The instructions for converting from Quicken 2017/Mac to the new Quicken are too vague.

NateS

The instructions for converting from Quicken 2017/Mac to the new Quicken are too vague.
1) You say look for your data File(s) from 2017 but you don't say where to look for them - is there a special folder?
2) You say move the Data Files from 2017 but you don't say where to move them?
3) You say open them in the new Quicken and they will get converted but you don't say what happens to the original 2017 data files - are they gone?
4) You say compare and check for missing entries but how can we compare if the old data files have been converted?
5) Instead of just moving them can we just make a copy for the new Quicken so we have files to compare?
6) You say look for missing entires but you don't describe a process to do that or a program to compare old and new with?
7) Without a compare program, how in the world are we supposed to go through ten-20 years of records to look for missing entries - this is preposterous! Didn't you create an automated compare program for us to use?
8) If we somehow find missing entries, what is the process for restoring them?

NateS

PS - I tried to first ask these questions in a support chat but it kept saying waiting for an agent and while waiting it froze up and said the connection was somehow lost.

NotACPA

What "new Quicken" are you talking about?

Because the install of a newer Q product should have found your older Q data file and automatically done any conversions necessary.

And, where are you getting these instructions?

NateS

1) It installed as "Quicken.app". 5.14.3

2) I'm getting these instructions from:
https://www.quicken.com/support/converting-your-data-quicken-mac
and from here:
https://www.quicken.com/support/how-do-i-download-quicken-quickencom-after-i-buy-it

3) In reply to your statement that "…the install of a newer Q product should have found your older Q data file and automatically done any conversions necessary." I would like to point out that the instructions I saw specifically say:
"Select your existing data file to get started."
And below is a screenshot from my newly installed Quicken/Mac which says:
"If you don't know how to find your file, follow these steps:
1) Open the older version of Quicken.
2) Choose the File > Move To... menu item.
3) Navigate to a folder where you wish to move your file (like your Desktop or Documents folder).
4) Click the "Move" button to move the file to that folder."

4) Perhaps you are not familiar with applications like "Document Compare" which software vendors can license and adapt to their conversion process, for the convenience of their customers, when selling updates?

jacobs

@NateS First, understand that this site is a user-to-user support forum, not Quicken Support.

In terms of "converting," if you've been using Quicken 2017, it's much more "upgrading" than "converting." Yes, there are differences in the database file format, and some differences in operation, but typically, you simply launch Quicken 2020 and it will make a copy of your Quicken 2017 data file, update it, and be up and running within a minute or two -- no user action required at all.

You do not need to move your data file unless you prefer to have it in an easier-to-access location than the Quicken default location. (To find the default location, if the Finder, hold down the Option key and select Library from the Go menu. Then navigate to Application Support > Quicken 2017 > Documents. This folder is the default location for Quicken 2017 data files. When you install Quicken 2020 and launch it, it will create a folder called simply "Quicken" (no year) in the same location.)

Also, the conversion to 2020 doesn't touch your Quicken 2017 data file at all; it makes a copy and proceeds form there. So you can, in fact, launch Quicken 2017 simultaneously with Quicken 2020 after you've converted your data file, making it easy to visually compare account balances between the two programs. (In theory, there should be no reason to compare the data because it should be the same, but there can sometimes be quirks in individual user's data that causes things like placeholder transactions which need to be addressed. And to answer your question, because Quicken holds its data in a complex SQL database, no simple 'document compare' function would be applicable here.)

So, to get back to the matter at hand here, did you launch Quicken 2020? Did it fail to find your existing data file (e.g. did it ask you to locate it)? Can you navigate the the default location as described above and find your Quicken 2017 data file?

NateS

Jacobs, Thank you for your efforts to assist me. Getting your detailed instructions was much kinder and more helpful than merely getting scolded. However, I am encountering problems. When you give me directions to find the 2017 data file, I am not clear on which datafile to select from within the
Application Support > Quicken 2017 > Documents folder.
Inside that folder is a file named: "Nathan's Finances 3.quicken2017" 67.1 MB. When I select that file from within Quicken 2020, it starts the apparent update process and then stops and produces this dialog box which says: "Quicken encountered an unexpected error. Please help fix this problem in a future version of Quicken by describing what you were doing when Quicken crashed."
I tried again with the same file and got the same error message.

