sticking with Apple Mail. That's not to say those others are bad, just that I preferred Mail simply because I don't have a need for many features and my primary focus is on the interface. Mail suits me in that regard.

Okay, now that I think about your situation more, maybe I have one other opinion. Perhaps Thunderbird (or any free option) is a good way to go as a short-term measure in case a Lion update fixes your issue.

Yes, Thunderbird is probably the best IMAP client on any platform. It supports the whole feature set of IMAP, as far as I can tell, and does so well. It has many configuration options, and even more if you want to edit the key-value pairs in its Config Editor. Powerful stuff. The interace has never felt terribly Mac-like to me, much like its brother, Firefox.

If you would be willing to pony up $30, Postbox is definitely worth it. It is based on Thunderbird's open source code (so you get the top-notch IMAP support), but it has been modified to be more Mac-like with fine OS X integration (which takes care of the interface issues with Thunderbird). I got it as part of an awesome $50 MacUpdate bundle, but now that I have it, I can say it is definitely worth $30 on its own--and I would never have considered paying for an email client before. Just having built-in Growl support is very nice; I'll never have to fight Mail.app disabling GrowlMail on every update now! :-)

these are great answers...beefy informationally..

how do you feel about the Apple Address book versus T-bird's? As NaOH said, maybe a future fix will cure the problem and I'll be back to Lion Mail...I don't relish having to support multiple versions of this and that...perhaps I just answered my own question.

Can Mail.app and Thunderbird read/export each other's mailboxes?

thank you!

a

Here are the Thunderbird instructions for importing and exporting with Apple Mail. But if all your mail is IMAP, then it shouldn't matter since configuring an account within an email client should be all it takes to restore things. Maybe some emails stored locally—e.g., under the Mail sidebar section titled On My Mac—would need exporting/importing, but otherwise setting up an IMAP account within a client is all you should need to do. That's kind of the point of IMAP: Everything is on a server somewhere, so accessing your mail should be the same however you get to it.

Yes.. I do have a fair amount of "On My Mac" email that I'd like to load up into T-bird..

thank you, NaOH

a

Then there are (at least) two ways you can move forward. One would be to do the Export/Import routine from Mail to Thunderbird. The other would be to copy those On My Mac messages to your IMAP server so that they appear in Thunderbird (and then you can move them to a locally stored location).

I'd pick the Export/Import routine, but I don't see "Export" offered anywhere in Mail.

I see "Archive," but no export..

a

Poking around the Mozilla site, it looks like the way to handle an import from Mail is simply to open Thunderbird and use Tools > Import. I'm assuming the prompts will be straightforward.

that seems clear.

but what about taking mail and other User folder files from Snow Leopard to Lion?

When I'm in Lion, the snow leopard folders all have the red circle with the white dash on them..you can't look inside..can't even see how big they are in file size.

How do I get those guys over to Lion?

Lion is all set up now..ready to go on another partition.

Thank you!

a

I've never done this, but you could try copying (not moving) the folder(s) in 10.6 to /Users/Shared then pointing Thunderbird in 10.7 to that folder. There's no harm in trying that, though I admit to feeling like there should be an easier way.

Alternatively, if Lion is set up in the sense that it's installed but not significantly configured, you could run Migration Assistant in 10.7 and point it toward your 10.6 volume. That should put all your 10.6 emails into Mail under 10.7, and you could then tell Thunderbird to import from Mail.

both of those sound worthy...I am not significantly configured yet...no safari bookmarks, no mail...just apps and maybe a few settings, like Wacom tablet.

Does that qualify as not being significantly configured?

IOW, one doesn't want to un-ravel the way things have been set up by doing the Migration procedure.

a

I don't think you're in too deep to use Migration Assistant. I've only used it once or twice, but you are presented options about what is migrated, whether third-party applications, documents, address book data, calendars, System Preferences settings, etc. Maybe you'd have to re-install the Wacom software afterward, but I doubt it.

OK..I'll give 'er a try.

thanks!

a

From one of your other threads on this issue, I agree that Thunderbird is less elegant than Mail. Well, I happened to see today that MailMate is on sale for US $15 (instead of $40). I downloaded and tried it out. Looks really good, with an interface that's more Mail-like than Thunderbird.

When I launched it, it gave me an option to import accounts from another mail client, and since I only have Mail installed that was my only choice. I don't know if it would present you an option to import from Thunderbird. But the process took just seconds. And, yes, you can manually configure accounts, too.

I realize what folks like in an application is subjective, but I've got to say that if I were looking for a different email client this would be my first choice. The interface and built-in options look perfectly in line with my preferences. Might be worth a look since it's on sale and you're in need.

Thank you, NaOH...I'll give Mail Mate a try... Now that I have t-bird set up, I can honestly say that I have a hard-core Jones for OS X Mail..

DANG, is it good! The functionality and UI are just right for me. Pretty much same goes for every bit of OS X and it's apps, with a few minor gripes.

I guess that's why we all love it so much.

Prbly take a few days' breather from all this configuring and experimenting before looking at MailMate. I've been dealing with this since Mid-September! Break out your teensie fiddles, everyone..

In addition to a router gone bad, our DSL modem is giving signs of its EOL, so I hope everything that's planning on going ker-blooey does so now so we can get some kind of karmic re-set thing goin before the new year begins.

And..I'm happy to say, that even with this ongoing imbroglio, I got a smile on my face right now.

cheers!

a

I don't blame you for taking a break from the techno-havoc you've been experiencing, but I'll simply note that it's unclear how long the $25 discount will be around for MailMate. And while I don't want to push you to spend money, I do think you'll have a pretty quick sense from trying MailMate if it's something you'd want to consider. Honestly, my earlier review of it was based on about 5 minutes with the application, but it speaks to how well things appeared to me on first glance.

roger that...I'm checking it now...

just an FYI..I've let that thing run since I posted my last post here and it appears to be stalling and choking on getting the mail.

it has some nice features, but mail-getting appears to be a little squishy. I need to do an errand and will let it run..maybe it just needs lots of time.

a

Edit here...there are several mailboxes reporting mail (a circle with a number inside) and when I click on those mailboxes..nothin inside...

I'm going to have to bail on this app but it did look awfully good at first...how elegant to offer to import email accounts from other apps!

a

Weird, it setup and imported my primary account in about three seconds.

heh...maybe it's just me, then...

t-bird pulls the mail in lickety-split..

oh, well..that app does look very promising, tho..thank you for alerting me to it.