Resident search inside eml files and thoses from Thunderbird

[Contro]

Resident search inside eml files and thoses from Thunderbird

I am very happy with search options like everything, Qiqqa, DocFetcher, but this last only index pst files from Outlook

I would like a resident and seperate tool for background indexing of my email files.

Best Regards
 

[tomos]

I thought eml files were just like text files (yes - I just opened one in notepad), i.e. I wouldn't have thought that any search and/or indexing programme would have a problem reading them.

[Contro]

 

But don't forget the msf files from TB
I usually collect some emails to my folders in eml format, but the gross is in msf format.

DocFetcher can manipulate txt files. Or files similar.
What do you think about OSForensic from Passmark

[Contro]

I think I have seen that windows search under seven may index the emails.
I don't know.
Is possible configure windows search to look only inside emails ?
I don't want to renounce to my wonderful Everything
 

[4wd]

But don't forget the msf files from TB
I usually collect some emails to my folders in eml format, but the gross is in msf format.

-Contro (September 10, 2013, 06:11 AM)

Each Thunderbird mail folder is stored in two files named after this mail folder name:

•    File with no extension stores email messages in the plain text format, one after one. This file is larger than the MSF index.
•    A corresponding (smaller) .MSF file contains mail folder indexes and preference data. Thunderbird figures out what part of the message to be displayed, the order of messages within a folder, and the like - all based on the .MSF file information. It is important to note that .MSF files do not contain any email messages and, all in all, are redundant. Thunderbird will rebuild .MSF files as needed if they are missing.

MSF files are just indexes, all your emails are stored in plain text in the files with no extension, eg. Drafts, Sent Mail

[Shades]

To search through mail (and attachments) my accounts have collected throughout the years, I use MailStore Home. That particular version is free (and available in portable format on www.portableapps.com).

It finds more concise results to any search query when compared with the search capabilities of Thunderbird, my email client of choice. It also serves as a backup of your mail and it allows you to convert mail to different formats so the messages in MailStore home can be exported to the mail client of your choice.

No affiliation, just a (very) content user.

[PhilB66]

(and available in portable format on www.portableapps.com).

-Shades (September 10, 2013, 11:14 PM)

Link please.

[Contro]

To search through mail (and attachments) my accounts have collected throughout the years, I use MailStore Home. That particular version is free (and available in portable format on www.portableapps.com).

It finds more concise results to any search query when compared with the search capabilities of Thunderbird, my email client of choice. It also serves as a backup of your mail and it allows you to convert mail to different formats so the messages in MailStore home can be exported to the mail client of your choice.

No affiliation, just a (very) content user.

-Shades (September 10, 2013, 11:14 PM)

I use too. One year or more using. Totally according with you.

[Contro]

(and available in portable format on www.portableapps.com).

-Shades (September 10, 2013, 11:14 PM)

Link please.

-PhilB66 (September 10, 2013, 11:45 PM)

Mail Store Home

I install in portable way.

Is not background indexing I think. Takes a time to index the files and recently i was using specially to search in my sent emails because I have a lot off accounts.

But I have integrated a sent folders with my accounts.
I must revise when I create another one....

 

I use the concept of virtual folder or saved search

[Contro]

But don't forget the msf files from TB
I usually collect some emails to my folders in eml format, but the gross is in msf format.

-Contro (September 10, 2013, 06:11 AM)

Each Thunderbird mail folder is stored in two files named after this mail folder name:

•     File with no extension stores email messages in the plain text format, one after one. This file is larger than the MSF index.
•     A corresponding (smaller) .MSF file contains mail folder indexes and preference data. Thunderbird figures out what part of the message to be displayed, the order of messages within a folder, and the like - all based on the .MSF file information. It is important to note that .MSF files do not contain any email messages and, all in all, are redundant. Thunderbird will rebuild .MSF files as needed if they are missing.

MSF files are just indexes, all your emails are stored in plain text in the files with no extension, eg. Drafts, Sent Mail
 (see attachment in previous post)

-4wd (September 10, 2013, 07:59 PM)

Thanks a lot 4wd

I was wondering why appear in the web utilities like docFetcher able to search inside pst files, but not so many utilities to search in the specific folders of Thunderbird. I suppose msf because I see somewhere. Perhaps in OSForensics Passmark ?

Nooooo.
What email formats are compatible with OSF

The very good news are that are simple text.
Because in that case sure DocFetcher can make his labour.

OSForensics don't seems index in background and hangs after more than one day indexing. That was my particular experience.

 

[Contro]

What I would like ?

Simple.
An effective background index programmated to search structurally in the contents of the email.
DocFetcher seems able to do, but not structurally in the sense of determine the sender, the receiver, the subject and so on.
MailStore does, but is not background indexing.

Anyone has tried with the addon for windows search in windows 7 ?

[Contro]

(and available in portable format on www.portableapps.com).

-Shades (September 10, 2013, 11:14 PM)

Link please.

-PhilB66 (September 10, 2013, 11:45 PM)

Mail Store Home

I install in portable way.

Is not background indexing I think. Takes a time to index the files and recently i was using specially to search in my sent emails because I have a lot off accounts.

But I have integrated a sent folders with my accounts.
I must revise when I create another one....

 

I use the concept of virtual folder or saved search

-Contro (September 11, 2013, 03:22 AM)

I found a interesting article about. It's not a paf, but mailstore is good portable in the classic sense (don't write in the windows registry). I have good residents that are not independent in the sense they need Java o Framework.

Big issue with backup/restore

[PhilB66]

(and available in portable format on www.portableapps.com).

