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Message Filter List Import

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  Message Filter List Import jaugustine@verizon.net - 2026-06-28 11:30 -0400
    Re: Message Filter List Import Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2026-06-28 16:49 +0100
    Re: Message Filter List Import "s|b" <me@privacy.invalid> - 2026-06-28 17:57 +0200
    Re: Message Filter List Import "Mr. Man-wai Chang" <toylet.toylet@gmail.com> - 2026-06-29 00:44 +0800
      Re: Message Filter List Import jaugustine@verizon.net - 2026-06-30 12:03 -0400
    Re: Message Filter List Import "John C." <r9jmg0@yahoo.com> - 2026-07-01 06:41 -0700
      Re: Message Filter List Import Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2026-07-01 10:30 -0400
      Re: Message Filter List Import sticks <wolverine01@charter.net> - 2026-07-01 09:37 -0500
      Re: Message Filter List Import Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2026-07-01 17:39 +0100

#21152 — Message Filter List Import

Hi,

     If I install Thunderbird on another PC, can I Import the Message Filter
list from an Exported profile Zip file I created on my other PC?

    Thank you in advance, John

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#21153

jaugustine@verizon.net wrote:

>       If I install Thunderbird on another PC, can I Import the Message Filter
> list from an Exported profile Zip file I created on my other PC?
There's no import function as such, but if you close thunderbird, and 
copy the text file, "msgFilterRules.dat "there's one per account, e.g.

C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\XXXXX.default-release\ImapMail\ACCOUNTNAME\msgFilterRules.dat

you will have "Mail" or "News" for POP3 and NNTP accounts, rather than 
"ImapMail" which is for IMAP4.

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#21154

On Sun, 28 Jun 2026 11:30:37 -0400, jaugustine@verizon.net wrote:

>      If I install Thunderbird on another PC, can I Import the Message Filter
> list from an Exported profile Zip file I created on my other PC?

You can make a backup of the existing Profile folder and restore it on
another PC and everything will be as it was.

-- 
s|b

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#21155

On 6/28/2026 11:30 PM, jaugustine@verizon.net wrote:
> Hi,
> 
>       If I install Thunderbird on another PC, 
> can I Import the Message Filter list from an 
>Exported profile Zip file I created on my other PC?
You sure that the profile.zip was not altered
after you shelfed it for years?

Also, shouldn't you clear your filters to see
the world again? What are you afraid of?

Text that reminds you of real magical seals?
:)

-- 

    @~@   Simplicity is Beauty! Remain silent! Drink, Blink, Stretch!
   / v \  May the Force and farces be with you! Live long and prosper!!
  /( _ )\ https://sites.google.com/site/changmw/
    ^ ^   https://github.com/changmw/changmw
          The game is afoot... Meow...

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#21177

On Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:44:19 +0800, "Mr. Man-wai Chang"
<toylet.toylet@gmail.com> wrote:

>On 6/28/2026 11:30 PM, jaugustine@verizon.net wrote:
>> Hi,
>> 
>>       If I install Thunderbird on another PC, 
>> can I Import the Message Filter list from an 
>>Exported profile Zip file I created on my other PC?
>You sure that the profile.zip was not altered
>after you shelfed it for years?
>
>Also, shouldn't you clear your filters to see
>the world again? What are you afraid of?
>
>Text that reminds you of real magical seals?
>:)
Hi,
      I left out a very important detail in my original post.
I use TB only for email.  Note: I use Agent for NGs

     I use Message Filter to delete spam emails by
setting "From" (what's in the "From" slot) and the name
of the emails source.

    It works VERY WELL.

      John

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#21185

jaugustine@verizon.net wrote:
> Hi,
> 
>      If I install Thunderbird on another PC, can I Import the Message Filter
> list from an Exported profile Zip file I created on my other PC?
> 
>     Thank you in advance, John

Coincidence: I just went through this issue this morning, because I
created a new newsfeed account (Solani) as a backup for when
Eternal-September servers fail. So if you're talking about filters for
Usenet newsgroups, I can tell you that they are stored here:

"C:\Users\(Windows user account
name)\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\(Thunderbird profile
name)\News\(usenet account server name)"

Contrary to popular belief, filter rules are NOT stored in the
msgFilterRules.dat file. Instead, they are stored in the .dat files for
each newsgroup that you're subscribed to in that newsfeed. For example,
the filter rules for this newsgroup are in:

"C:\Users\(Windows user account
name)\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\(Thunderbird profile
name)\News\(usenet account server name)\alt.comp.software.thunderbird.dat"

If you don't believe me, close TB and open that file in a text editor.


What I did this morning was to copy those .dat files (four of them, one
for each newsgroup that I'm subscribed to) from my
news.eternal-september.org folder to my news.solani.org. Then I
restarted TB and *VOILA* there were the rules in my Solani account. I
even tried the filters and yes, they worked.

I see no reason why this technique shouldn't work for you as long as you
copy the correct files.


-- 
John C. I filter crossposts, various trolls & dizum.com. Doing this
makes this newsgroup easier to read & more on-topic. Take back the tech
companies from India & industry from China.