So then I tried copying that datafile to my Mac's Documents folder and selected the copy from within Quicken 2020 but got the same error.

To sum up: "… did you launch Quicken 2020?" > Yes
"Did it fail to find your existing data file (e.g. did it ask you to locate it)? Yes
Can you navigate the the default location as described above and find your Quicken 2017 data file?"> Yes
But then Quicken returned the attached error message while converting.

I would be grateful for your further guidance and suggestions.

Nate

jacobs

My next question would be whether you can open that Quicken 2017 data file in Quicken 2017? Unless you manually deleted the Quicken 2017 application, it still exists in your Applications folder.

So I'd open your Applications folder and locate "Quicken 2017.app". In another Finder window, locate your data file. Drag the 2017 data file over the 2017 application, and Quicken 2017 should launch and open your data file. If it doesn't open, the data file is likely damaged and you'll need to locate a backup. Do you have a Time Machine backup? If not, you can look in the Backups folder just above the Documents folder (e.g. in User Library/Application Support/Quicken/Documents).

Always make a copy of any backup files before you try to open them, so you have an untouched versions of the backup in case you need to go back to it.

NateS

Jacobs, Thank you for your reply.
Yes, I have Quicken 2017.app and I can open my 2017 data file in my Quicken 2017 app without a problem. In fact, I have it open now.
Also, I have a Time Machine backup which is current and also have TM backups going back to November of 2018.
I also have a current clone of my entire internal disk and an earlier clone made about two weeks ago.
And I have BackBlaze continuous cloud backups of all of my data files.
(I am old school.)
What do you recommend that I try first?
Respectfully,
Nate

jacobs

@NateS  I'm not familiar with reports of Quicken 2020 failing to convert Quicken 2017 data files with the "Quicken encountered an unexpected error" message you reported, so I'm not certain what's at play. Just to try to narrow the variables, I'd say to try picking a couple of your backups to see which, if any, convert successfully.

So grab a copy of a Time Machine backup from fairly recently (say, last month), and another from perhaps 6 months ago. Launch Quicken 2020 holding down the shift key, so it launches without opening any file. When you land on the Let's Get Started screen, tell it you want to start from a Quicken 2015, 2016 or 2017 file. Then select one of those copies of backup files, let it perform its conversion, and see if it opens successfully. If you get one to work, you know to work forward in your backup history from there. If none of them work, then there's apparently something odd in your data file that's messing things up. There are still things that can be tried if that's the case -- in particular, exporting from Quicken 2017 in Quicken Windows format, and then importing that in Quicken 2020, but there are some things you'll lose if you do that, so do some other testing and cross that bridge later if you need to.

NateS

@Jacobs,
I haven't gone all the way through all 2 years of my TM Quicken 2017 datafile backups but I've tried enough of them to be discouraged and pessimistic, especially since, out of curiosity, I ironically had no trouble importing a Quicken export of my current 2017 file into a trial download of [removed] which had no trouble importing my Q2017 exported accounts data as far back as 2001!, which pretty much exhausted my efforts to do the perfect Quicken update.
I did try the "…exporting from Quicken 2017 in Quicken Windows format, and then importing that in Quicken 2020…" but once again Quicken choked on its own product.
So ironic that a competing product can read Quicken datafiles all the way back to 2001 when Quicken can't!
I then tried Quicken official support and spent about an hour on chat and to no avail. I finally asked if I could just forget Quicken 2020 and just transfer what I paid for it to a simple extension of my download privileges on Q2017 for another two years but QSupport said Q2017 will be dead in April.
He/she got touchy with me when I opined that:
"Maybe Quicken will come up with a fix for 2020 before then?" and retorted:
>>"AgentFeb 12, 2020, 2:44pm
>>"Quicken 2020 is not broken, it’s working perfectly in that procedure. >>Whenever we have those types of issues is related to the Quicken file, It’s not >>a software bug."
This seemed to me to totally contradict the Quicken dialog which asked me to report the error:
"Quicken encountered and unexpected error. Please help fix this problem in a future version of Quicken by describing what you were doing when Quicken crashed."
So I am thinking of just keeping my 2017 Quicken and its existing datafiles as a history reference and just starting fresh with Quicken 2020.
Unless, of course, you have another suggestion for me.
I do much appreciate all your suggestions and interest in my problem!

Respectfully,
Nate