Issues with Using Quicken on Multiple Computers

Lighthouse Cathedral

Does anyone else have trouble with using Quicken on multiple computers? We use two computers in our office, and what we put into one doesn't show up on the other. It's all under the same account so this shouldn't be happening.

Greg_the_Geek

How do I move/transfer my Quicken data file from one computer to another?

splasher

Desktop Quicken data is NOT in the cloud, it is in a data file on your local computer.  Quicken does not support using the data file from a shared network drive or a cloud service like DropBox.  You have to move the data file between computers to use it on multiple computers.

See the information cited by @Greg_the_Geek for how to safely move it.

Greg_the_Geek

How do I move/transfer my Quicken data file from one computer to another?

splasher

Desktop Quicken data is NOT in the cloud, it is in a data file on your local computer.  Quicken does not support using the data file from a shared network drive or a cloud service like DropBox.  You have to move the data file between computers to use it on multiple computers.

See the information cited by @Greg_the_Geek for how to safely move it.

Lighthouse Cathedral

> @splasher said:
> Desktop Quicken data is NOT in the cloud, it is in a data file on your local computer.  Quicken does not support using the data file from a shared network drive or a cloud service like DropBox.  You have to move the data file between computers to use it on multiple computers. See the information cited by @Greg_the_Geek for how to safely move it.

Ah, I didn't know that. Thanks! Another question: is there a way to merge these two files? Because when I backup/restore the files the data from the original is replaced with the data from the new file and I need them to merge for it to be complete
Or, alternatively, if I were to start doing Quicken on the Web would the information automatically combine? (Sorry if this question is hard to understand)

splasher

The is no "merge" capability in Quicken.
Quicken on the web is a means of seeing some portion of your desktop data using a browser.  There is also QMobile, but both of them rely on there being a desktop data file.
If both computers do not need access to Quicken at the same time, you might look into using remote access software and only run Quicken on one computer and run it via remote access from the second computer.

milliganmi

I very much want to enter Quicken data on my desktop and on my laptop, which is apparently impossible with Quicken as it's currently constructed. Given that everything else in the world is networked and cloud-based, is there any hope that Quicken will enter the modern age?

jfclague

I know Quicken doesn't recommend this but I have been keeping my Quicken file on OneDrive (previously Dropbox) for many years with no issues. Since OneDrive has a local folder, there is no issue with using Quicken.

Just make sure you pause syncing while using Quicken (also makes sure nobody is accessing the Quicken file on the other computer at the same time).

splasher

jfclague said:

…

Just make sure you pause syncing while using Quicken (also makes sure nobody is accessing the Quicken file on the other computer at the same time).

The REAL important part of your usage is that you are turning off Dropbox/Onedrive syncing when you run Quicken and once you do that, your data file is not in the normal shared network drive that Quicken states is unsupported, during that time, it is only on your local harddrive as far as Quicken is concerned.
You just have to remember to turn off syncing and NOT do anything on the other computer while using it on the first computer.

CocoaPuff

For many years I have been using Dropbox as a workaround to access one Quicken data file from two computers. I setup Dropbox so all my data folders in my Windows drive automatically sync to Dropbox, including the folder which contains Quicken data files. This creates a replica of my entire drive data (except for applications) on two computers and also serves as a cloud backup. There are several caveats with this approach and Quicken.
1. I use only one computer at a time to access the Quicken data file
2. I disable Dropbox sync before launching Quicken and using with the data file and re-enable sync after closing Quicken
3. I make sure that the Quicken application on both computers is maintained at exactly the same version