MboxReader Pro Documentation

1. Getting Started

System Requirements

• Operating System: Windows 10 version 19041.0 or higher
• Framework: .NET 10.0 runtime (included in app)
• RAM: 4GB minimum, 8GB recommended for large files
• Storage: ~2x the size of your MBOX files

Installation

1. Open the Microsoft Store app on your Windows device
2. Search for "MboxReader Pro"
3. Click Install or Get to download the application
4. Once installed, launch the app from your Start menu
5. Accept the license agreement on first launch

2. Exporting MBOX Files

From Gmail (Google Takeout)

1. Go to takeout.google.com
2. Click "Deselect all" to clear all services
3. Scroll down and select only "Mail"
4. Click "Next step"
5. Choose export frequency: "Export once"
6. Choose file type: ".zip" (default)
7. Click "Create export"
8. Wait for the export to complete (you'll receive an email)
9. Download the ZIP file
10. Extract the ZIP file to find your .mbox file

From Mozilla Thunderbird

1. Install the "ImportExportTools NG" add-on from Thunderbird Add-ons
2. Right-click the folder you want to export
3. Select ImportExportTools NG → Export folder → MBOX format
4. Choose a location to save the .mbox file
5. Click "Select Folder" to export

From Apple Mail

1. Open Apple Mail
2. Select File → Export Mailbox
3. Choose the mailbox you want to export
4. Select a destination folder
5. Click "Choose" to export as .mbox

From Outlook

Outlook doesn't natively support MBOX export. You'll need to:

1. Export to PST format (File → Open & Export → Import/Export)
2. Use a PST to MBOX converter tool
3. Or forward your Outlook emails to Gmail and export from there

3. Loading MBOX Files

Step 1: Open the File Selector

• Click the "Load MBOX File" button in the left sidebar

Step 2: Select Your MBOX File

• Navigate to the location of your .mbox file
• Select the file and click "Open"

Step 3: Wait for Indexing

MboxReader Pro uses a two-phase indexing system:

Phase 1: Header Scanning (Fast)

• Scans email headers (From, To, Subject, Date)
• Takes 2-5 minutes for a 1GB file with 10,000 emails
• Emails appear in the list immediately after Phase 1

Phase 2: Full-Text Indexing (Background)

• Reads email bodies and builds search index
• Takes 5-15 minutes for a 1GB file
• Runs in the background - you can use the app while it runs
• Progress shown in the status bar

Loading Multiple Files

You can load multiple MBOX files. Each file's emails will be added to the database. Use the file list panel to manage loaded files.

4. Viewing Emails

Email List View

• Sender: Name and email address
• Subject: Email subject line
• Date: When the email was sent
• Attachment Icon: If the email has attachments

Opening an Email

• Click any email in the list

5. Searching Emails

Basic Search

1. Type your search term in the search box at the top
2. Press Enter or click the search button
3. Results appear instantly (after Phase 2 indexing)

What Can You Search?

• Email subjects
• Sender names and addresses
• Email body content
• Recipient names and addresses

6. Filtering & Sorting

Click the "Filters" button to access:

By Sender

• Type a sender name or email address
• Partial matches work (e.g., "john" finds "[email protected]")

By Date Range

• Set a start date, end date, or both
• Only emails within the range are shown

By Attachments

• Filter to show only emails with attachments
• Or show only emails without attachments

Sorting Options

• Date: Newest or oldest first
• Sender: Alphabetically by sender name
• Subject: Alphabetically by subject

Combining Filters

You can combine multiple filters. For example:

• Sender: "[email protected]"
• Date Range: January 2023 - December 2023
• Has Attachments: Yes

Clearing Filters

Click "Clear Filters" to remove all active filters and show all emails again.

7. Analytics Features

Click the "Analytics" tab to access powerful email insights.

Dashboard

Overview of your email statistics:

• Total Emails: Count of all indexed emails
• Unique Contacts: Number of different senders
• Total Storage: Size of all attachments
• Email Volume Chart: Last 12 months of activity
• Top Contacts: Most frequent correspondents
• File Type Distribution: Attachment breakdown

Time Analysis

Discover patterns in your email history:

• Emails by Year: Bar chart showing yearly volume
• Emails by Month: Which months are busiest
• Emails by Day of Week: Monday through Sunday patterns
• Emails by Hour: What time of day you receive most emails
• Activity Timeline: Last 24 months visualized

Contact Insights

Analyze your communication patterns:

• Top Contacts Table: Ranked list of frequent senders
• Search Contacts: Find specific correspondents
• Contact Tiers: VIP, Frequent, Regular, Occasional
• Distribution Chart: Email frequency breakdown

Storage Analysis

Understand your email storage:

• Total Storage: Size of all attachments
• File Type Breakdown: Images, PDFs, Documents, etc.
• Largest Files: Top 5 largest attachment types
• Visual Donut Chart: Interactive storage visualization

8. Managing Attachments

Viewing Attachments

To see attachments for an email:

1. Open the email in the viewer
2. Scroll to the "Attachments" section at the bottom
3. Each attachment shows its filename, type, and size

Downloading Attachments

1. Click the "Download" button next to the attachment
2. Choose where to save the file
3. Click "Save"

Image Attachments

• Click "View" to open in the image viewer
• Zoom in/out and pan around large images
• View image properties (dimensions, size)

Batch Download

To download all attachments from an email:

1. Click "Download All Attachments"
2. Choose a folder to save all files
3. All attachments are saved with their original filenames

Attachments Page

View all attachments across all emails:

1. Go to Analytics → Storage
2. See breakdown by file type
3. Identify largest files
4. Understand storage usage patterns

9. Conversation Threading

What is Threading?

