The smart way to Import Windows Mail or Outlook Express Emails to Gmail

Know the best way to transfer your e-mails from windows mail or outlook express to Gmail.

Although both Gmail and outlook express are considered very reliable but due to features like better spam filtration and more storage space Gmail is preferred over outlook by a lot of users.

Google provides a space of 15 GB to all its Gmail users to store their emails and important files. This is an ample storage size to keep all your emails intact including windows mail or outlook express emails. But the question that keeps many users guessing is how they can import windows mail or outlook Express Emails to Gmail?

In case you are also facing such dilemma then keep reading this post as here we have discussed the simplest method to Import windows Mail or Outlook Express Email to Gmail.

 Importing Windows Mail or Outlook Express Emails to Gmail

Well, it is fairly easy to import windows Mail or Outlook Express to Gmail but you need to take some precautions while doing it. As improper migration can leads to a loss of your important email or data.

The steps mentioned below will guide you to easily migrate windows mail or outlook express emails to Gmail.

Step – 1: Set Gmail to IMAP

  • First of all, you need to enable IMAP in your Gmail Account. This can be done by clicking setting and “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” tab.
  • In POP/IMAP tab you will find “Enable IMAP” radio button. Check this radio button and click “save changes”.

Step – 2: Set up your Gmail Account in windows mail or outlook express

  • Now, you have to set up your Gmail as an IMAP account in Widows Mail, Windows live Mail or in Outlook express.
  • In windows Mail this can be done by clicking “Add Email Accounts” button under Tools tab.
  • After clicking “Add Email Accounts” button enter your display name and full Gmail email address.
  • Now under setup e-mail servers type “imap.gmail.com” for the incoming mail server and “smtp.gmail.com” for outgoing mail server.
  • Now keep following the instructions that will appear on the screen and you will be able to set up your Gmail Account in windows mail.

Note: While setting up Gmail as an IMAP account you will be asked to enter IMAP server port number i.e. 993.

Step – 3: Replicating the folders

  • After setting up your Gmail Account in windows mail or outlook express, you will be able to see your Gmail inbox under “imap.gmail.com” name.
  • Now to replicate the folders in Gmail Account, right click on “imap.gmail.com” and select “New folder “
  • Type the name of the folder which you want to be replicated in your Gmail account and press “Enter”.

Step – 4: Copy Windows Mail or outlook Express Email to Gmail

As you created a similar inbox under “imap.gmail.com” by replicating the folders, now it’s time to import windows mail or outlook Express Emails to Gmail.

  • Open the folder from which you want to copy email from.
  • Press the “Ctrl key” and drag the email to be copied in to the desired folder under “imap.gmail.com”.
  • In case you want to move the emails instead of copying, just drag the email without pressing the ctrl key.

Step – 5: Archiving Newly Arrived mail in Gmail.

By the end of Step 4, you will be able to Import Windows Mail or Outlook Express Emails to Gmail. As you have already seen these messages in your windows mail or outlook express inbox so it is better to archive these emails in Gmail.

  • Open Gmail and search “label:unread” from the search box.
  • Now all newly arrived messages will appear on the screen.
  • Select the messages you want to archive and click “Mark as read” from the “More” dropdown

Alternate Method

There is an alternative method to import windows mail or outlook Express Emails to Gmail as well. However, this method is not advised as it far more complex and clumsy. In this method, you can import emails via mozilla thunderbird.

  • First of all, you need to download and install the mozilla thunderbird into your computer.
  • Now Import your windows mail or outlook express emails to Mozilla thunderbird.
  • Select the messages to be copied from mozilla thunderbird and copy them to Gmail.

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