-Shades (September 10, 2013, 11:14 PM)

Link please.

-PhilB66 (September 10, 2013, 11:45 PM)

Mail Store Home

I install in portable way.

-Contro (September 11, 2013, 03:22 AM)

That does not render the application portable.

[Contro]

(and available in portable format on www.portableapps.com).

-Shades (September 10, 2013, 11:14 PM)

Link please.

-PhilB66 (September 10, 2013, 11:45 PM)

Mail Store Home

I install in portable way.

-Contro (September 11, 2013, 03:22 AM)

That does not render the application portable.

-PhilB66 (September 11, 2013, 06:27 AM)

Yeahhhh
 
At the present moment i have more GB of space in a data disk with programs in portable mode than in the system disk.
In the past was very useful for me because of my multiple startup, but now with the limitation of the windows 7 license.....
Of course we have the virtual machines under xp.
 

[PhilB66]

(and available in portable format on www.portableapps.com).

-Shades (September 10, 2013, 11:14 PM)

Link please.

-PhilB66 (September 10, 2013, 11:45 PM)

Mail Store Home

I install in portable way.

-Contro (September 11, 2013, 03:22 AM)

That does not render the application portable.

-PhilB66 (September 11, 2013, 06:27 AM)

Yeahhhh
 
At the present moment i have more GB of space in a data disk with programs in portable mode than in the system disk.
In the past was very useful for me because of my multiple startup, but now with the limitation of the windows 7 license.....
Of course we have the virtual machines under xp.
 

-Contro (September 11, 2013, 07:02 AM)

Que?

MailStoreHomePortable saves some settings to the registry plus other stuff in AppData = not portable.

@Shades
Where can I get the paf version from?

[4wd]

Perhaps here: MailStore Home Portable 8.1.0.9075

Except the interface seems to be in Japanese.

Fixed, just delete all the language folders in MailStoreHomePortable\Application, (ie. all folders except Firebird_x86).

[Contro]

(and available in portable format on www.portableapps.com).

-Shades (September 10, 2013, 11:14 PM)

Link please.

-PhilB66 (September 10, 2013, 11:45 PM)

Mail Store Home

I install in portable way.

-Contro (September 11, 2013, 03:22 AM)

That does not render the application portable.

-PhilB66 (September 11, 2013, 06:27 AM)

Yeahhhh
 
At the present moment i have more GB of space in a data disk with programs in portable mode than in the system disk.
In the past was very useful for me because of my multiple startup, but now with the limitation of the windows 7 license.....
Of course we have the virtual machines under xp.
 

-Contro (September 11, 2013, 07:02 AM)

Que?

MailStoreHomePortable saves some settings to the registry plus other stuff in AppData = not portable.

@Shades
Where can I get the paf version from?

-PhilB66 (September 11, 2013, 07:20 AM)

That's the way Phil.
"Hilas fino"
You observ the details
 

[PhilB66]

Perhaps here: MailStore Home Portable 8.1.0.9075

Except the interface seems to be in Japanese.

Fixed, just delete all the language folders in MailStoreHomePortable\Application, (ie. all folders except Firebird_x86).

-4wd (September 11, 2013, 08:10 AM)

Thank you for the link, 4wd. I could not find any information about license/distribution of this package. Not sure it's legal. This paf version creates a folder in \user\all\firebird and I also found some entries in the registry at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Deepinvent\MailStore\Client Settings
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Deepinvent\MailStore

[Contro]

Seems difficult search inside TB in background mode indeed
And structurally of course, with definition of fields.
 

[4wd]

This paf version creates a folder in \user\all\firebird and I also found some entries in the registry at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Deepinvent\MailStore\Client Settings
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Deepinvent\MailStore

-PhilB66 (September 12, 2013, 05:50 PM)

What you're after is Portable & Stealth - not just portable.

The reg entry contains the GUI window coords & size and the folder is empty after running - things that can be easily fixed by creating a batch file with a couple of extra commands.

[Contro]

 
Portable or not portable the interesting point is searching structurally inside all types of files from Thunderbird. That, of course, can be a portable program too.
But I only have in portable way. That is for me :
Install TB in a data disk (over my disk y: data disk, not in the system). Why ? Because in my old windows xp I share this installation between the differents installations under the same windows xp pro ....
I don't need to install in a usb drive, by example.
And I think too is an advantage because i have configuration and data in a data disk continually backing up to my security copies disk.
Is my system collapse I have the emails in other places. And I don't have to worry about so much installation in the system.
I try to install all i can in portable way. Even if the program have dependencies like net framework, java, etc.
Sometimes in "this portable way" i had to reinstall the program in every system because write fragments in the registry or even in some folders in the system.
Others cases for me had been when the installer only let me install on the system, but really the program is almost portable. So I copy the installation folder to my data disk and execute from there. Many times give me good results and no additional problems.

Usually some absolutely not portable programs are fat software.

 

[PhilB66]

Yes, 4wd, I will make a wrapper to delete the registry keys / folder after exit. Many thanks.

[Shades]

Sorry, I had no time to respond earlier.  The version of MailStore I use is: 4.2.1.6501 (came out early 2011) and at the time I found the portable version easily.

If you want I can PM the archive I created from that software package (it's around 8MByte) as I am not sure if attaching that package to this post is legit.

[Contro]

Grrrrrnnnnnnnn grrrrrrrrrr ngggggg ngggnnnnnn
I don't find good software for background indexing.
 

[PhilB66]

If you want I can PM the archive

-Shades (September 13, 2013, 09:05 PM)

Thanks, Shades, but that's not needed. I should be able to create a wrapper working with the latest official release. Cheers.