This article explains how to find and open all of your saved Mail email files in all versions of Apple OS X Mail.

The location of your saved Mail messages isn’t immediately obvious. They’re buried in a folder in the Library, and the archive uses an .mbox file extension. Because there may be times when you want to copy your email to another computer, or even back up saved messages, here’s how to find and access all of your saved Mail email files.

These instructions apply to OS X Mail version 2 and later.

Open a new Finder window or click on your Mac desktop.