Multiple Mac Users

Chillatcs

Can anyone tell me if there is a way I can have multiple Mac users on the same iMac access the same Quicken account (registers, calendar, etc.) on a single iMac? I want to have separate user accounts for myself and my spouse, either of which can open Quicken and access our Quicken data. Whenever, I open Quicken for the secondary user, I get a new user setup menu but cannot determine how to simply grant access to the current Quicken data.

RickO

It is not recommended to access the same Quicken file from different macOS accounts. The reason is that the Quicken file is actually a complex folder under the hood (a macOS Package). When you write to it from different accounts, the macOS permissions can get corrupted and the file unreadable.

In your situation, I'd recommend setting up a third user account just for working in Quicken. Then when either of you wants to use Quicken, you log into that third account (perhaps named "Quicken"), do your Quicken work, then log back into your personal account. You can use Fast User Switching  to make the process fairly painless.

If you already have an active Quicken file, you will need to move it to the Quicken user account. But don't just move the file as is (you may get permissions errors). Instead, compress (zip) the file (right click > Compress "filename"). Move the zipped copy, then unzip (double click) after you've moved it to the shared account. You can move the zip file by copying it to the special Shared user account, then logging into the Quicken account and move it from Shared to the Quicken account Desktop or Documents folder (for example).

RickO

It is not recommended to access the same Quicken file from different macOS accounts. The reason is that the Quicken file is actually a complex folder under the hood (a macOS Package). When you write to it from different accounts, the macOS permissions can get corrupted and the file unreadable.

In your situation, I'd recommend setting up a third user account just for working in Quicken. Then when either of you wants to use Quicken, you log into that third account (perhaps named "Quicken"), do your Quicken work, then log back into your personal account. You can use Fast User Switching  to make the process fairly painless.

If you already have an active Quicken file, you will need to move it to the Quicken user account. But don't just move the file as is (you may get permissions errors). Instead, compress (zip) the file (right click > Compress "filename"). Move the zipped copy, then unzip (double click) after you've moved it to the shared account. You can move the zip file by copying it to the special Shared user account, then logging into the Quicken account and move it from Shared to the Quicken account Desktop or Documents folder (for example).

jacobs

Another approach would be to treat the two different users on the Mac the same way someone who wants to use Quicken on two Macs would do it. This involves compressing the data file and moving it to a storage location after each use of Quicken, and copying that .zip file back to the Mac each time prior to using Quicken. In the case of a single Mac, you could used the Users called Shared as the location of your repository for the .zip file.

So: User A finishes using Quicken, quits, compresses the data file, and moves the .zip file to User > Shared. Then, the next user who wants to use Quicken, whether User A or User B, copies the .zip file from User > Shared to their own desktop or Documents folder, double-clicks the .zip file to de-compress it, and double-clicks the data file to launch Quicken. At the end of the session, repeat the process of quitting, comprising and copying back to User > Shared. In this way, the data file is protected each time it's moved, and either user can use Quicken without being concerned who used it last or where the current file resides. This move-decompress-use-compress-move process may sound complicated, but after you've done it a few times, you'll likely find it adds only a few seconds when you start and finish using Quicken.

RickO

Another approach to @jacobs method is to point Quicken's automatic backup location to a destination that is accessible by both users. When each user wants to use Quicken, instead of opening the Quicken data file stored in their account, they restore this backup to overwrite their local copy of the data file. When they quit, Quicken atomically puts a current backup in the shared location. Since the Quicken-created backups are compressed files, this avoids the permissions error issue.

Greg_the_Geek

Wouldn't they eventually exceed the Max Dataset limit? I thought each restore created a new Dataset.

RickO

Greg_the_Geek said:

Wouldn't they eventually exceed the Max Dataset limit? I thought each restore created a new Dataset.

I think you're referring to what on Mac is called a Cloud Account. No, a new cloud account is not created as long as you restore to the same filename as the original. When you do the restore, you do have to edit the proposed filename (remove the "2" that Quicken appends) and tell it to Replace the existing file. I should have mentioned that in the process I outlined above.

Greg_the_Geek

Max Datasets on Mac

RickO

Interesting. I notice that the page you reference shows a Windows screenshot. I'm not sure it's even a thing on Mac. Never heard of it. Then again, I don't Sync to Mobile, so could be related to that. But if there's only one Cloud Account, I don't see a problem.

jacobs

@RickO @Greg_the_Geek Yes, I usually suggest moving a .zip file rather than using backups because of the issue Greg brought up. I recall one of the moderators digging into this and saying it can be an issue for Mac as well as Windows, but I'm hazy on the details. As I recall, resolving the issue wasn't as simple as just deleting the Cloud files visible in Preferences. (But to Rick's point, we've been directing people using two Macs to apply these approaches to move the data file back and forth for years, and I never recall anyone coming back and saying they ran into a problem because they were always starting their Quicken sessions from a backup.)