PDA with Netscape 4.7.6 or Mozilla

Hi,
I am having trouble synchronizing a new Palm Tungsen E with Netscape 4.76 address book.
My situation is the following:
Win XP Home
Netscape 4.7.6
Been using Handspring Platinum Visor with Netscape 4.76 Palm tools to syn to Netscape 4.7.6 address book. Also have Palm Desktop 4.0.1

I bought Palm Tungsten E which had Palm 4.1.2 Desktop. (I backed up complete Drive C with Drive Image for testing purposes.)

1. Installed the new Palm S/W for a test.
2. Did a synch with PC - it synched address book from Palm Desktop to Palm PDA
3. Installed the Palm s/w that was with Netscape 4.76 per the instructions on Palm ReadMe file (Start | Programs | Netscape | Palm Tools |Address Book Palm Sync
4. Checked to make sure Synch conduits were set correctly to Synchcronize Files with Contacts and Address Book, etc.
5. Could not synch to Netscape Address Book. Kept synching to Palm Desktop correctly.

As I look at ajramsay and netguru threads, I get the feeling that Netscape 4.7.x users can synch with PDAs but Netscape 7 and probably Mozilla are unable to synch with PDAs. Am I correct on that or is there something I am missing?

I could migrate to Mozilla but would I be able to synch Palm contacts with Mozilla address book? I didn't see any threads for that here or on Netscape & Mozilla Solutions. Or is there someplace else I should look (home.att.net....)?

As always, thanks for your help
Ken

 

Ken,

Did you see this page: http://home.att.net/~cherokee67/ns71pdasync.html

HTH,

Ramona

 

Yes, I did. This approach seems to be to down load email. I don't totally follow it.

However, I want to be able to synch my address book. I am not able to synch even with NS 4.76 so I have a completely different problem. Since I can't find anyone having questions about sych PDA with NS, or even Mozilla, I conclude that they NS & Mozilla do not work with newer devices like Palm Tungsten E.

The only other alternative that I see mentioned some about synching is with Outlook - not very excited about the migration. Then there is the exposure to viruses.

Thanks,
Ken

 

Ken,
you have to decide what is more important. But there is syncing software out there, but not free, as an example.

 

Thank you for the contact. I have sent an email to them - it looks like they may go between Netscapes and not to PDA but will see.

I have searched the Internet again with a variety of search terms and cannot find a product that will synch a recent Palm, like my Tungsten E, Contact list with Netscape or Mozilla or Thunderbird Address Book. If anyone knows of a such a product, please let me know.

Thanks much,
Ken

 

Hi Ramona,
Well I am back and still on the "hunt" to support my Palm Tungsten E. Here is what I have found and then a couple of questions.

1. After testing on Mozilla 1.73 on my Dell desktop (XP), I was able to get the Palm synch to work with Mozilla Address book and Palm along with synch to the Palm Desktop. So that is good.

2. I went back and tried to synch on my wife's Toshiba with XP (it is her Palm that I need to synch). The Toshiba has Netscape 4.76 and I was not able to get Palm to synch with NS 4.76 address book. I did some very deliberate testing after documenting and understanding (again after some years) how the synching works, using Mozilla. So I conclude that I need to migrate from Netscape 4.76 to Mozilla or Thunderbird.

We both use Firebox extensively so Thunderbird is an option from that standpont. My wife's criteria is:
Needs to be stable - she doesn't have much time to test and have things fixed by me

Some questions that I have:
1. I have not used Thunderbird so I wonder if some of the things that I very much like about Mozilla 1.7.3 are there? For example:
a. I like the labeling I can do with email - true with Thunderbird?
b. The ability to backup Mozilla folder and restore it to the same PC and location, using copy and paste if I need to? Still true with Thunderbird?
c. As I mentioned the reliability is important

2. Can I install Thunderbird on my Dell that has Mozilla 1.7.3 for a test and keep it from automatically migrating all data from Mozilla?

I would appreciate your insight into the above questions? I understand nothing is perfect but I would like to go into this with as much as a heads up as possible.

Thanks much and have a good day,
Ken

 

1. Everything you have in Mozilla is in Thunderbird

a. Yes, labeling is exactly the same as Mozilla​

b. Yes, and for your benefit I just did a backup of the entire Thunderbird Folder in Applications Data, then an uninstall, reinstall, copy and paste Profile. It is important that you back up the entire Thunderbird folder, and not just the salted folder. Note that the salted folder is named a little differently than Mozilla. The salting comes first, then the file extension is the Profile Name. E.G., s9gdl54v.ken. Your Profile Location is:
C:\<path>\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\s9gdl54v.ken.​

Once I did the backup I uninstalled Thunderbird, and removed the existing Thunderbird folder from the Application Data folder. I also elected to remove the Thunderbird folder from Program Files, during the uninstall. If you have plugins, ensure that a backup of that folder is made before the uninstall.
(I realize you aren't uninstalling TB, but for the benefit of others...)
Rebooted, then installed Thunderbird 1.0.​

