How to Export and Import Email Messages in Windows Live Mail
Information
This will show you how to export (backup) and import (restore) all or select message folders that contain your email messages, or only single email messages in Windows Live Mail.
METHOD ONE
To Export or Import All Email Messages in One or More Account Folders
Option One
Export (Backup) All Email Messages in One or More Account Folders
1. Create a New Folder on your desktop, and name it what you like. NOTE:This is the folder that you will be exporting your message folders that contain your email messages into.
3. Click on the Tools icon drop down arrow, select Export email, and click on Email messages. (see screenshot below)
4. Select Microsoft Windows Live Mail, and click on Next. (see screenshot below)
5. Click on the Browse button. (see screenshot below)
6. Navigate to and select the New Folder that you created in step 1, then click on OK. (see screenshot below)
7. Click on the Next button. (see screenshot below)
8. To Export All Message Folders from All Email Accounts
A) Select (dot) All folders, and click on Next. (see screenshot below)
B) Go to step 10.
9. To Export Selected Message Folders from Selected Email Accounts
A) Select (dot) Selected folders, press and hold the CTRL key and select (left click on) the random message folders that you want to export, release the CTRL key, then click on Next. (see screenshot below)
10. Click on the Finish button. (see screenshot below)
11. The selected message folders have now been exported into the New Folder from step 1. Save the New Folder to a safe location. This is the folder that is needed to be able to import or restore your messages in OPTION TWO below.
Option Two
Import (Restore) All Email Messages from One or More Exported Account Folders
2. Click on the Tools icon drop down arrow, and click on Import messages. (see screenshot below)
3. Select Windows Live Mail, and click on Next. (see screenshot below)
4. Click on the Browse button. (see screenshot below)
5. Navigate to and select the New Folder from OPTION ONE that contains your exported message folders, then click on OK. (see screenshot below)
6. Click on the Next button. (see screenshot below)
7. To Import All Message Folders
A) Select (dot) All folders, and click on Next. (see screenshot below)
B) Go to step 9.
8. To Import Selected Message Folders
A) Select (dot) Selected folders, press and hold the CTRL key and select (left click on) the random message folders that you want to import, release the CTRL key, then click on Next. (see screenshot below)
9. Click on the Finish button. (see screenshot below)
10. At the bottom of left pane of Windows Live Mail, expand (double click on) Storage folders and Imported Folder. Your imported messages folders from step 7 or 8 will be subfolders in Imported Folder. You can open each imported message folder to see your imported email messages, or move them to any other folder.
Tip
If you do not see Storage folders, then you can click on the View tab and click on the Storage folders toolbar item to highlight it and have it available now. (see screenshot below)
METHOD TWO
To Backup (Save) or Restore (Copy) Single Email Messages
Option One
Backup (Save) Single Email Messages from Windows Live Mail
1. Open Windows Live Mail, and open (double click) the email message that you want to backup (save).
2. Click on the menu drop down arrow, select Save, and click on Save as file. (see screenshot below)
3. Navigate to where you want to save the email message to, leave the "Save as type" as Mail (*.eml), and click on Save. (see screenshot below)
4. Repeat these steps for any other single email messages that you would like to backup from Windows Live Mail.
Option Two
Restore (Copy) Single Email Messages Back into Windows Live Mail
1. In Windows Explorer, navigate to where you saved the email message at from Option One above.
2. Double click on the backed up (saved) email message to have it opened with Windows Live Mail.
3. In the opened email message, click on the Copy to button on the ribbon toolbar. (see screenshot below)
4. Select a message folder of a email account that you want to copy this email message to, and click on OK. (see screenshot below)
5. The saved message has now been copied into the selected message folder, and will display as unread.
6. Repeat these steps for any other single email messages that you would like to restore back into Windows Live Mail.
What is missing from this tutorial is how to find the messages you imported. It is far from obvious.
You need to explain how to expand the "imported folder" under storage folders.
Select "Storage folders" then double click. Keep doing this untill you see you imported messages.
It took me a long time to figure this out because the icon next to "Storage" is not the usual plus sign in a box.
Also I expect a single click would expand the items under "Storage".
It is important to notice that the import wizard never asks you where you want to store the imported messages. The import wizard creates names for the folders it puts messages in. You can figure out the details by right clicking a message in a storage folder then select location in the general tab. Every import goes to a new folder.
The folder names created by Live Mail combind the account name with the source folder name.
Messages are stored as individual dot ems files. This quite different from Outlook which put then inside files the only Outlook can read. An advantage of this is that you can put a message file anywhere. You can then click on it to open it in Live Mail and send a responce.
Live Mail does not sync new imports with previous imports.
I thought that I did. How would you recommend to word it instead?
Step 10 in Option Two of Method One:
Quote:
At the bottom of left pane of Windows Live Mail, expand Storage folders and Imported Folder. Your imported messages folders from step 7 or 8 will be subfolders in Imported Folder. You can open each imported message folder to see your imported email messages, or move them to any other folder.
Note: To expand storage folders requires a double click.
It took me days to figure that out. I would single click. Nothing happend. I assumed the folder was empty. Every where else a single click expand the tree.
Thanks for making the change to step 10. The problem seems to have gone away when I got a new monitor. Single click now works. Single click may work for most people. A major point that needs to be made is the the Restore is not the mirror oposite of EXPORT. The imported messages do not get put back to where they where. I think it should have been called RETRIVE exported messages.
Yeah, unfortuntately it only imports the whole lot into a separate folder for you to move them where you like instead. This may be best though if say you no longer use a email account and do not want the messages automatically imported into a non existant account. An option would be nice though.
When I go to view my recently imported messages in the reading pane there is a message for each email saying:
The contents of this message cannot be found
I exported then imported the emails from another computer, which took an age because I hadn't found this forum yet. Then when I finally succeded (all the email headings were in my storage inbox) I realise that it was only the headings and not the body of the texts.
I'm sure there is a solution out there somewhere.......
It sounds like either the original export or import did not go well.
Did you use the same method as in this tutorial to export them originally? If not, you might try exporting them again if able to. Afterwards, try importing them again.
Information
METHOD ONE 
Tip
