kmail backup

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1

Hello,

how can I beckup e-mails from pop3 KMail account. I was able to copy folder /home/username/.kde4/share/apps/kmail with all messages in the past. But now there is not this option with akonadi. I’m not able to boot my opensuse now, because my root partition is probably demaged. But from Live distro I can attach my /home partition and copy some files to external HD. I have copy .kde4 and .local folders. Will it works if I copy this folders to my new opensuse. I’m afraid that my HD is going out, thet I want to beckup as much as posible from my /home partition till I can.

2

You need to say which version you are using. with 4.14.3 which I am using, everything is in local-mail. So it is simple a matter of copying everything from local-mail.

3

Sorry to ask but can you please provide the complete path to where KMail stores e-mails? I can’t locate any “local-mail” folder that has e-mails in it.

We’re using the same version 4.13.3 as you are and SuSE 13.2.

Thanks for a roadmap with all the turns and twists to the destination. :slight_smile:

bosdad

4

It should be here:
/home/(user)/.local/share/local-mail

5

An alternative to copy the folder might be to export the mails: (Kontact >) KMail > Tools (I think)

6

Yes, maybe it should, but there’s nothing there.

Three folders – all of them empty.

Cur
New
Tmp

Now what would you suggest?
Thx :slight_smile:
Gil

7

Sorry, don’t understand.

If I open Kontact, then KMail, then tools, I end up at PIM Setting Exporter. I have no idea what that is.

This PIM Setting Exporter wants to know what file I want to export. But I have no idea. If I knew which file I wanted to export (which one contained the e-mails) I would not need to go through all of this, right?

Please be more specific. I’m asking for directions.

Where does KMail store the e-mails?

Thank you. Appreciate a detailed roadmap.

bosdad

8

Don’t use kmail but this looks like what you want

https://userbase.kde.org/KMail/FAQs_Hints_and_Tips#Transfer_mail_and_settings_to_another_computer_.28or_another_user_account_on_the_same_machine.29

9

Hi!

Aha, then they might be hidden, enable view hidden files in Dolphin when in the same dir path as I mentioned above.
If I remember correctly, mine were hidden as well initially after I migrated from from KDE3 to KDE4, changes have been made during KDE4’s deveopment.

Hope you find them; otherwise it should be possible to find the path in the config files, we may then check that later.

BTW,
If you open Kontact and have the Mail tab (left) active you should find the option to Export Mail Data under the Tools menu (top row).
Clicking on that will give you the PIM exporter window you mentioned in your second reply, open the File menu and choose Back Up Data.
I have gone through this back-up process but it’s several years ago so I cant tell which options you will get on the way, I hope it is intuitive though.

I suppose this last method is the ‘official’ procedure for both backing up, restoring and migrating/exporting mails with KMail.

Best of luck,
Olav

10

PS

It could also be that the hidden mail directory(-ies) is/are located under /home/(user)/.local/share and not /home/(user)/.local/share/local-mail
So just up a level in the directory hierarchy.

I am on my phone so I’m a bit restrained in regard checking/googling too much, but try both directories.

11

This PIM Setting Exporter wants to know what file I want to export. But I have no idea. If I knew which file I wanted to export (which one contained the e-mails) I would not need to go through all of this, right?

Sorry, was a bit rash and did not read properly, I see you had gone further than I thought; strange, though, that that step wouldn’t automatically pick up where you had configured your mail directory to be.

12

Thanks for reply, but unless I am not understanding what’s there it doesn’t help. It has numerous references to data found in .kde, but there is no .kde in KDE4. So all of that is no longer applicable.

Farther down in the information it asks that I issue the command kde4-config --localprefix. That only results in the next line showing output of my home directory/user name/.kde4. And then I am returned to the prompt. So it only appears to confirm what we already know – that we’re using .kde4, not .kde.

I see then references to keeping four Akonadi-controlled entries, but two of them are in .kde which, again, does not exist on my system.

So thank you for the suggestion, but I am not seeing where this helps me find the KMail messages that we need to backup.

bosdad

13

The only hidden files in any of the folders are named “directory.” There are no e-mails in any of them. :frowning:

bosdad

14

OK, I finally found the e-mails!! :slight_smile:

They are in home > .local > share > akonadi_maildir_resource_0

Now, if I follow the export data routine using the PIM exporter is that the file I select to export? If I do that I get a screen in the PIM that contains all the mail folders. But clicking on any of them shows only a blank screen.

Do I still proceed and make a .zip file of what I see in the PIM display? And if I do that will it then ask me where I want to put that .zip file which, hopefully, is the backup I’m trying to create whether I am able to use KMail or have to switch to Claws-Mail?

Thanks! At least it seems as if I’m making some progress. :slight_smile:

bosdad