Convert Thunderbird MAB to PST File Simple & Stepwise Method

Author: Christ Harold

Today, Organisations have so many contacts for making cross interactions possible and these contacts are stored in Address book. Many of the email client applications have their own file format to store the address book like Mozilla Thunderbird which stores the contacts in MAB files. These MAB files are supported by a number of platforms like Thunderbird, SeaMonkey, Libre Office etc. But sometimes a user might face problems to read and access MAB files. For those users who do have Outlook as another platform to open MAB file but cannot, are left with no other option to convert MAB to PST. The blog will cover the suitable methods to Export MAB file to PST. To accomplish the task first let's take a look at the user query to understand the situation.

User Scenario

"I have been using Thunderbird email application for quite a long time and currently, my account is holding many important data and one among them is my contacts. Thunderbird provides many unique features but for safety-related issues, I am interested in switching the email client".

Expert Advice for MAB to PST File Conversion

In case of switching the email client and convert MAB file to PST, using a third party tool is an appropriate practice. With the help of a software, the Thunderbird Address Book to Outlook conversion is really easy and is possible in a couple of minutes. The tool provides advanced features like bulk MAB file conversion that too with no file size limitation. The reason behind suggesting this utility is that it will save your time and effort and will provide you accurate results. Otherwise, Manual methods are also discussed in the following section of the blog.

Method for Thunderbird MAB file Conversion

The non-automated methods offer you to save the MAB contact file in the following file formats:

  • CSV
  • vCard
  • LDF

There is no direct method available to convert MAB file to PST. You can achieve this conversion in two methods.

In Thunderbird Email application:

  1. Open Thunderbird email client.
  2. Click on Tools followed by Address Book.
  3. From Address Book, go to Tools>> Export.
  4. Now select the file that you want to export from the system and also select the destination location to save converted files.
  5. Select the Save as Type of Mab file as CSV and then click on Save button.6) Finally, all the MAB files are saved in a single.csv file

The work here is not yet complete. You have just exported the MAB files and now you have to perform the importing steps in MS Outlook. To do so, you need to follow the exact same procedure to complete the MAB to PST file conversion.

  1. Open MS Outlook Email application.
  2. Click on File Option>> Open button.
  3. Here select the Import file option to access exported MAB files in PST.
  4. Select the Import from another program or file option followed by Next button.
  5. Select Comma Separated Value and press the Next button.
  6. Enable the Do Not Import Duplicates and click on Next Button.
  7. Specify the Destination location Folder>> Contacts and press Next button.
  8. From the Import File window, click on Finish Button and to initiate the import procedure.
  9. Wait until the Export MAB file to PST procedure is complete and contacts are successfully transferred to Outlook.

Lastly, you can access and resume your daily work consisting of MAB Contacts file in PST format.

Limitation of Manual method to Convert MAB to PST

The drawback of using Manual approach is that it restricts the user to export MAB file to CSV, LDF and vCard file format only. And that too involves very complex methods which require technical expertise. Secondly, you can also see that the discussed manual method to export MAB to PST is a lengthy process and demand a lot of effort. There is no guarantee that the conversion procedure will be successful with no data loss.

Conclusion

The blog covers the manual solution to convert MAB to PST with its drawback and limitations. To overcome these restrictions, an expert solution is also mentioned for the ease of the user. The automated solution is the best choice for a user-facing technical jargon during the manual method.