AyeTea

Its time to ditch windows, but before that can be done there is some preparation to be done.  In the  main, most of my files can be simply backed up by straight forward copy and paste.  However there are a few things that need a bit more work than that:

• Outlook…. My I typically receive about 15 e-mail per day, some of those can be deleted after a short while, but I consider my contact list to be very important to me.  As well as the IT website, I also run another site Justblair’s Audio and Electronics Pages.  Every e-mail I receive from either Ayetea or Justblair’s I consider valuable, if only because it’s nice to keep in touch with like  minded people who have taken the time to register their interest.
• Filezilla…. I use this to upload large files, particularly images to my websites.  Occasionally I require to move large amounts of data between my work and clients servers also. Filezilla I have found to be the easiest and most reliable method to shift things around.  Whilst I have all the account details that I need for ftp sites, to make things easier I will export my settings for use in the Linux environment
• Sxipper… This is a plugin that I use with Mozilla Firefox.  It is a password manager that also is very useful for automating form filling.  I tried roboform for a while, but once my free trial period was over, I wasn’t convinced to buy.  That is not to say Roboform is not a good software package, In fact there are several features that I can see as excellent.  Cross browser compatibility is perhaps useful to some, also the synchronization options may be convenient to those that flirt from desktop to desktop. 
  
  Sxipper on the other hand is a free add on for Firefox that allows you to store password information and automatically log in to your favorite websites.  It also can be used to store form information, useful for posting comments on other peoples blogs or for online shopping.  It can also store your payment information like credit card details.  I am not quite brave enough for that.  If I lose my laptop, I don’t want my credit card information passed around so quickly.

So where to begin?  I guess outlook might be my first port of call.  I have been hunting the forums and websites for advice on how best to migrate my e-mail between Windows and Linux

Migrating from Outlook

I am going to try a two pronged approach to this one.  One is very a very direct export of the outlook .pst file, a file with all of my e-mail included within.  I have read that Evolution will be able to import this file and as a package is very similar in function to Outlook.  I also would like to try Thunderbird.  I have used the windows version of Thunderbird in the past.  It has always been to my mind a less functional package compared to Outlook.  It always did the e-mail thing, and many have said that it is quicker at this.  However I have for many years used Outlook as so much more.  In fact as a time management tool, Outlook is has rich features that can automate most time management functions.

Thunderbird has moved on from when I last tried it, and though it, fresh from the wrapper is pretty much the same as before, new add ins appear to be bridging the gap between good ol’ thunderbird and Outlook.  I will be interested to try this out.  I do use portable Thunderbird to monitor my personal e-mail at work, so I am familiar with the interface.

So lets begin with a backing up Outlook.

Outlook itself has a tool for exporting the contents of its database.  It can be accessed through   The file menu within outlook.  The menu item that you are looking for is “”Import and Export,,,”

The next screen offers options the different options available for importing and exporting.  This is also handy to note if you are not considering the move to Linux.  You really ought to regularly back up your outlook files just as you would any others.

The option that I picked was to “Export to a File” and clicked “Next”.   From here you can see what formats Outlook is capable of outputting, Available are

• Comma separated values (DOS)
• Comma separated values (Windows)
• Microsoft Access and Excel
• Personal Folders File (pst)
• Tab separated values (DOS)
• Tab Separated values (Windows)

Since I don’t fully know what I am doing I am going to err on the side of caution and output to a few different formats. Somewhere down the line I expect that I will at least find one that is useful.

I  made sure that I selected the very top level of the Outlook folder structure which is named “Personal Folders”.  The rest of the folder structure should be included.

If you are backing up for your self, be sure to click the tick box marked include subfolders.

The last section asks you where to place the backed up file.  I chose to send it to a my 8GB Super Talent Pico C flash drive.  I set up a new folder in there for all of the file via the “browse” button.

I chose not to set a password for the file when offered.  I will be sure to keep my USB drive secure until there comes a point where I am finished with the files.

Its worth taking a minute to watch the status window just to make sure that you see the folders from outlook transfer into the file.

Attempting to transfer to a Comma Separated Values file or a Tab Separated Values format proved to be impractical for me.  I use a fair number of rules to filter my mail into a multitude of folders within Outlook.  Comma Separated values will only allow you to export one of these folders at a time.  For me this was just going to take too long,  Comma separated Values is generally a good format to use as almost every application I have ever used has been able to accept this format.  i am going to risk it for a biscuit here and just plump for the pst file as being what I need,.  That of course and by using  Thunderbird.

