I’m currently researching backup and restore features on the free eM client, but I have successfully backed up but cannot restore. When restoring, the data will only display for a period of time and then will disappear if I perform a software refresh or restart. How do I restore data? I’m configuring with the IMAP protocol.
Restored data is only useful when it is in Local Folders, and settings like templates, signatures etc.
If you restore online data like IMAP or Exchange folders, as soon as the restore is complete, the database will resync with the server and because with IMAP and Exchange the server is the primary message store, it always has priority over any data that is cached on your computer. This means that it will always replace what is on your computer with what is on the server. So because the data that is in the backup has since been deleted from the server, the server will attempt to delete it from eM Client as well after the restore is complete. That is why it disappears after a while.
But all is not lost.
If you want to restore data that was backed up from IMAP folders, you can disconnect from the Internet before you do the restore. Once the restore is complete, move the messages to Local Folders. If Local Folders are not visible, you can enable them in Menu > Tools > Settings > General > General.
Then reconnect to the Internet and wait for the sync with the server to complete. After that you can move the messages from Local Folders back to the IMAP folders.