Synopsis:
Thunderbird/SeaMonkey: How to manually download your e-mail when you leave Princeton

Solution:
Before your e-mail account at Princeton is closed, be sure to copy your e-mail messages to your own computer and download them from the server. You can use Outlook, Mac Mail, Thunderbird, or Mozilla SeaMonkey to do this, but not WebMail. If you use Netscape, Thunderbird, or any Mozilla-based software, use the instructions below to copy your standard (IMAP) e-mail folders to your own computer prior to your account being closed. To find out when your OIT accounts will be terminated after leaving the University, see Solution 5855.

OIT also provides an online suite of tools called the Digital Student Suitcase that can automatically pack up your personal intellectual property for you to take with you.

To proceed manually:

1. Open your Thunderbird or Mozilla-based e-mail application.

2. From the File pull-down menu, select New, and choose Folder... In the dialog box that appears, type in whatever name you desire for the folder and make sure to create it as a sub-folder of Local Folders.
   

3. You will see your newly created folder in the Navigation Pane under the Local Folders hierarchy as in the image below; for this example the folder was titled My Princeton Mail.
   

4. Click on your Princeton IMAP Inbox. From the Edit pulldown menu, choose Select, and then pull over to All.
   

5. From the Message pull-down menu, select Copy --> Local Folders --> then the name of the folder you created (for this example the folder is My Princeton Mail).
   

6. Your mail will then copy from the IMAP server to your own computer.

7. Follow these steps for other folders in your IMAP account. You can also just drag and drop them onto Local Folders to copy them to your local computer.

8. Depending on the slowness of your Internet connection or the number of e-mail messages you are copying, this may take a long time. Be patient if you have hundreds or thousands of messages in any of your folders.