At the close of the install I elected to NOT start Thunderbird. I then opened Windows Explorer, and navigated to my NEW C:\<path>\Application Data\Thunderbird folder, and deleted the folder. Next, I pasted the backup Thunderbird folder into the Applications Folder, started Thunderbird, and my Mail, and Preferences were all intact.​

Since you will be migrating from Mozilla, you can rename your New Thunderbird Mail folder, or delete it, and paste the Mozilla Mail folder into the Ken folder, located here:
C:\<path>\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\s9gdl54v.ken

But... first you must set up your Mail Accounts exactly as they are set up in Mozilla. This is done exactly the same way as in Mozilla, so it will be a snap for you. I did this myself, and the Mozilla Mail folder was intact on opening Thunderbird. Once you have everything set up, you can make a backup of the entire Thunderbird subfolder of the Applications Data folder.​

2. Yes, and as you can see the Thunderbird Profile has its own folder, separate from Mozilla, so have no fear of Thunderbird picking up any Profile from another browser or Mail Client, unless you opt to do so.

On the very first install of Thunderbird you are asked if you wish to migrate Netscape, Moz, etc., Profiles, and at this point you can opt out. But it is still in your control, and it won't be done automatically.

I may have gone overboard on the information of copying Profiles, as I have used the same Profile for some time in Thunderbird, so I wanted to go thru the entire drill again before giving you a simple "yes ".

Thunderbird is a very stable Mail Client, but you will see differences in the Preferences, which are accessed through Tools, rather than Edit. Once you get the hang of it, you will wonder what took you so long to migrate!

Here are some links that you will want to check out before you install:

http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/
http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/releases/
http://kb.mozillazine.org/index.phtml?title=Thunderbird_:_FAQs
http://texturizer.net/thunderbird/faq.html
http://texturizer.net/thunderbird/tips.html
https://addons.update.mozilla.org/themes/?application=thunderbird
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/thunderbird/specs/extensions.html

Post back with any further questions.

Ramona

 

This is great news and also very thorough information. Thank you so much, Ramona. I understand the concepts and will start doing. Yes, I will first migrate from Mozilla to Thunderbird, then test out the Palm Tungsten. I noticed the specific link on that also.

How would I go about migrating from Netscape 4.76 to Thunderbird? I looked but didn't see any specific scenario to doing that? A year or so, I went from NS 4.7x to NS 7.X which seems like it went ok but don't remember specifics. I wondered if one can go directly from NS 4.76 to Thunderbird?
Thanks much,
Ken

 

Ken, the choice to migrate from Communicator will be included in the options only on the first install. If you decide to import the Communicator Mail at a later date:

Open Thunderbird
Click on Tools | Import
Select: "Mail "
Highlight: "Communicator 4.x "
Choose the Profile from which you wish to import the Mail

The Communicator 4.x Mail will be imported into the "Local Folders" folder. It will not overwrite the existing Mail.

BTW, if you elect to migrate your Mozilla Profile when you install Thunderbird, then your Profile will be named the same, with an *.slt extension. If you create a new Profile in Thunderbird, you will then see the difference in the naming of the salted file, which I referenced earlier.

Let us know if you have more questions.

Ramona

 

Ken,

After reading my rather lengthy replies, I realized you didn't ask how the clock was made, only what time it was.... Boy, did I ever get carried away!

Ramona

 

That was good. I appreciate clarity and the detail. I will let you know how it goes.
Ken

 

Hi Ramona,
After reviewing what you had wrote and backing up my system, I decided that I would install Thunderbird and migrate from Mozilla 1.7.3 as I installed. It seemed to work flawlessly. My addresses including group lists came thru completely the best that I can tell. It appears that maintenance of group lists has improved in Thunderbird over Mozilla - sometimes in Mozilla, when I updated a list, it didn't show it until I closed the address book and then openned it again.

Questions:
1. I was unable to set any Junk Controls (Tools | Junk Controls). I make check marks and cannot click OK. I can click cancel but then my check marks are not accepted. Any suggestions?

I put this into Bugzilla but then I wasn't certain if that was the right place for me to do that and I knew I could get an answer here.

2. I thought there was a specific link that you gave me referring to Palm and a certain file that I might need. Now I can't seem to find it. I have not tested Palm Tungsten yet on my PC. Or did I find this in one of my other searches?

Thanks,
Ken

 

Ken,

Good going on your install of Thunderbird. It's really a snap when it migrates an existing Profile.

I did find the Bug that where you entered your comment: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=223452

You will receive emails when additional comments are added. Since it's a bug, and no workaround offered, if you can, then I would mark the Junk mail manually, and your "not junk" mail manually. By also marking the mail that isn't junk, you will train the filter much faster. By manually I mean right click, and select "Mark" from the context menu, or if it's junk, then just mark the small icon in the junk status column in the Mail Header section.

I believe the only links I gave you are listed in this thread...

Ramona