Creating multiple ".quicken" files

codad3x

I am creating 3 ".quicken" files to organize my personal accounts, separating accounts that were all in my original file. I started with one file that has all of my defaults and quick fill rules attached to it. Is there a way to transfer this data that I have created over the years so that it can be available in my other .quicken files? Right now my new file doesn't recognize any of the default names that I have in my original file, and re-typing all these is going to be a royal headache.

I did think about copying the original file to start my second file, then deleting the unnecessary accounts, but I was running into problems with Quicken recognizing they were supposed to be separate.

Any thoughts or workarounds?

RickO

My only suggestion would have been what you describe in your 2nd paragraph. I don't understand what you mean by Quicken not recognizing they were supposed to be separate. What exactly does Quicken not recognize as separate? If you are having trouble with online services mixing up the files, you probably need to give the 2nd account a new Cloud Account name in Preferences > Connected Services.

That said, why are you separating into separate files? It is generally not recommended to do this unless you are separating out separate taxable entities (e.g., people with separate tax returns, a trust, etc.).

codad3x

Thanks RickO. When I copy the .quicken file, rename it and open it in Quicken, then check Connected Services, my original file is also renamed and it shows me 2 files of the same name. Then one file is in sync with the cloud and the other isn't, causing an error and telling me to reset my cloud connect, which essentially erases the connection data in my original file, reimports all the transactions, and all my editing customizing is gone!!

Basically, it doesn't appear they give you a way to do this cleanly. I noticed that Quicken for Windows has an option to copy file and specify which accounts and transactions to include, but apparently Quicken for Mac doesn't have this feature.

I did find another workaround which appears to work so far (fingers crossed). I exported my main file to a .qxf file, renamed it, then imported it into a new blank quicken file. I had to add all the connected account info (user names and passwords) so they would sync with my banks, but at least all the saved data including payees, categories and tags transferred over.

RickO

Sorry, I didn't understand your original question fully. Yes, Quicken has an internal file ID in each file that it uses to associate the file to the cloud account. It's not based on file name. So changing the file name doesn't solve this. What you ended up doing is the only way I know of to do this. It would be great if there were a "dissociate with cloud ID" or "create new Cloud account" button in the Connected Services preferences, but there isn't.