Exporting Via Thunderbird

Thunderbird is a package that comes from the same team as my favorite web browser Firefox.  Mozilla Thunderbird has a big advantage to me I hope in that it is available across platforms.  I am hoping that if I transfer my outlook folders within Windows to the Thunderbird application that this will make things easy for me when moving over.

First thing to do then is to install Thunderbird.

Thunderbird appeals to my Scottish background for one big reason… It’s free.  I have always found it a little basic though.  I will be trying it out again, but this time with some of the add ins that have been developed for it.  To install it, just visit the web page and download the install files.  Once downloaded I ran the install.  Upon installation Thunderbird attempts to set itself up, automatically using the settings from Outlook if you have it installed.  This seems easy, and Thunderbird was moderately successful.  It correctly managed to configure itself to my e-mail settings.  However despite its progress monitor showing progress, my existing mail did not transfer!  Dammit!!

Not to be deterred I went a hunting through Thunderbirds options to attempt to import my mail manually.

Within the “Tools” menu I found the import command.  and gave it a click.  This time Thunderbird asked me what I wished to import and I selected outlook

At the end of the import, Thunderbird gave a report to say that it had imported my files.  This looked a lot healthier and indeed when I then checked all of my e-mail was now present.  Success.  The next thing to do was to copy these retrieved mail from Thunderbird to my USB stick.  Of course Thunderbird is fighting me all the way on this one.  What do you know, no export feature is available in Thunderbird 2.  This seems like a fairly big omission from the software.  I don’t know if I am just being to Microsoft here, but come on.

A quick scout around the internet offered up two solutions to this lack of an export feature dilemma.  One is to install one of several add ons that add this feature, the second is to copy over the Thunderbird profile which contains the data.  As I don’t really have the time to play around with add ons I opted for the latter option.  I figure that with the Outlook .pst file saved anyway, I can afford to take a gentle risk with this.  I hope that I don't live to regret this decision.

Using Explorer I had a hunt around my documents and settings folder and eventually found what I was looking for.  I found my profile at C:\Documents and Settings\Blair\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles.  Remember if your hunting it out for yourself that the Application Data folder is normally hidden.  You may need to unhide hidden folders to find it.  Try Tools>Folder Options from the explorer menu bar.  Then from the view tab, select “show hidden files and folders.

Once I located the folder I copied the whole folder and its contents to my pen stick.  Only time will tell if this works out ok.  Its one option though of several I have open to me.

Exporting Sxipper Data

Next on my list is the data from my favorite password and form manager Sxipper.  If you have used an application such as roboform in the past I would strongly recommend that you try Sxipper.  It is an add on for Mozilla Firefox that stores and manages your login details to a very wide array of sites.  It also can fill in web forms for you automatically.

Having a wide array of passwords to remember, this is one set of data that i am anxious to transport with me to the new Operating system.  Exporting is thankfully easy this time.  First of all from Firefox I chose the “Tools” menu and from there “Add ons”  From the dialogue box that Appeared I chose the options tab for Sxipper.  In the general tab, in the local data there is a backup button.

You can choose here wither to back up to a zip file or a straight forward folder.  I chose the folder.

Just think carefully when doing this.  Sxipper transfers your passwords and personal data into comma separated values files.  Easy to read, easy lose and dangerous in the wrong hands.  Your data is unencrypted now and care should be taken.

Updating Filezilla

The lack of an export function within Thunderbird seems even more inexplicable when you look at it's siblings.  Filezilla in comparison makes it very easy to export data.

In the File menu is an export button.  A click on it reveals a simple set of check boxes that allow you to decide what to export.

I selected all of them and then then followed the next dialogue box to decide where the resultant xml file was to be placed.  Quick, easy and exactly how I expect a program to back up it’s data.

I have done this before and have always found the export an import of settings to be reliable with Filezilla.  There is a reason why it is my favorite FTP client, in fact there are lots of reasons why I continue to use it.

Same caveats as before, just be careful with the resultant data file, this information  would be damaging in the wrong hands so be careful with it!

And the rest

The rest of my Data is in the form of standard files, so a straight forward copy and paste is all that is required.  Ironically Windows decided to give out a death cough and refuse to recognize my portable hard drive or SD cards.  I would try and fix it if I were keeping the installation on my EeePC but as I am not I decided to just move the files via a usb stick