IMAP mail - easiest way to save select messages locally

[phkhgh]

Using Thunderbird 3.1. Don't care about leaving msgs on an IMAP server for long time. Looking for easiest way from T-bird client to save select msgs locally, then delete those same msgs ONLY from the IMAP server.

May be a more automated way of doing this than method below??
Would I have to manually save the select msg to a SEPARATE local (sub)? folder (or where ever), before DELETING it from my local inbox, or else it will del both locally & from server?

From this article IMAP synchronization (http://support.mozillamessaging.com/en-US/kb/IMAP+Synchronization)
if I understand it, in Thunderbird 3, in Account Settings > Synchronization & Storage:

1) CHECKING "keep messages for this acct on this computer" will d/l a copy of the msgs from (say Gmail, or ANY) & store them in local folders AND leave copies on server (until deleted)?

2) If "Synchronize all msgs locally regardless or age," AND "Don't delete any messages," are checked,
then if I delete a msg locally, it will del from server also.

This is not specifically about Gmail. I only have occasional use for features of IMAP. Some webmail providers don't support POP - esp for TB 3.

Thanks.

[risk_reversal]

Not sure if Thunderbird works in the same way as SeaMonkey (guess it must be virtually the sme) but with SM if any message(s) are deleted on the client ie your pc, then they are also deleted from the IMAP mail server.

If I want to save messages locally and delete them from the IMAP server, I firstly copy the email to the local folder, then delete it from my email boxes (right click the email message and select 'Copy To').

I guess you could also use the 'Move To' command from your mail boxes into the local folder but I just feel that 'Copy To' is perhaps safer than 'Move To'.

Deleting messages from Local Folders should have no impact whatsoever from the IMAP server.

[phkhgh]

Thanks. That confirms part of my guesses. Now, if there was a more automated way to copy msgs to another folder.

Course you can select multiple msgs, then Copy To.

BTW, noticed on attachments, limit is 19.5 KB? What kind of a screen shot could you get down to that size? It'd be smaller than postage stamp - real size. I tried everything on a screen of TB settings - put in grayscale, lowered quality. Was only ~ 1 x 1 in. Still way over max size. Zipping a graphic like that doesn't reduce it much.

[phkhgh]

Risk Reversal, About the saving msgs to another folder: Did you mean you copied the msgs to a folder OUTSIDE of the email client's mail folder? (in T-bird, outside of the profile folder). Maybe I set up the acct in TB & on their web page the wrong way from the get go? (read on)

When I created - in T-bird- a sub folder of the Inbox (right under the acct name) - NOT as sub folder of one under the Google Mail folder (this is all in TB - not webmail), it created that same folder when I log into their webmail via browser.

So if one goal was to delete msgs OFF of an IMAP server, copying them to a sub folder of an email client folder doesn't do it. The sub folder created in TB & any msgs moved into it, show up on their server (to my surprise).

It has to do w/ settings on the server. On Gmail, the folders I created in TB, automatically showed up separately from Gmail's "normal" Inbox, etc., on their webpage & it calls them "labels." Ex: Shows the "labels" (folders, really) as "[Google Mail]/Inbox", & "[IMAP]/Sent", etc.

It gives an option to remove the labels, but WARNS:
Note: Removing a label will not remove the messages with that label.

Create Label......................show all__hide all
[Google Mail]/Inbox
(0 conversations) show hide remove

[Imap]/Sent
(2 conversations) show hide remove

That must mean if a msg is stored in a sub folder w/in the (T-bird) profile, it could still be seen / scanned by their software or ...

[risk_reversal]

phkhgh said:
Thanks. That confirms part of my guesses. Now, if there was a more automated way to copy msgs to another folder.

Course you can select multiple msgs, then Copy To.

I am not sure if there is an automated way but you can of course Copy To / Move To multiple messages at a time yes.

phkhgh said:
BTW, noticed on attachments, limit is 19.5 KB? What kind of a screen shot could you get down to that size? It'd be smaller than postage stamp - real size. I tried everything on a screen of TB settings - put in grayscale, lowered quality. Was only ~ 1 x 1 in. Still way over max size. Zipping a graphic like that doesn't reduce it much.

For clarity you mean any email attachment that you send is limited to 19.5KB? Well, that can't be correct.

TB & SM (or any other email client) attachement limts will be determined by the ISP. They are usually of the order of 20MB.

phkhgh said:
Risk Reversal, About the saving msgs to another folder: Did you mean you copied the msgs to a folder OUTSIDE of the email client's mail folder? (in T-bird, outside of the profile folder). Maybe I set up the acct in TB & on their web page the wrong way from the get go? (read on)

I will read on but. The emails will be saved in local folders within your email client ie in the explorer tree section on the left (assuming TB is same as SM), below the IMAP email boxes there will be a Local Folders entry for inbox, sent, draft, etc emails and a separate entry for each specific email address.

eg C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Mozilla\Profiles\<Profile Name>\<9 digit folder name>.slt\Mail\Local Folders

In SM Edit>Mail & Newsgroup Account Settings scroll to the bottom and Local Folders.

The Local Folder saved emails are completely independent of the IMAP emails. Creating a sub folder within an email IMAP account will merely just add that subfolder to the existing IMAP email account.

If when connected to the IMAP server you right click on the email account name ie abz@xyz.com and select subscribe, you will see the default IMAP folders that you can subscribe to (I am sure TB must work similarly).

Let me know if I can offer more help.

Good Luck