how can I move individual Q. accounts to different/separate file locations? (Q Mac)

Ross41

After importing my accounts from Quicken 2017, I'm trying to place my various accounts where they logically belong in my filing hierarchy (as they used to be with Q.2017). I'm able to move any single one of the accounts as desired, but if I then (successfully) move a different account, the first one has disappeared from its designated location. How can I solve this?

John_in_NC

Hi, again, Ross41:

I am a bit confused: are you trying to move your Quicken data file(s) location around on your Mac (from its default location), or are you referring to show how different accounts are shown in your Quicken file (i.e., moved around in the sidebar)?

Nothing has really changed in either manner since 2017 for Mac, so that is part of why I am confused as well.

Ross41

John, you must be working overtime! My mistake: I meant that I was importing from Quicken 2007, and, yes, I'm trying to move the various imported files from their default locations in the new Quicken sidebar to other locations on my Mac (say, one in my "personal finances" folder, one in "business," one in "rental properties").

John_in_NC

Since I am still not 100% sure of your desire, I will answer for both:

In the new version, the sidebar lists your various accounts (i.e., registers) within that Quicken data file. It is similar to the Accounts List (command+a) in 2007, but with the accounts grouped together by type. From an old test file:

2007:
  
New Quicken: 

While you can rename the accounts, you cannot move them around or put them in different groupings. They will always be listed alphabetically by the account types and be displayed in that respective grouping (Investments, Banking, Cash, Assets, etc.) You cannot add a new grouping

As far as your actual Quicken data files (most users only have 1 which contains all their data), if you need to locate it you can click on the red Quicken logo at the upper right of the main window, and choose the option to Reveal in Finder. Note: the data file is now stored in a hidden location to prevent tampering. But, that is how you access it. But, I suspect that dealing with the actual file itself is not your intent.

Ross41

So, I guess that what I want to do (namely, to mimic the 2007 pattern) is not possible. With Quicken 2007, I had separate, distinct accounts (each a .qdfm file containing multiple registers) distributed at different locations on my Mac. Opening any one of them was limited to that account only.
It looks as if the current Quicken has consolidated all of the accounts into a single .quicken file containing all of my registers and accounts; opening any one of them provides immediate access to all the others via the sidebar. Is that correct?

John_in_NC

You can have multiple and separate files just as you did with 2007. You will have to File:New and import each file separately. These will be replicated just as they were in 2007.

Quicken 2007 allowed access to multiple accounts just as the sidebar does. There is nothing different in this regard-the sidebar=the Account List in 2007 and older.

Few users of Quicken have multiple data files; most keep a single data file with all their accounts within.

Ross41

I think we're going around in circles here. Maybe the problem is that I'm one of the few users of Quicken to have multiple data files. In Quicken 2007, I created several .qdfm files independently, and was able to place each one where I wanted to in my file hierarchy; I don't think I ever used the account list in 2007. When I wanted to open one of my accounts, I just went to its logical location in my desktop file (say, desktopfile/myhouse/finances/house_finances.qdfm) and there would be the various registers for my bank account, petty cash, credit card, etc. But I couldn't get from there to my rental property accounts; I'd need to access them from desktopfile/rental/finances/MainStreet_finances.qdfm.
I was hoping to replicate that with the current version of Quicken, but it seems that there's no way to do that.

Ross41

Actually, this may be a simpler way to describe what I see as the difference between the way I used Quicken 2007 and the current subscription Quicken: with 2007, I would open a particular account file (which might include multiple registers) by navigating to it in my desktop file and clicking on it, and this would open the Quicken app; the current Quicken seems to reverse the sequence: I have to first open Quicken, and then choose an individual register that I want to work with.

John_in_NC

Yes, you can have as many multiple files as you want, and you can place them where you like on your hard drive and in the folders you desire.

Each individual file from 2007 will have to be imported separately into the new version of Quicken. File:New will accomplish that.

Once imported, you can use the "File:Move To" command to save that file to your desired location. Then, you should have a replication of your workflow form 2007.

jacobs

@Ross41  To repeat something John said above, in order to be clearer moving forward, it helps if you use this terminology: a Quicken file is a Mac document you can see and move in the Finder. An account in Quicken corresponds to a single real-world account, like a checking account, credit card account, loan account, investment account, IRA or 401(k) account, etc. A register is a display of the transactions in an account. You can use the terms account and register pretty much synonymously.

Quicken is designed to have multiple accounts per file. The left side of the Quicken main screen lists all your accounts, and is intended as a one-click way to navigate to any part of your finances. Typically, people have separate files when they want to track accounts for others separate from their personal finances -- perhaps a parent or child, or a small business or non-profit. I think this (separating business from personal) is what you're describing wanting to do, right? (If your business is a separate C corporation or partnership, keeping the files separate makes sense; if it's a sole proprietor business, you could keep your data in one file with clearly separate categories and reports for your business.)

That said, you can do what you did in Quicken 2007 by clicking on a data file in the Finder to launch Quicken and open that file. You don't need to launch Quicken first, then open a particular file. Also, you can use the macOS feature of having all your recently-opened Quicken data files accessible under the File > Open Recent menu selection; the pop-up menu will show the most recent Quicken field you've opened. The number of items in the Open Recent menu is a setting in your Mac System Preferences; to go General, and set Recent Items to 5 or 10 or more. Or you can use another Mac feature: when you Control-Click on the Quicken app icon in your Dock, it will show your recently-opened files, so you can select which one to open from your Dock.

As for the location of your Quicken data files: if you do have more than one, there's no reason to to them in different locations on your Mac. In fact, Quicken by default puts files in an obscure location where you never have to even be concerned where they are -- the idea is for you to think of it like your pictures or email; you don't need to know where the files live to use then -- but you could put them in a folder in your User folder or Documents folder if you prefer to have them more easily visible.

Ross41

Thanks for all your help! RickO's post provided the missing link for me: I had been doing what he suggests, including (thanks to other web comments, not to Quicken(!)) using File>New, not File>Import, BUT I hadn't renamed and moved each file before converting the next one. Adding those steps provides exactly the result that I was aiming at. And sorry for my inexact terminology: I was probably confusing things by using "account" as the equivalent of "file," rather than "register."