Thinking ahead=Mozilla->FF + TB

I now have Mozilla on one computer and am wondering how to switch to FF and Thunderbird(TB) if it would become necessary. I know nothing about Thunderbird, but if Mozilla were deleted, keeping the user profile intact, and then installed FF & TB, would TB find my profile and all my mail folders---so I could just continue with my POP mail as if nothing ever happened? Can you keep both programs opened at one time?

 

Firstly I wouldn't worry about the imminent demise of Sea Monkey (Moz suite), I read one of the developers blogs and they (allegedly) are going to bust a gut to release 1.8 final before continuing with maintenance only. It will be quite some time before you even need to think about doing anything drastic.

You can download Firefox 1.0.1 and Thunderbird 1.0 from relevant links and install.

I'm running the Moz suite, Firefox and Thunderbird on the same pc and have never encountered any issues. I'm not sure whether it would be possible to transfer your profile from TB to the Moz Mail, I'm certain you shouldn't try to overwrite a Moz profile with a FF one 'cos that has only the FF browser data and perhaps it may not work anyway. Why not download TB & FF and break them in gently?! This will not affect the Moz suite.

 

ackerberg,

This Thunderbird FAQ: answers almost all your questions:

Migrate automatically when launching Thunderbird for the first time

When you install and launch Thunderbird for the very first time, the Import Wizard will ask if you want to import settings and mail from various mail clients, including Mozilla and Netscape. If you select one of these, it will automatically import your entire profile so that it is ready to use when Thunderbird starts up.

At present, this option is only available the very first time you launch Thunderbird on your computer. If you choose not to import anything via the Import Wizard at this point, Thunderbird will automatically create a blank, default profile for you, and once you have at least one profile, Thunderbird will no longer prompt you at start up if you want to import mail and settings from another mail client.

If you "missed your chance" to import your profile via the Import Wizard and you would like to do so later, you can bring up the Import Wizard again by exiting Thunderbird, using the Profile Manager to delete all of the profiles listed, exiting the Profile Manager, and then launching Thunderbird again. (If that fails to bring up the Import Wizard, then exit Thunderbird again, delete all profiles again, then delete the files called profiles.ini and registry.dat, which are stored a directory or two "up" from your profile folder.) This method is recommended only if you have been using Thunderbird for a very short time and you don't mind losing your account settings (if you've already set up one or more acccounts) and access to any messages you've already downloaded.
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You can leave both Firefox and Mozilla open at the same time, but it isn't recommended to use two Mail clients at the same time.

There is certainly no rush, but I think Keithy has the right idea about using FF and TB and see how you like them. Get accustomed to the new Options at a slow pace. You can afford to do some experimenting, if keeping Mozilla as the default browser. Just keep doing backups, and you will have no worries!

Ramona