How to Copy Thunderbird Address Book to New Computer? Simple Methods

When setting up a new computer, one of the most crucial tasks is ensuring all essential data is transferred successfully, especially your email contacts. If you’re Mozilla Thunderbird user or want to transfer Thunderbird address book to new computer for continuous seamless communication.

Understanding Thunderbird Address Book Files

Before copy Thunderbird Address Book to new computer, you must be needed to understand Thunderbird Address Book files. It stores Address book in a specific file format which is located in profile location. The file type depends on the version you are using:

• Abook.mab – This is a legacy format used in older versions of Thunderbird. It typically stores your personal Address Book.
• History.mab – Stored collected addresses from sent emails in older versions.
• Abook.sqlite and history.sqlite – Newer versions of Thunderbird(78 and above) have transitioned to SQLite format for better performance and reliability.

These files are stored in the Thunderbird profile folder, which stores all your personal data, including emails, settings and contacts. Knowing which file format your version of Thunderbird uses will help you choose the correct approach for transferring the address book to the new machine.

Method 1: Manual Transfer Using Address Book Export/Import

One of the simplest ways to transfer Thunderbird Address Book to a new computer by using inbuilt import/export options. This approach gives you more control over the file format and is ideal if you only want to move contacts without copying the entire profile:

Part1. Export Thunderbird Address Book from Old Computer

1. Open “Mozilla Thunderbird” on your old computer.
2. Click on the “Address Book” icon in the toolbar.
3. Select Address Book such as “Personal or Collected Address Book”.
4. Go to “Tools” and click on Export to proceed.
5. Select location to save “Address Book” and set file type: such as LDIF or CSV file.
6. Click on “Save”.

Part2. Import Thunderbird Address Book to New Computer

1. Open “Mozilla Thunderbird” and navigate to the Address Book icon.
2. Go to Tools and click on “Import”.
3. Select “Address Book” and press on Next.
4. Select file format as you have exported from an old computer such as “LDIF or CSV file“.
5. Browse “file location” and click open to finish the import process.

Hurdles of Manual Transfer

• This approach is not capable of transferring mailing lists, contact groups or custom fields correctly in all cases.
• You must manually repeat the approach for each Address Book if you have more than one.
• Using a CSV file can lead to field mismatches or data loss if not mapped correctly during import.
• This approach is only workable for Address Book – not Thunderbird settings, email account or messages.
• Improper handling or exporting wrong format can lead to file corruption or unreadable data on a new machine.

Method 2: Direct Transfer of Thunderbird Address Book Files

If you want to copy Thunderbird Address Book to a new computer directly without going through the export/import process, then you can follow the instructions as we have stated below to directly move Thunderbird Address Book files to another computer.

Part1. Locate Thunderbird Profile Folder on Local Computer

1. Open “Thunderbird profile location”.
2. Navigate to “Thunderbird” and press on Help.
3. Hit on “More Troubleshooting Information” and under Application basics.
4. Locate the “Thunderbird Profile folder” and press on the Open folder.
5. Locate following files:
6. For older versions: abook.mab, history.mab.
7. For newer versions: abook.sqlite, history.sqlite.

Part2. Copy Thunderbird Address Book Files

1. Copy “Thunderbird” before proceeding.
2. Copy relevant “Thunderbird Address Book files” to USB drive, external drive or cloud storage.

Part3. Paste Files to New Computer Thunderbird Profile

1. On the new computer, install and launch “Thunderbird” once to generate a profile folder.
2. Close Thunderbird and repeat steps above to browse “Thunderbird local directory”.
3. Paste the copied files to the “New Profile Folder”.
4. If prompted, choose to “Replace Existing Files”.

Part 4. Open Thunderbird to Verify

1. Launch “Thunderbird” on your new computer.
2. Open “Address Book” and verify that all your contacts are present.

Boundaries of Direct Transfer Thunderbird Address Book

• Files like abook.mab(used in older Thunderbird versions) may not work properly in newer versions that use sqlite files, potentially files to error or missing contacts.
• Overwriting Address Book files in the new Thunderbird profile may disrupt existing data or cause sync issues, especially if other data(email/settings) were already configured.
• Accessing and updating profiles is not easier for non-technical users, as the risk of accidentally deleting data is too high.
• You must move the entire file – individual contacts or groups can’t be selectively transferred using this approach.
• If you copy Thunderbird Address Book files while Thunderbird is open, you risk transferring incomplete or corrupted data.

Instructions to Transfer Thunderbird Address Book to Another Computer

1. Download automated software on your computer then run it.
2. Click on “Configure Thunderbird profile” and click on Next.
3. Now, Select “Thunderbird Address Book, calendar or emails” as required to export.
4. Choose File type in the list of “Saving options”.
5. Browse destination path and select “Advanced filter” as needed.
6. Now, Click on Next to start “Copy Thunderbird Address Book to New Computer”.

Remarkable Qualities of Automated Tool

• It allows you to extract emails, contacts, calendar and extract attachments from Thunderbird.
• This software is specially optimized with updated algorithms to make it user-friendly to easily operate by any professional or individual users.
• You can also export Thunderbird contacts to vCard, CSV, PST and many more.
• With this wizard, you can also use filter options such as date range, receiver blank address, root folder, exclude folder, subject, sender blank address, to, subject etc.
• You can also migrate Thunderbird emails to Google Workspace, Zimbra, Outlook.com, Yahoo and 28+ Saving features.

Common Queries

How can I Transfer my email Address Book to Another Computer?

You can transfer your Thunderbird Address Book by exporting it as LDIF or CSV file from the old computer and improving it to the new one. Alternatively, copy the Address Book files (abook.sqlite, history.sqlite) directly from the Thunderbird file directory.

How do I Export all email addresses from Thunderbird?

To extract email addresses from Thunderbird select the desired book and navigate to Tools and click on Export. Select format such as LDIF or CSV file, enter file name and save it. This file can be imported to another Thunderbird installation and used for backup purposes.

Where is my Thunderbird Address Book stored?

Thunderbird Address Book files in its profile folder. For older versions, the files are abook.mab and history.mab for newer ones, they are a book.sqlite and history.sqlite. You can locate and access Thunderbird profile folder from Help and click on More Troubleshooting Info> Profile Folder.

Let’s Wrap Up

Users constantly search for Copy Thunderbird Address Book to New Computer. The manual approach discussed in this post is a little bit tricky and requires technical expertise. Moreover, a beginner-level user fails to perform these approaches. Therefore, we recommend an effortless automated approach, as we have discussed above. It’s a user-friendly tool that doesn’t require advanced technical skills. Moreover, anyone can smoothly transfer the Thunderbird Address Book to another computer without facing any technical glitches.