I love Gmail. I don’t know what it is about Gmail that compels me to keep Gmail active at all times in my browser. Though I’ve used other services, none had me checking emails on a regular basis like Gmail. As a Thunderbird user, moving emails into Gmail was a breeze.
The following steps using Thunderbird as the example should work similarly for other email clients — the biggest difference would be in setting up the IMAP part. I know Outlook can do it.
Step 1. Turn on IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol — techie stuff, we won’t dive into that) in Gmail. Google explains how to get started with IMAP in Gmail. To turn on IMAP from within Gmail:
- Click Settings.
- Select Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.
- Select Enable IMAP button.
Step 2. Set up IMAP in your email client. In Thunderbird, I created a new IMAP account in for Gmail (don’t use the Gmail option in Thunderbird’s Account Wizard).
Step 3. Select emails and move them into the Gmail folder just like you move any files into another folder. If a folder contains hundreds of emails, do a few at a time as it takes time for the email client to process and move them. Beware that this process MOVES the files not COPIES them, so they won’t be in Thunderbird once you move them.
Are you using your Gmail account as your primary email address for business etc. or are you forwarding your meryl.net, etc. emails to your Gmail account? I have never found the need to use anything other than my domain email so I am just wondering what the advantage is for you?
I am using Gmail as my co-primary email address. The advantage is that I can access it from anywhere and keep files on there. It’s easier to search and I use it for all newsletters I want to keep.
My meryl.net emailbox has emails from most clients, family, and volunteer business. Files that I want to keep in my mailbox go to Gmail to keep my PC inbox lightweight.
It works well for me. It may not work for everyone.
Ok I see. That makes sense. It’s good to have a backup email address like that to use as well.