Resolved Apple Mail - emlx files. My head's done in!!!

[dazzer21-2]

Emails have been accidentally binned from the wrong account. The bin was emptied and both my Mac and the provider's servers no longer hold them. I don't use iCloud. Using Time Machine, however, I have been able to update the 'INBOX.mbox' from a previous state, so they are now all sitting where they used to be in the Finder. However, they are not showing in Mail. A new folder in the Mail app was automatically created, though, called 'Recovered Messages (account name)' under the 'On My Mac' section in the sidebar, but only a few of the originals have made it in there (about 20 of 5,000 or so - yes I do have the need for that many...). How can I get the emails back into the Mail app? In the Finder, inside the 'Data' folder are folders numbered 0-9, each containing more numbered folders, with each of those containing an 'Attachments' and 'Messages' folder. 'Messages' contains a load of .emlx files, 'Attachments' contains the attachments for those messages in their native file formats, but inside more numbered folders. I've seen all manner of resolutions on various forums, but I can't find anything that either works or is detailed enough to make head or tail of. Hopefully someone here can help using instructions like I'm a 5 year old!!! Many thanks in advance...

 

[gilby101]

In Finder locate the Mail folder in a Time Machine backup. Something like /Volumes/<TM disk>/<date time>.backup/Macintosh HD/Users/<username>/Library/Mail/V10. (Obviously choose a date-time from before you deleted messages.) This has folders inside - one for each mail service. Copy (drag and drop) the whole Mail folder to a temporary folder somewhere on your disk - e.g. ~/Temp

In Mail, using menu: File > Import Mailboxes. Choose Apple Mail format and Continue. Select all or just one mailbox from the temporary folder and import them. All the messages under that folder should now appear in 'On My Mac' in an 'Import' folder. You might want to start with a small mailbox below the numbered folders.

Assuming all goes well you can move messages into your normal tree of folders for your mail provider.

 

[dazzer21-2]

In Finder locate the Mail folder in a Time Machine backup. Something like /Volumes/<TM disk>/<date time>.backup/Macintosh HD/Users/<username>/Library/Mail/V10. (Obviously choose a date-time from before you deleted messages.) This has folders inside - one for each mail service. Copy (drag and drop) the whole Mail folder to a temporary folder somewhere on your disk - e.g. ~/Temp

In Mail, using menu: File > Import Mailboxes. Choose Apple Mail format and Continue. Select all or just one mailbox from the temporary folder and import them. All the messages under that folder should now appear in 'On My Mac' in an 'Import' folder. You might want to start with a small mailbox below the numbered folders.

Assuming all goes well you can move messages into your normal tree of folders for your mail provider.

Brilliant - that worked. Thanks so much! 👍