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#21186

On Wed, 7/1/2026 9:41 AM, John C. wrote:
> jaugustine@verizon.net wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>>      If I install Thunderbird on another PC, can I Import the Message Filter
>> list from an Exported profile Zip file I created on my other PC?
>>
>>     Thank you in advance, John
> 
> Coincidence: I just went through this issue this morning, because I
> created a new newsfeed account (Solani) as a backup for when
> Eternal-September servers fail. So if you're talking about filters for
> Usenet newsgroups, I can tell you that they are stored here:
> 
> "C:\Users\(Windows user account
> name)\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\(Thunderbird profile
> name)\News\(usenet account server name)"
> 
> Contrary to popular belief, filter rules are NOT stored in the
> msgFilterRules.dat file. Instead, they are stored in the .dat files for
> each newsgroup that you're subscribed to in that newsfeed. For example,
> the filter rules for this newsgroup are in:
> 
> "C:\Users\(Windows user account
> name)\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\(Thunderbird profile
> name)\News\(usenet account server name)\alt.comp.software.thunderbird.dat"
> 
> If you don't believe me, close TB and open that file in a text editor.
> 
> 
> What I did this morning was to copy those .dat files (four of them, one
> for each newsgroup that I'm subscribed to) from my
> news.eternal-september.org folder to my news.solani.org. Then I
> restarted TB and *VOILA* there were the rules in my Solani account. I
> even tried the filters and yes, they worked.
> 
> I see no reason why this technique shouldn't work for you as long as you
> copy the correct files.
> 
> 

It's possible the filter files have "scope".

A file at the newsgroup level, affects one newsgroup.

A file at the news server level, affects all newsgroups under it.

A file at the profile level, affects all servers/newsgroups under it.

You would expect the file extension to be .dat , but have
a look around. The "empty" files of that genera, tended
to be 27 bytes long.

The trick then, is for you to examine the filter design dialog and
see what options it has for defining the scope. Whether the dialog
only allows individual newsgroups, or it has other entries
(like the server names) in it.

We can make up one. On the AIOE server, I find a lot of annoying
posts from ServerName1 and ServerName2. By using a filter at
server scope, all the newsgroups on the AIOE server, have the
servername1 and servername2 items removed.

News\nntp.aioe.org
   msgFilterRules.dat

version="9"
logging="yes"
                                                     <=== (added for legibility here)
name="ServerName1.org"
enabled="no"                                              (filter was switched off, by me)
type="20"
action="Delete"
condition="AND (\"path\",contains,servername1.org)"
                                                      <=== (added for legibility here)
name="ServerName2.org"
enabled="no"                                               (filter was switched off, by me)
type="20"
action="Delete"
condition="AND (\"path\",contains,servername2.org)"

That's not a good filter, but I took a look and
that's about the only "live" sample I could find
of a server-level filter. This would be considered
a "demo" filter, for testing at one time.

I also had a filter defined, when a bridged BBS went
nuts and started looping posts into USENET, and so I
had to remove that garbage for a few days, until the
bridge operator pulled the plug for good.

That's an example of how a user might have set something
like that up. AIOE actually had some path preload agreements
with certain "sewer" servers, and you didn't even need to be
filtering them with your own filter. AIOE set this up, a few months
before "something happened" to the AIOE server. It was "blamed on
a RAID issue", but I don't think that is what really happened.

   Paul

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#21187

On 7/1/2026 8:41 AM, John C. wrote:

> Contrary to popular belief, filter rules are NOT stored in the
> msgFilterRules.dat file. Instead, they are stored in the .dat files for
> each newsgroup that you're subscribed to in that newsfeed. For example,
> the filter rules for this newsgroup are in:
> 
> "C:\Users\(Windows user account
> name)\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\(Thunderbird profile
> name)\News\(usenet account server name)\alt.comp.software.thunderbird.dat"
Though the second part of your post is right, the first part is wrong.

When you get an account with a usenet provider, you then add groups to 
participate in.  This creates the 2 levels of possible filters.  You can 
create filters for individual groups like you do, and those rules will 
be in the .dat files with the appropriately named group.

msgFilterRules.dat will contain the rules you create across the entirety 
of ALL the groups you subscribe to.  Any rule defined in here will be 
run on any and all the groups you subscribe to first.  Next, the 
individual group filters run.

You can also do both, as I do.  There are some people or topics you 
never want to see, so I  make those rules under the service provider.  I 
also have individual group filters for varying reasons and those help to 
make things more readable.  One, for example, is to either mark as read 
or delete something if it is crossposted in a certain group.  I only 
want to see it once and this helps with the Birds inability to mark as 
read the same post in multiple groups.

carry on....


-- 
Science Doesn’t Support Darwin. Scientists Do

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#21191

John C. wrote:

> Contrary to popular belief, filter rules are NOT stored in the
> msgFilterRules.dat file. Instead, they are stored in the .dat files for
> each newsgroup that you're subscribed to in that newsfeed. For example,
> the filter rules for this newsgroup are in:
> 
> "C:\Users\(Windows user account
> name)\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\(Thunderbird profile
> name)\News\(usenet account server name)\alt.comp.software.thunderbird.dat"
> 
> If you don't believe me, close TB and open that file in a text editor.

As it happens, I create my message rules so that they apply to the 
entire usenet server, rather than to individual groups on that server, 
so thunderbird *definitely* stores my filters in

"C:\Users\Andy.Burns\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\xxxxxxxx.default-release\News\news.individual.net\msgFilterRules.dat"

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