Import Lotus Notes NSF to Mac Mail
Lotus Notes stores its database in Notes Storage Format (NSF) file. For every Lotus Notes account, there exist two NSF files- username.nsf file, which stores emails, calendars, tasks, etc. and names.nsf file, which stores only the Notes contacts. Since NSF is the proprietary database format of Lotus Notes, no other application supports it. Thus, NSF files are inaccessible in Apple Mail.
On the other hand, we have Mac Mail. Apple Mail or Mac Mail is an email client that is included in the OS X operating system and is very common among Mac users. It stores its entire database in MBOX file and supports importing of data in MBOX format only. No other file format is accessible in Mail.
We have talked about both Lotus Notes and Apple Mail because the whole write up revolves around the method by which the user can import NSF to Mac Mail. We will discuss the necessity, the challenges faced, and the solution by which this can be done.
Scenarios of Converting NSF to Mac Mail Format
Since Lotus Notes is a complete application suite, its use is limited to corporate environments only. At times, an employee working with Lotus Notes might require taking some data to continue working at his home machine (Mac). For doing so, the user will need to copy the NSF file that is stored on the Windows machine he is using to the Mac machine of his home. However, as discussed earlier Lotus Notes is mostly used in organizations, the chance of the same employee having Lotus Notes in his home machine is next to impossible. Therefore, the user will opt for continuing the work in Apple Mail.
Lotus Notes user can download free Lotus Notes to MBOX Converter tool for quick conversion of NSF files.
Challenges in Importing NSF to Apple Mail
The biggest challenge that a user faces during the importing of NSF file to Mac Mail is the inability of NSF files to be supported in Mac Mail. Since NSF file is created by Lotus Notes and is its proprietary file format, it is not accessible in any other application. On top of this, Mac Mail itself supports MBOX file format. Therefore, directly accessing or importing NSF files in Mac Mail is not possible.
The next challenge that comes up is that there exists no manual method, by which the user can convert the NSF files to MBOX format so that it can be accessed in Mac Mail.
Solution to Import NSF to Mac Mail
Since, NSF is not supported in any other email client except Lotus Notes and Mac Mail itself only supports MBOX file format, the only solution for doing so is to convert NSF file to MBOX format.
The user can convert NSF to MBOX format with the help of third party tools like NSF to MBOX Converter. The software converts the entire NSF file into MBOX format without compromising with the original file structure and without any data loss. Since it’s a Windows based utility, the conversion process should be done in the Windows machine only and not on Mac machine.
Once the NSF file is converted to MBOX format, it can be later on imported in Apple Mail. For doing so, follow the below-mentioned steps:
1) Log in Mail and select File option. From the drop-down menu, select Import Mailboxes option.
Import Mailbxoes
2) In the Import window, select files in mbox format option and click on Continue.
Import files in MBOX format
3) Browse the MBOX file, which you want to import, select it and click on Choose option.
Choose MBOX file
4) Once the import process is finished, the location of the imported MBOX file will be shown. Click on Done option.
Import Done
Once the MBOX file is imported, the user can view the entire data in Apple Mail.
Conclusion
The NSF file can be converted to MBOX format with the help of third party tool and can be later on easily imported in Apple Mail.