Installing Interlink instead of Thunderbird

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uwethomas
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Installing Interlink instead of Thunderbird

Unread post by uwethomas » 2020-12-20, 20:47

Hello there :)

in case I install Interlink Mail & News instead of Thunderbird as my standard E- Mail program (in Windows 10), will it import all my files and settings including my calendar from Thunderbird?

And is there also a back- up solution like Mozilla back- up?

Greets and best wishes


Uwe

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Re: Installing Interlink instead of Thunderbird

Unread post by Bilbo47 » 2020-12-22, 03:26

will [Interlink] import my files and settings including calendar?
Installing IL would be just like installing TB on a different computer, or on a different Windows user account: It prompts you to optionally "import" a standard set of items from other mail systems. People who like to learn by breaking stuff might try doing like a manual backup from the TB profile to a target IL profile; of course this is not recommended.
is there a solution like Mozilla back-up?
Dunno what that is.

Moving to a different mailer is like moving house: a terrific opportunity to drop and forget about a bunch of useless cruft. Rejoice in the longstanding bugs in Thunderbird that have been fixed in Interlink. Take advantage of the subtle yet great features in IL that TB never developed, even though they had placeholder stubs for years. The overall effect of moving to a mature mailer is: more capability resulting in better productivity. The peace of mind from using Interlink is priceless.

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Re: Installing Interlink instead of Thunderbird

Unread post by Kendo » 2020-12-22, 04:16

Bilbo47 wrote:
2020-12-22, 03:26
Installing IL would be just like installing TB on a different computer
I doubt it. Installing TB on a new computer/drive is a nightmare. Address books cannot be opened/exported by any other program and even when copying the old profile folder across, even TB only imports the first address book file (.MAB). I managed to work around this by renaming the .MAB, copying it over the new one, restarting, etc until all 15 address books were imported.

So my guess with InterLink is that you are on your own and starting afresh.

But don't count on many useful add-ons. The most important to me is Clippings and there is nothing like it for InterLink.

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Re: Installing Interlink instead of Thunderbird

Unread post by Giraffe » 2020-12-22, 08:15

uwethomas wrote:
2020-12-20, 20:47
Hello there :)

in case I install Interlink Mail & News instead of Thunderbird as my standard E- Mail program (in Windows 10), will it import all my files and settings including my calendar from Thunderbird?

And is there also a back- up solution like Mozilla back- up?

Greets and best wishes
Uwe
One possibility for saving Thunderbird's profile and putting into Interlink is Hekasoft Backup and Restore
https://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Ba ... tore.shtml
There's also FossaMail Back-up, but I can't remember where that came from!
Windows 7 Pro 32-bit. Comodo Internet security or Comodo Firewall + Avira Anivirus.

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Re: Installing Interlink instead of Thunderbird

Unread post by Bilbo47 » 2020-12-22, 17:26

TB only imports the first address book file (.MAB).
I don't understand your workaround, but I do know how to manipulate MABs behind the mailer's back. Discovered a problem in IL where an address book named Something.MAB (uppercase extension) gets ignored for a certain feature. Changing the filename to Something.mab (lowercase extension) lets the program see the file and work with it. This feature is seldom used (like importing) but I can't remember what feature it is. All I know is, I found the workaround not by trial and error, but by reading the source code for the feature. How is a filename case-sensitive on Windows 8.1? That is a cross-platform portability fail.

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Re: Installing Interlink instead of Thunderbird

Unread post by TBexpatriot » 2020-12-22, 17:28

I switched to Interlink after Thunderbird 78 went rougue with saving PGP Secret Key passwords on disk.

I simply:
  • Installed Interlink
  • Copied Thunderbird (Pre-78) Profile over to Interlink
  • removed extensions from the profile
  • Installed the Interlink extensions for Enigmail and Calendar
Done.

Worked great!

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Re: Installing Interlink instead of Thunderbird

Unread post by uwethomas » 2020-12-22, 21:34

MozBackup can help to save and migrate files and settings from an old OS Thunderbird to a new OS Thunderbird. Did that from Windows 8 to Windows 10 with 4 mail accounts and a few thousand mails stored plus calendar. The only things which were "lost" were the language add-ons. But that possibly because i first downloaded the german version by error while using the english version before and now again (even though I am from Germany ;) ) Did not keep an address book though.
Top

MozBackup is a small software to make backups for Thunderbird and Firefox. Works quite good. Thank you for your Interlink info ^^

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Re: Installing Interlink instead of Thunderbird

Unread post by Kendo » 2020-12-23, 00:30

Bilbo47 wrote:
2020-12-22, 17:26
I don't understand your workaround, but I do know how to manipulate MABs behind the mailer's back.
The new TB will have and see abook.mab (delete all others):
1. Create a new Address Book and drag all email address from the old book to the new book.
2. Rename your old abook-1.mab to abook.mab and then copy that to the TB profile folder.
3. Restart TB and repeat steps 1-3 until you have imported all address books.

