Author Topic: Importing information from Thunderbird?  (Read 6278 times)

SoftwareSamurai

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Importing information from Thunderbird?
« on: September 18, 2013, 05:55:42 am »
Great app! Glad to have purchased it for my phone!

I'd like to request an import feature from Thunderbird for all the server settings and identities. Well, mostly I'm interested in importing all the identities from the pref.js file. I've got many identities already configured in my Thunderbird app, and it would really save me tons of time re-entering them all into AquaMail.

(I usually create a unique email addresses for each contact and website I register at. That way I can track who gave out my email address, and I can easily discard it without impacting everyone else.)

Al

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Re: Importing information from Thunderbird?
« Reply #1 on: September 18, 2013, 01:31:25 pm »
I do the same, I really hate it when someone feels entitled to sell my personal data. But I don't go as far as actually creating every dedicated email address, I use a catch-all for all those addresses I'm unlikely to ever send emails from. All emails then go to my main inbox and if an address gets spammed, I simply blacklist it using a dedicated rule (I've been doing this for 9 years and found out very few legit websites will sell your data in the end). Configuring mail clients is thus much simpler...

So I assume you have your own domain name right? Otherwise it would require creating a lot of independent accounts and aliases... Then why do you create all those addresses instead of using a catch-all? Maybe I'm missing out on some added value here! Of course one good reason not to use a catch-all would be if your email provider doesn't support it (like Office 365 for instance).

A short-term workaround could be to use a physical keyboard and mouse on your phone to configure a few accounts in a more convenient way. Most phones will support bluetooth input devices or even wired ones if your phone has USB OTG (on the go) support. Then you can backup AquaMail configuration for future installs on the same or other devices... It's certainly not as good as an import feature but it's still worth mentioning (many Android users I know are unaware of the built-in keyboard and mouse support and get really surprised when they see me using an old PS2 mouse with my phone).

SoftwareSamurai

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Re: Importing information from Thunderbird?
« Reply #2 on: September 18, 2013, 03:23:19 pm »
I do the same, I really hate it when someone feels entitled to sell my personal data. But I don't go as far as actually creating every dedicated email address, I use a catch-all for all those addresses I'm unlikely to ever send emails from. All emails then go to my main inbox and if an address gets spammed, I simply blacklist it using a dedicated rule (I've been doing this for 9 years and found out very few legit websites will sell your data in the end). Configuring mail clients is thus much simpler...
I do something like this for a few sites where it's not possible to create unique email addresses - like PayPal. Every time I purchase something via PayPal, I'd really like each vendor to have a unique email address from me so I can tell who's giving away my PayPal email address. Unfortunately the PayPal system makes that very difficult to do.

So I assume you have your own domain name right? Otherwise it would require creating a lot of independent accounts and aliases... Then why do you create all those addresses instead of using a catch-all? Maybe I'm missing out on some added value here! Of course one good reason not to use a catch-all would be if your email provider doesn't support it (like Office 365 for instance).
Yes, yes I do! In fact, I purchased a whole domain to dedicate solely to my email. Managing email addresses is actually pretty easy when done like that. All my unique email addresses funnel to a real, private, hidden email address that no one ever sees. And I use another unique email address solely for sending email. That email box is setup to trash any received emails from the outside.

A short-term workaround could be to use a physical keyboard and mouse on your phone to configure a few accounts in a more convenient way. Most phones will support bluetooth input devices or even wired ones if your phone has USB OTG (on the go) support. Then you can backup AquaMail configuration for future installs on the same or other devices... It's certainly not as good as an import feature but it's still worth mentioning (many Android users I know are unaware of the built-in keyboard and mouse support and get really surprised when they see me using an old PS2 mouse with my phone).
Again, I was hoping to avoid re-typing in hundreds of email identities. (Yeah, I've got a lot of them.) And yes, doing the backup/restore does make it a snap to get a new Android machine configured with AquaMail. I do appreciate that feature very much!

Al

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Re: Importing information from Thunderbird?
« Reply #3 on: September 18, 2013, 07:41:42 pm »
Again, I was hoping to avoid re-typing in hundreds of email identities. (Yeah, I've got a lot of them.)

Yup that's a lot of typing, even with a keyboard!

Maybe someone (like Kostya) knows a way to hack the accounts XML conf files or the restore process to help you out...good luck anyway!