How to move and back up files (Win)

Issue:

I want to move my Eudora data files (mailboxes, address book, signatures etc) from where they are now to another computer or to another directory.

Solution:

Before moving or copying any Eudora files is it required that you completely exit (close) Eudora. If you have a mass storage device ( zip drive, jazz drive, etc ), or some type of file transfer utility (laplink or networked computers) then you can do the following to backup or move your Eudora information: Copy the entire Eudora Data directory (where your eudora.ini file is located) from the source machine onto the destination machine (or storage device).

If you do not know where your Eudora data directory is and are currently running Eudora 6.2 or newer, you can find out by going to the Help, About Eudora menu. This information is listed in the About Window after the word Data:.

To find out where you have Eudora installed for versions older than 6.2 you will have to search for the directory using Windows Search.

Next paste the directory from the source machine (or storage device) to the destination machine and maintain the same directory path. For example, if Eudora was installed into the C:\Program Files\Qualcomm\Eudora directory on the old machine, you should paste the Entire Qualcomm folder (including the Eudora folder within) into the C:\Program Files directory on the new system, then reinstall the Eudora program into the new location to ensure that system DLL files are properly updated.

For Windows 2000 & XP Users:

With Eudora under Windows 2000/XP, the default location to install the application is still under Program Files, but the data files are kept in the "User's Application Data folder" (typically found in "C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Qualcomm\Eudora", where "username" is the User's login name).

The Windows 2000/XP Application Data folder usually has the hidden attribute, which makes it invisible in Windows Explorer or My Computer (unless you've configured those tools to display hidden objects). There are good reasons, though, why you might want to explore the folder where your Eudora data is stored; in particular, the email attachments that you've received are there, in the Attach sub-folder (unless, of course, you've told Eudora to store attachments elsewhere). To make this easier, Eudora creates a shortcut to your Eudora data folder in the Application Data folder's parent folder, which is typically "C:\Documents and Settings\"username"

If you are not able to do the above then you will need to copy the following files from your old Eudora directory to the new directory where you installed it. Below is a list of files and folders that make up your actual Eudora data:

• Mailboxes: Everything with the .mbx extension and the corresponding files with .toc extensions. If you have an .mbx file with no .toc, Eudora will rebuild the table of contents from the mailbox file. Make sure that you rename mailboxes that have the same name on the new machine so you do not overwrite any existing data.

• Spelling Dictionary files: If you have added, removed, or changed any words in the spelling dictionary you will want to move: usuggest.tlx, uignore.tlx, and uchange.tlx.

• Folders: If you created any mailbox folders inside Eudora, these are directories with the .fol extension, copy or move these folders.

• Address Books: Any files with the name "nndbase" (regardless of file extension) is your main Eudora Nicknames address book (and If there are any files in the "Nickname" folder, copy or move this entire folder.)

• Recipient List: RCPdbase.txt file (also the file named history.lst)

• Signatures: If there are any files in the "Sigs" folder, copy (or move) this entire folder. If you have created any signatures inside Eudora, those files reside here.

• Filters: filters.pce - This file will have the information for any personal mail filters that you have created.

• Junk Training file: The UserJunkDB.txt stores the manual training of Junked and NOT Junked messages. This file is located in Eudora's plugins folder.

• Settings: eudora.ini - This file will have your Registration code and email account information.

• Stationery: If there are any files inside this folder, copy (or move) this entire folder. If you have created any stationary inside Eudora, those files reside here.

• Embedded: If there are any files inside this folder, copy (or move) this entire folder. These files are any images or files that have been embedded into any of your emails.

• Attachments: If there are any files inside the "attach" folder, copy (or move) this entire folder. These are in the directory you specified under Tools: Options: Attachments. If this is just the attach subdirectory of Eudora, go ahead and move it to the new Eudora directory. If it is somewhere else, just go back into Tools: Options: Attachments and re-assign it to the same directory.

NOTE ON MOVING ATTACHMENTS: Eudora marks the message with where it saved the attachment file at the time it was downloaded and decoded. If you later move a file to a different directory, you will not be able to launch that attachment from within the message in Eudora. You will have to launch the file manually from within Windows Explorer. So it is very important to maintain the correct directory structure if you wish to maintain the same functionality on both machines.