It helps to work with 3 folders open:
1. New TB Profile folder
2. Temp folder for dunking and renaming
3. Old TB Profile folder

Copy old .mab to Temp folder, rename to abook.mab and then copy that to the New TB profile folder. That was the quickest method in the need after a few migrations. Tried an add-on recommended online but it required a different version of TB which I did try but wasn't happy with the result... importing 15 address books left me with 30 address books and no indication any way of which they were.

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Re: Installing Interlink instead of Thunderbird

Unread post by Bilbo47 » 2020-12-23, 06:16

Okay, well. For these instructions to be a recipe, I wish they would include every little step in only one list, like, "Open the address book window", "Do step X", "Close the mailer completely". Without closing the program before renaming/copying/whatever, any maneuver risks losing data, or at least, unexpected results. Also, what is "dunking"? :lol:

Separate topic, that I wrote before understanding that your instructions were not a complete recipe:
2. Rename ... to abook.mab
A MAB rename should be done while the program is *completely* not running. No mailer nor Address Book window open, no Trash folders being emptied in the background, and no EXE alive in your task manager. (Whether %ProfileFolder%\parent.lock exists is not a good indicator IME.) Renaming a MAB in general needs to also update its line in the prefs file. The only reason this particular rename works without updating prefs.js is ... abook.mab ("Personal Address Book") is a special case; its filename is hardcoded, and does not appear in prefs.js.

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Re: Installing Interlink instead of Thunderbird

Unread post by Kendo » 2020-12-23, 06:36

Bilbo47 wrote:
2020-12-23, 06:16
Rename ... to abook.mab
Note that I use 3 folders:
1. The new TB Profile folder
2. Temp folder
3. The old TB Profile folder

Start with abook.mab
Copy from #3 folder to #1 folder
Restart TB and you will see all your email addresses.
Now create a new address book.
Drag the email addresses from abook.mab (whatever you named it) to the new address book.
So now you have an empty abook.mab as your first address book contacts are now in the second address book.

To copy the rest of the address books across you will need to use all 3 folders:
For each new address book...
Restart TB and create another new address book
Copy abook_*.mab from #3 folder to #2 folder and rename it to abook.mab
Then copy abook.mab from #2 folder to #1 folder

*Each time you are overwriting abook.mab and nothing else needs to be updated. Each time you restart TB it reads in whatever address books are there, providing a refreshed list.
For these instructions to be a recipe
It is a recipe... after the first migration, repeat the sequence for each address book (as in a loop).

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Re: Installing Interlink instead of Thunderbird

Unread post by New Tobin Paradigm » 2020-12-23, 13:19

Stop all of you. This kind of profile mangling is not supported. Especially if the Thunderbird profile has seen a version newer than 52.

Follow the loose migration instructions in the main thread if it is 52 or older with the added touchbase of having it pass through version 7634 to allow NSS store upgrade from dbm to sqlite.

If it is not 52 or older then just scrap it and start from scratch. No other viable options exist.

To anyone else, do NOT follow any instructions in this thread or other websites. I will be deleting it as soon as the OP user is done. As it is just dangerous and is ripe for corrupted profile data and none of you actually understand the consiquenses of your actions.

You have 24 hours to respond.

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Re: Installing Interlink instead of Thunderbird

Unread post by Bilbo47 » 2020-12-23, 14:16

Was waiting for Sir Tobe to jump in :) IMO the user-configurability and flexibility of the prefs system, and how they support/tolerate this kind of hacking, is a big part of why Interlink is so valuable.

Learning by experience is crucial for using our systems to their full potential. Hiding away from DIY means waiting for someone else to do it for you, or writing an add-on, which is not realistic for most people. Data export+import using the built-in methods are no guarantee of desired results, regardless of whether the "approved" methods also risk data loss. Any such maneuver without backups and proven restore is a gamble regardless. Even great add-ons like MoreFunctionsForAddressBook (abandoned) have their own limitations ... not the least of which is Mozilla's murder of the whole add-on ecosystem.

