Can I extract attachments from EML and EMLX files when the original email client is not available?

I have email backups in both EML and EMLX formats from Thunderbird and Apple Mail, but those email clients are not installed on my current Windows system. The files contain important attachments, and I need to save those documents separately without setting up the old mail apps again.

 

Old EML and EMLX backups can still be used even if Thunderbird or Apple Mail is not installed anymore. Reinstalling those mail apps just to save attachments is usually extra work, especially when you only need PDFs, office files, images or ZIP documents.

Keep one untouched copy of the backup first. Then place the EML/EMLX files in a source folder and save the extracted attachments into a separate output folder.

I would use a local Windows extractor instead of importing the whole backup again. Softaken EML Attachment Extractor is one offline option you can check because it reads EML and EMLX files directly and saves common attachments without needing the old email client.

Run it on a small folder first. Open a few saved files and check their names, size, and format before processing the full backup.