How to Print MBOX Files with Attachments? 2 Best Methods
Are you searching for the best way to print MBOX files, including attachments? If yes, check it out here. This blog post discloses 2 tried and tested simplified techniques to print MBOX email messages, i.e., the Manual Method and the Professional Method.
In this modern era, everyone uses an email application to enhance communication. With the advancement in technology, cyber crimes are turning out to be increasing. Because of this, forensic researchers and practitioners of the lawsuit have flourished.
The primary goal of the legal specialists and forensic experts is to gather the digital proof associated with the crime and present it in the official courtroom. This normally occurs in a lawfully allowable file format such as PDF (Portable Document Format).
The greatest test for the scientific examiners is to extract the proof that is permissible in court. PDF, as we all know, is one of the lawfully accepted file formats. Numerous experts came across the .mbox extension to generate forensic evidence for the court. And for that, they need to convert MBOX files and later print them for legal use.
Why Print MBOX Files?
MBOX is a mailbox format that contains many email messages inside a single file. Multiple email clients, including Thunderbird, Apple Mail, eM Client, and Spicebird, use MBOX files to store their mailbox information. The method involves converting MBOX to PDF files
The fact is that not all MBOX files are identical. Apple Mail MBOX files have a .mbox extension, but Thunderbird MBOX files do not. It is but one example of how MBOX files with diverse sources may change somewhat.
This becomes crucial when printing MBOX email messages. Every program has its own printing and exporting options. Hence, most online applications do not support all MBOX file types.
Requirements to print MBOX files:
- Forensic Investigation: Sometimes, forensic investigators find crucial evidence, and after inspection, they want to submit the evidence to the court.
- Legal Requirements: PDF is a widely accepted file extension for legal use and printing needs, so lawyers, advocates, and detectives prefer it.
- Sharing Purposes: We know that an MBOX file may store thousands of emails, but sometimes users want to share only some specific emails with their friends.
- Create Hard Copies: Several users want to create hard copies for their crucial mailboxes, so they prefer to print MBOX files.
Manual Method to Print MBOX Files Using Thunderbird
To be able to print mbox files manually, you first need to add your mbox files to the Thunderbird email client, then need to configure “Thunderbird print settings.” This will print those files and can also let them convert them from MBOX to PDF if needed. The drawback includes, the emails will not come with attachments and will always include a header. The following method can be done with other mbox-compatible clients too, but Thunderbird is an open-source software and is easy to use. Follow the detailed step-by-step process to perform the following:
How To Print MBOX Mails Manually?
- Firstly, launch ‘Thunderbird’ on your computer.
- Then, install ‘ImportExportTools NG’ add-on plugin.
- After that, import MBOX to Thunderbird.
- Select the imported mailbox from the local folders.
- Next, open an email that you want to print as an MBOX file.
- Choose the ‘More’ option and then select the ‘Print’ button. This will open up “Thunderbird print settings”.
- Then, choose ‘Microsoft Print to PDF’ from Print Dialogue to “print Thunderbird email”.
- Lastly, tap on the ‘OK’ button to print the MBOX email.
Note: You can also print multiple by selecting multiple emails using range select (shift+select), then press ctrl+P.
Issues With The Manual Approach
- Additional Tool Required: Thunderbird with ImportExportToolsNG add-on should be installed on your computer.
- Batch Conversion Incompatibility: The manual method permits printing MBOX emails one by one, so it is suitable for printing only a few emails.
- Technical Knowledge Required: Basic technical knowledge of Thunderbird is mandatory to perform this task manually.
- Time-consuming and complex: This is not recommended for business professionals who want to batch-print MBOX files with attachments, as you have to save every single email message manually.
- Human Errors: Due to being a manual approach, there is a high chance of causing human errors, like saving files in a different location or missing important files during printing.
Recommended: Free Tips to Import MBOX to Google Workspace
Pro Software to Print MBOX Email Messages
To get all your queries resolved, we would suggest you check out the automated and most professional solution to print MBOX files in with attachments – BitRecover MBOX to PDF Converter. It gives all the necessary features you asked for above. Moreover, there are no limitations to performing the conversion.
Just choose the MBOX files of any supportable email client and add them to the toolkit. The rest of the process is automated, filtering the required features and getting the conversion done in a fraction of a second. The bonus is that in the Pro edition, you can export all MBOX attachments as printable document pages too, and later you can print MBOX files accordingly.
The software is compatible with MBOX files of all email clients like Thunderbird, SeaMonkey, Apple Mail, Google Takeout, Opera Mail, Eudora Mail, Entourage, etc.
How to Print MBOX Files Without Header?
- Download and launch the software on your Windows/ Mac PC.
- Click on the ‘Select Files’ or ‘Select Folders’ option to add an MBOX file.
- Select or enable the required mailboxes for conversion.
- Enable the ‘Convert attachments as PDF’ option to convert MBOX to PDF format.
- Select Exclude header which will enable “Thunderbird print without headers settings”. Making emails print without a header.
- Browse a specific saving location for storing the output.
- Click on the ‘Convert’ button to start printing MBOX mailboxes.
In the end, you will get all emails in Portable Document Format. Now, you can make use of these documents as per your requirements.
Software Benefits Over Manual Method
- Print MBOX files without header. This helps users convert mbox to PDF without header.
- It saves the original folder structure throughout the conversion.
- There is no MBOX email client dependency for the process.
- Enable Black & White mode for creating non-searchable PDFs.
- It offers more than 10 file naming options to arrange emails.
- Has the proficiency to print MBOX files with or without attachments.
- Facility to print multiple MBOX files in one round of processing.
- Preserve all the embedded email elements, images, and attachments.
- The MBOX to PDF converter Mac tool is Compatible with the latest Windows and Mac-based Operating Systems.
Question and Answer
Q 1: How can I open MBOX format?
Ans. By importing your files into a MBOX-compatible email client like Thunderbird, you can open your desired MBOX files. Alternatively, you can choose free MBOX viewer software, where you don’t have to go through the complex process for importing.
Q 2: Which is the best technique to print MBOX files?
Ans. Both are tried and tested approaches; you can choose accordingly to convert after reading the advantages and disadvantages.
Q 3: Does your software support Apple MBOX files?
Ans. Yes, this software is compatible with MBOX files exported from Apple Mail as well as other email clients.
Q 4: How can I print emails without a header?
Ans. There is no direct method to print mbox files without a header. I you want to print emails without headers, then you need to use the professional approach and use the “Thunderbird print without headers settings“.
Final Thought
Since emails play a vital role in professional communication, one can’t afford to lose them at any cost. In this article, we explained the causes and 2 effective solutions to print MBOX files one by one or in bulk and make the output file portable for different uses. Particularly, the forensic teams and law enforcement can get the utility mentioned in this post to inspect MBOX files and put this database as evidence wherever it is required.
