Probably this isn't what you want to hear, but I think it's the way it works.

If your account is an IMAP account you could just set-up the account in Thunderbird and sync with the server.

Problem is I have already done the import so the stuff is already in the Local Folders. I am not going to use Outlook again (if I can help it) so just want to move the content of Local Folders to the main folder where it should have been in the first place. Then EVERYTHING I want is where it should be - just can't see the point of moving over to TB, importing my stuff (it knows that because I selected the import option at install time) and then it dumps everything in the `non-main-working folder)

As Chgrist1 said, that is how it works. Having looked as how Outlook stores mail, and everything else. It is a wonder anything ever comes out that is useable. PST files are a mess. First thing they do is pull the email apart and store header, body and attachments is three different places.

You will also find (most likely) that your accounts in Outlook were POP and the default in Thunderbird is IMAP. merging IMAP and POP files and folders is fraught with difficulties and dangers. It would be a brave developer that tried that in an import.

In the case of IMAP all your mail is one the server, so import is not all that important. However copying a gigabyte or two of of outlook mail into your imap server could exhaust your available message storage space there and cause the import to fail completely.

So If you want to do what your saying, first confirm that your not using IMAP mail. Otherwise your experience is most likely going to be exceedingly poor.

If you are using POP mail, then changing the setting in your pop account to cause it to use the global inbox will make a single mail account appear, "Local Folder", with your outlook mail as a sub folder of that.

Dragging a folder from the imported outlook tree to Local folders is not difficult, as long as you remember that folders hang of other folders, so your dragging them to a parent, not a position on the screen you like.

Hi,

Thanks but... It is set up as a POP account in TB. The problem is not with the import which worked fine. I have all my Outlook in TB and within the Local Folder it is fine and as I had in Outlook. The trouble is that TB has all my current incoming email and related folders in my account folder. So I now have to move everything that is in the Local Folder in to the main account folder. I can do this by dragging each folder one at a time in to the main area and that works. Problem is it has to be one folder at a time even sub-folders. Although dragging the main folder with branches copies the main folder and the branch folder names, it only copies the contents of the main folder and not of the branches so you then have to select all the files in one of the branches and drag them in to the empty folder in the main area (this is exactly the same as using the built in `MOVE TO' function so I can't see why this command can't be use for the folders themselves!). Anyway, it is obviously to hard for TB to perform a simple function like this (basically regular file/folder movement) so I concede defeat and add this to the (currently very short list) of things I don't like about TB. Fortunately it is already proving to be better than Outlook and at least it is not a `microsoft' program sothat has to be a good thing :)

What I am suggesting it you use the global inbox.

Tools menu (alt+T > account settings > server settings > advanced button > Select the use global inbox.

Now you will have "local folders" no account folder, just local folders. Note that selecting the option removes links to mail in the "account folders" so a reversal of when your doing is required for "new mail" since import.

Now. I can not duplicate you issue with mails not moving.

I created a new folder in local Folder atest. I created a second fold on the same level (Testone) and a third as a child (Testtwo) I populated them with some mails and dragged Testone to atest

The copy result is attached.

Doh!,

Having spent most of last night slowly moving the folders from Local tot he account it is a bit late for me to go back the other way but what you have suggested looks like it might have worked. Still seems simpler to `right-click' a folder and `move it' and have all sub-folders move cleanly as well. Obviously your test generated a different result to me. I have not been able to drag any folders with sub-folders and have the contents of those sub-folders go with it, only the main folder contents went. Still, as I said, I have now done most of it so probably time to call it a day on this thread and hope that anyone else with a similar problems sees your response above - cheers.