Is there a 'view only' feature in Quicken?

jjgainor

Having an ability to view but not change data would allow me to access and view a friend's account while ensuring that I can't change anything.

Greg_the_Geek

The only way I can think of is if your friend had screen sharing software similar to what Quicken Customer Support uses.

Greg_the_Geek

The only way I can think of is if your friend had screen sharing software similar to what Quicken Customer Support uses.

volvogirl

Do you have Quicken?  If he gives you a copy of his file you won't be touching his actual file.

Rocket J Squirrel

Yes, there is a way. File > Set password to modify transactions.

Have your friend set a transaction password with the date of the last transaction (or the end of the year, whatever).

jjgainor

To Rocket: If he sets a pw for today, e.g., and sends me a copy of his Quicken file, wouldn't I need his Quicken file password to open his file? And if I had that, couldn't I start creating new transactions after today from his accounts?

Rocket J Squirrel

The password to open the file is different from the password to modify transactions. He can give you the former (if there is one) and not the latter and it will work.

He can also set a date in the far future to prevent you from creating new transactions.

Why are you so worried about this? He's giving you a copy of his file, right? His own original file will remain unaffected by anything you do to the copy.

UKR

The data file password is the key to be able to open the Quicken data file at all.

The transaction password is independent of that and prevents changing of individual transactions.

You will get transaction password prompts when Quicken opens the file and tries to update / record scheduled reminders ... press the Esc key to continue. Ditto for any changes you inadvertently might make while working in the file. Again, press Esc to continue without recording the change.

> And if I had that, couldn't I start creating new transactions after today from his accounts?

In that case, your friend should set a date way in the future (e.g., 12/31/2040 or so) while securing the file copy with a transaction password.

And then again ... you're working in a copy of the file. Any change made to the file won't reflect in your friend's data file, because you can't merge the copy back into the original file. So, do you really need file protection? All you really need to worry about is that your friend's file is secure from spying eyes while in your possession.

volvogirl

If he sends you a copy of his file I recommend you do NOT send it back to him.  He will get confused and may use the wrong file going forward.  If he wants you to view it he should send you a new copy of his original file each time.