Conversation threading groups related emails together based on:

• Subject line normalization (removes "Re:", "Fwd:", etc.)
• Message-ID and In-Reply-To headers
• References header chain

Viewing Threaded Conversations

1. Enable "Threaded View" toggle in the toolbar
2. Emails are grouped into conversation threads
3. Click a thread to expand and see all messages
4. Navigate through the conversation chronologically

Thread Features

• Thread Count: Shows number of messages in thread
• Participants: All senders/recipients in the conversation
• Date Range: First and last message dates
• Tree View: Hierarchical display of replies

Benefits of Threading

• See complete context of conversations
• Track long email chains easily
• Understand discussion flow
• Reduce clutter in inbox view

10. Export & Print

Printing Emails

To print an email:

1. Open the email in the viewer
2. Click the "Print" button
3. Choose your printer or "Save as PDF"
4. Adjust print settings (margins, orientation)
5. Click "Print"

Exporting as EML

To save an email as .EML format:

1. Open the email
2. Click "Export → Save as EML"
3. Choose destination folder
4. Click "Save"

EML files can be opened in Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple Mail, and other email clients.

Batch Export

1. Select emails in the list (Ctrl+Click for multiple)
2. Right-click and choose "Export Selected"
3. Choose destination folder
4. All selected emails are saved as individual EML files

Print to PDF

1. Click "Print"
2. Select "Microsoft Print to PDF" as the printer
3. Choose where to save the PDF
4. Click "Print" to save

11. Troubleshooting

Indexing Stuck or Slow

Problem: Indexing takes forever or appears stuck

Solutions:

• Check your disk space - you need ~2x the MBOX file size
• Close other applications to free up RAM
• Wait patiently - large files can take 30+ minutes
• Check the status bar for progress percentage

Search Not Working

Problem: Search returns no results

Solutions:

• Ensure Phase 2 indexing has completed
• Check the status bar - it should say "Ready" or "Indexing complete"
• Try simpler search terms
• Clear filters that might be hiding results

Emails Not Loading

Problem: Email list is empty after loading MBOX

Solutions:

• Verify the MBOX file is valid (try opening in another app)
• Check that the file isn't corrupted
• Look for errors in the status bar
• Try loading a smaller test MBOX file

Corrupted Database

Problem: App crashes or shows database errors

Solutions:

1. Close the application
2. Navigate to %LOCALAPPDATA%\MboxReaderPro\
3. Delete mboxreader.db3 (backup first if needed)
4. Restart the app - it will create a new database
5. Reload your MBOX files

Performance Issues

Problem: App is slow or unresponsive

Solutions:

• Close other applications
• Ensure you have at least 4GB of available RAM
• Consider splitting large MBOX files into smaller chunks
• Run database maintenance: Tools → Optimize Database

Can't Find Data Folder

Problem: Can't locate the application data folder

Solution:

1. Press Win + R
2. Type: %LOCALAPPDATA%\MboxReaderPro
3. Press Enter

12. Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is my data safe?

A: Yes. All data is processed locally on your device. Nothing is uploaded to servers or shared with third parties. See our Privacy Policy for details.

Q: Can I edit or reply to emails?

A: No. MboxReader Pro is a read-only viewer. MBOX files are archives, not live mailboxes. To reply, you'll need to use your email client.

Q: How large of an MBOX file can it handle?

A: MboxReader Pro can handle MBOX files of several gigabytes with hundreds of thousands of emails. Performance depends on your system's RAM and disk speed.

Q: Will it work with Gmail, Outlook, Thunderbird?

A: Yes. MboxReader Pro supports standard MBOX format, which is exported by:

• Gmail (via Google Takeout)
• Mozilla Thunderbird (with ImportExportTools NG)
• Apple Mail (built-in export)
• And most other email clients

Q: Does it preserve folder structure?

A: No. MBOX format doesn't support folder hierarchies. All emails are imported into a flat list. Use search and filters to organize.

Q: Can I load multiple MBOX files?

A: Yes. You can load as many MBOX files as you want. All emails are combined into a single searchable database.

Q: What happens to duplicate emails?

A: Each email is stored separately, even if it appears in multiple MBOX files. The app doesn't deduplicate automatically.

Q: Can I export my indexed data?

A: You can export individual emails as EML files. To export all data, copy the database from %LOCALAPPDATA%\MboxReaderPro\.

Q: Is it free?

A: MboxReader Pro is commercial software. Check the website or Microsoft store listing for current pricing.

Q: Can I use it offline?

A: Yes. MboxReader Pro works completely offline. No internet connection required.

Q: How do I uninstall?

A: To fully remove MboxReader Pro:

1. Delete the application folder
2. Delete %LOCALAPPDATA%\MboxReaderPro\ to remove all data