Best Ways to Export Address Book From Thunderbird To CSV Without Data Loss

How To Export Address Book From Thunderbird To CSV – Easy Way to Go

" Next day, my boss was looking for the solution to save Mozilla Thunderbird contacts into CSV because he had to send this sheet to one of our clients. Here, the simple thing was to export contacts through import export wizard but, the same thing became difficult when hundreds of contacts were there. It consumed lots of time in converting Thunderbird address book to CSV and when he tried to move few files, they were exported but, with a blank sheet as an outcome. Is there any solution to export address book from Thunderbird to CSV quickly and in it's original format?

Are you also facing similar issue as stated in the above user query? Don't worry! We will resolve this issue in this article. Read the write-up carefully and implement the solutions accordingly to transfer Thunderbird contacts to CSV and other file formats.
Thunderbird is basically a free, open source, cross-platform e-mail client developed by the Mozilla Foundation. It stores its data in MBOX format and contacts in MAB format. The by default location of Mozilla Thunderbird address book is the user profile folder. There are two address books created by the application i.e. Personal Address book (abook.mab) and Collected Address book (history.mab). The abook.mab address book maintains the email addresses, added by the user manually and on the other hand, all the Outgoing email addresses are by default added to the Collected Address book. However, these address books are maintained in each and every Mozilla Thunderbird account.
Storing the contacts and email addresses in CSV format keep the information in a form you can use in other applications or share with anyone. For example, you can export an Excel worksheet of contacts as a comma-separated value text file that can be easily imported into email applications like Gmail, Mozilla Thunderbird, Android phones, etc. The process is quick and easy using Import wizard of Thunderbird. The next sections below will walk through the ways to export contacts from Thunderbird to a .csv file which can be further used in other applications. But, before proceeding to the solution to export Address Book From Thunderbird to CSV file format, let us read few more thing about a CSV file.

Why to Migrate in CSV Format Only?

There might be different possible reasons to move Thunderbird contacts in .csv file, it totally depends upon the use and need of the user. Few reasons can be:

• To import CSV file in some other Email Client
• To send the contact list to someone
• To switch to other email client
• To sync the contacts with android phones

Technique to Export Address Book From Thunderbird To CSV

To transfer Thunderbird contacts, follow the steps given below.

1. Open Mozilla Thunderbird application >> Click Tools
2. Select Address Book
3. Now, choose the required Address Book to export
4. Go to the Tools tab >> Click on Export
5. Select the Comma Separated (*.csv) from the drop-down box
6. Choose a location on your system to save the exported file, enter a filename to save >> Click on Save
7. Now, you easily import the file accordingly.

Drawbacks of Using Manual Approach

The manual solution seems to be easy and small, but there are some users who find it difficult, because of one or the other reason, such as:

• CSV files with more than 1,000 contacts causes the server to time out.
• The manual process is quite lengthy and time consuming.
• If any step is not implemented performed carefully or missed, there are chances of data.
• A user needs to be technically strong to export Thunderbird address book using manual approach.

Thus, to overcome the above-stated limitations, it is recommended to use a relevant third-party tool to transfer Mozilla Thunderbird contacts into CSV file format.

Alternative Approach to Export Address Book from Thunderbird to CSV, VCF, LDIF, PST , & vCard

After going through all the limitations of the manual solution, we have come up with a quick and simple approach i.e. Thunderbird Address Book Converter. It is one of the popularly used software to convert Thunderbird MAB files into different file formats without any hassle. The application even gives the option to export Mozilla Thunderbird contacts to CSV, PST, VCF, LDIF, or vCard format in bulk without any file size limitation.
A commonly asked query i.e. how to import Thunderbird contacts to Outlook PST, and other file formats. Thus, keeping all such requirements of users in mind, the above blog contains both manual as well as a professional solution to export Address Book from Thunderbird to CSV, VCF, LDIF, PST. A user can select between both based on its need and convenience.