# Recommend me a Windows email app **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 28, 2004, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-windows-email-app/231643 "2004-02-28T17:59:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-windows-email-app/231643/1 "2004-02-28T17:59:33Z")
I’ve been using PMMail/2 on OS/2 and later PMMail 2000 on Windows since 1996 or so. But it seems that it is no longer being supported or developed, so I need to look for a replacement. I’d like to avoid Outlook and Outlook Express if at all possible. The big problem I have is my email archive - **177,000** items since 1997 - all stored as individual files in plain text format - full header then message, exactly as pulled from the pop3 server. I’ve already found that there’s no .qwk reader for Windows XP that supports long filenames and so can’t access my earlier mail and cannot lose more: there’s critical information stored within. So what do the collective recommend? I have no objection to paying, but I’d prefer a trial version first. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-windows-email-app/231643/2 "2004-02-28T18:04:28Z")
Dammit, hit Submit too soon. Any email app should have easy yet comprehensive filtering and support for multiple email accounts. ---
**Author:** ![biqu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@biqu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/biqu)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-windows-email-app/231643/3 "2004-02-28T20:01:03Z")
For a classy, e-mail only app, try [PocoMail](http://www.pocomail.com/), which is loaded with features, offers multiple import/export filters for various mailbox formats, and costs $40 for the registered version. Also, [Thunderbird](http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/) is the standalone e-mail client from the Mozilla suite, with supposedly excellent spam filtering, and a more attractive price tag ($0). ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-windows-email-app/231643/4 "2004-02-28T20:58:41Z")
At work, IT has decreed use of Eudora Pro. It works well enough, but because I’ve used Outlook for so long, I get frustrated trying to do things like filtering and address book management in a different system. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-windows-email-app/231643/5 "2004-02-28T21:43:57Z")
I’ve been using Mozilla for a while now and I luvluvluvluv it. The filter is magnificent and worth it on its own. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-windows-email-app/231643/6 "2004-02-28T21:58:29Z")
Just to emphasise, retaining my mailbase is absolutely critical. ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-windows-email-app/231643/7 "2004-02-28T21:59:59Z")
> [@qts](#): > > The big problem I have is my email archive - **177,000** items since 1997 - all stored as individual files in plain text format - full header then message, exactly as pulled from the pop3 server. I’ve already found that there’s no .qwk reader for Windows XP that supports long filenames and so can’t access my earlier mail and cannot lose more: there’s critical information stored within. There is a freeware tool that might be useful for that purpose, no matter which two mail clients are involved. [The Hamster Classic](http://www.tglsoft.de/misc/hamster_en.htm) It is a local Mail (POP3/SMTP/IMAP) Server/Gateway. - Download and unzip it somewhere. - Then start _Hamster.exe_ - I had to change the SMTP port. If there is no red error message in the _log_ panel, you can skip this step. Open _Configuration -\> Local Servers… -\> SMTP_. Change the port from 25 to something four-digit, 2525 did it for me. Press F9 (to start SMTP server) - In your old mail program create an account using _localhost_ as SMTP (outgoing) server, username _admin_, empty password. If you changed the port above, set it to the same value here. You could enter _localhost_ as a POP server as well but if you do, do **not** configure it to fetch mail automatically. - In your new mail program create an account using _localhost_ as POP server, username _admin_, empty password; SMTP doesn’t matter, no port changes - In your old program forward all messages to _admin@localhost_ using the new account. - Fetch them from the new account in the new program. That’s it. The server has countless additional options but you will not need them now. If you plan to use it for longer periods of time, read the documentation and make sure everything is configured appropriately. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-windows-email-app/231643/8 "2004-02-28T23:30:04Z")
Hamster? Interesting indeed. This would, of course, lose all date info from my messages. I’ve looked at The Bat and given that the messages are plain .msg files I can import each folder manually but I’ve got dozens of the things, some with many thousands of messages and some with 10,000+ messages. ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-windows-email-app/231643/9 "2004-02-29T01:57:53Z")
Why can’t you just leave the achive where it is, back it up on a CD, access it when you need it and move forward with a new e-mail client ? Fwiw, I love Eudora. Excellent spam and virus screening, beautifully simple to configure. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2004, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-windows-email-app/231643/10 "2004-02-29T02:13:22Z")
[QUOTE=London\_Calling] Why can’t you just leave the achive where it is, back it up on a CD, access it when you need it and move forward with a new e-mail client ? [QUOTE] Because I’ve already lost access to one set of archives. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2004, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-windows-email-app/231643/11 "2004-03-01T00:06:19Z")
> [@qts](#): > > Because I’ve already lost access to one set of archives. If your email is stored simply in text files that all you need is a safe place to keep them, plus a back up. You’re never going to lose access to text. But if you’re wanting to import 177 thousand emails into your new email app, then you’re not really wanting an email program at all, but a database. That’s a lot of email to heap on a new program with, especially if you want to be able to do a meaningful, filtered import retaining all the indexed header info. This is not what email apps do, that’s a database’s job. Archive your old stuff in one and move on… My personal recommendations are Pegasus or Thunderbird.