Agree from experience that copying a whole profile ain't gonna work. But some features in the realm of export+import / backup+restore just don't exist in the programs, so DIY becomes necessary for keeping track of your data. For example: address book filenames; the whole idea of abook-1 .. abook-99 just doesn't work for me.

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Re: Installing Interlink instead of Thunderbird

Unread post by New Tobin Paradigm » 2020-12-23, 14:22

You may want to read the Profile Migration page I finished authoring on the Pale Moon Developer Site and what I have written in the main thread. Suffice it to say, whole profile migrations CAN work and work well if specific conditions are met and mangling is not supported nor is discussion of mangling supported.

The more resistance the harder I am gonna push back. I am not Moonchild and as such I won't let you guys run a muck before I take action to stop you.

Don't like it? Stop using my software then. That being said, if conditions for migration are satified I will do all I can to help in the process. Failing that my only recommendations are start fresh or don't use Interlink.

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Re: Installing Interlink instead of Thunderbird

Unread post by Moonchild » 2020-12-23, 14:24

Bilbo47 wrote:
2020-12-23, 14:16
Was waiting for Sir Tobe to jump in :)
Um it is still his product. Did you expect him not to step in with absolutely essential info?
Bilbo47 wrote:
2020-12-23, 14:16
But some features in the realm of export+import / backup+restore just don't exist in the programs, so DIY becomes necessary for keeping track of your data.
No, it doesn't. Mailbox formats aren't necessarily compatible when you're coming from TB > 52, and other parts CERTAINLY aren't because of the way TB has been screwing around with different data storage formats to try and work with the ever-shrinking features of a code base that Mozilla has been catering almost entirely to just Firefox.
Also, this is mail. If you're using IMAP then there's no reason at all whatsoever not to start from scratch since your mail will be on the server, anyway. In the case of pop mailboxes, there are export options from TB, just need to do some research. Even then, that would just be applicable for retaining archives of old mail.
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Re: Installing Interlink instead of Thunderbird

Unread post by New Tobin Paradigm » 2020-12-23, 14:30

Oh yeah, there are some export features aren't there? Those are supported as well.

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Re: Installing Interlink instead of Thunderbird

Unread post by Moonchild » 2020-12-23, 14:32

New Tobin Paradigm wrote:
2020-12-23, 14:30
Oh yeah, there are some export features aren't there? Those are supported as well.
Yeah if nothing else just selecting messages and "save as" in .eml format which is a universal raw exchange.
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"Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past; wisdom is of the future." -- Native American proverb
"Linux makes everything difficult." -- Lyceus Anubite

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Re: Installing Interlink instead of Thunderbird

Unread post by uwethomas » 2021-01-03, 10:47

Me again :)

Just tried to make Interlink (actually do not find a calendar add- on as well) import my files and settings from Thunderbird. Interlink is saying that there are no files to import.

Reinstalled the newer Interlink version, making Interlink as my default mail program during installation setup.

Unfortunately it did not import any files and settings from Thunderbird.

Since I am to silly to do all the import manually myself, I cannot use Interlink that way.


And without a (preinstalled at its best) calendar add-on and an import of its files and settings it won't make much sense either.

Am I doing anything wrong or is there an issue to be solved by Binary Outcast looking at my mentioned problems of switching?

Greets and very best wishes ^^


Uwe

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Re: Installing Interlink instead of Thunderbird

Unread post by New Tobin Paradigm » 2021-01-03, 11:00

Well the calendar IS built in. All you have to do is enable it in the Add-ons Manager.. However, I think you should continue using Thunderbird till its destruction or you learn to how computers work.

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Re: Installing Interlink instead of Thunderbird

Unread post by uwethomas » 2021-01-06, 09:53

New Tobin Paradigm wrote:
2021-01-03, 11:00
Well the calendar IS built in. All you have to do is enable it in the Add-ons Manager.. However, I think you should continue using Thunderbird till its destruction or you learn to how computers work.
Thank you for your very kind help, Tobin.

Isn't this exactly what an ordinary user like me needed to hear? ;)

All issues solved- stupid users are the problem.

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Re: Installing Interlink instead of Thunderbird

Unread post by Moonchild » 2021-01-06, 09:57

There is no cure for PEBCAK
"Sometimes, the best way to get what you want is to be a good person." -- Louis Rossmann
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