Convert AOL from Windows to the Mac

Copy your Windows Filing Cabinet to Mac Mail and Safari

This page gives step by step instructions on how to use ePreserver to transfer your AOL address book, email and favorites to a Mac. All you need is a USB thumb drive so you can copy the files from your Windows computer to your Mac.

1. Run ePreserver on your Windows computer

Run ePreserver on your Windows computer and convert to Mac Mail. Use a USB thumb drive as your destination.

2. Plug in the drive on the Mac

Plug the thumb drive into your Mac. When you first plug in the thumb drive, you'll see it appear on your desktop, probably labeled NO NAME:

If you open the drive by double clicking it, you'll see a link to this page and a folder named with your screen name. For example:

3. Import your Favorite Places

Start Safari by double clicking the compass at the bottom of the screen.

Select "Import Bookmarks..." from the File menu:

Select the file named "Favorites.htm" in the screen name folder and click Import.

When the import is finished (it only takes a moment), all of your AOL favorites will appear in Safari, including your folders:

4. Import your contacts

The steps for importing contacts are almost identical to the steps for Safari, except that you'll import to your Mac address book. Start by double clicking the icon on the bottom of the screen for the Mac address book:

After the Address Book opens, go to the File menu, select Import, and choose vCards:

Select the file named "Contacts.vcf" in the screen name folder and click Open.

You'll see a message that the import was successful:

Click OK and you'll see the contacts that were imported. If you already had contacts in the address book, you can click on Last Import (on the left) to see only the contacts that were imported: 

5. Import your messages

To import the messages into Mac Mail, start by double clicking the icon on the bottom of the screen for Mac Mail:

The first time Mac Mail opens, you will need to set up an email account. Please contact your ISP for directions.

To import your messages, go to the File menu and choose Import Mailboxes:

You'll be asked what to import. Choose "Other". On Mac OS X "Leopard," you should choose "mbox" instead.

Choose the Messages folder in the screen name folder and click Choose.

You'll be asked which folder to import. Usually you want all of them, so just click Continue:

Mac Mail can take a long time to import the messages, but you'll see a progress indicator as it works.

When the import is complete, you'll see a screen that looks like the one below. The folder labeled "Import" contains all of your AOL folders. To see a list of messages, just click one of the folders, such as "Inbox" or "Mail You've Sent."

6. You are done!