Automatic backup when changing files, rather than at Exit.

glenclancy

Quicken offers the ability to automatically backup on exiting the program. Typically I work in two or three separate .QDF files during any given session, and the automatic backup only kicks in when I close Quicken, backing up only the last .QDF I worked in.

Is there a way to automatically backup the current .QDF file at the point of changing files?

Boatnmaniac

Yes, you can do exactly that with Automatic Backups.  Even though the Preference setting wording says it happens "after running Quicken" that is not entirely accurate.  It would be more accurate if the wording were changed to say "after closing the QDF file" because this is what really happens.

I use 4-6 different QDF files every day and never close Quicken in between.  By having Automatic Backups set up Quicken will automatically save a backup file when the QDF file is closed.

• Select where you want the backups to be saved to.
• Select how frequently you want the backups to be saved.  (I save after every single QDF session.)
• Select how many backups you want Quicken to save before Quicken starts to delete older ones.  (It's not really the number of backup files to be saved that is important.  What's important is the time period you want backups to be saved for.  I generally want at least 1 month of backups on file at any given time.  So, for most of my QDF files I select 35 because I run those files 1X per day.  For one of my QDF files I select 70 because I run Quicken 2X per day.)
• Quicken will add a date and time modifier to each backup file name so you can easily sort through the backup files to find a specific one you might want to restore.
  

I have been doing it this way for at least 5 years and it works great.  It is so reliable that I rarely ever find a need to manually save a backup file.  In fact, I can't remember the last time I manually backed up a QDF file.

Let me know if you have any questions.

GeoffG

No there is not. You can add the backup and restore to the toolbar as an alternative.

glenclancy

Thank you, GeoffG

Boatnmaniac

Yes, you can do exactly that with Automatic Backups.  Even though the Preference setting wording says it happens "after running Quicken" that is not entirely accurate.  It would be more accurate if the wording were changed to say "after closing the QDF file" because this is what really happens.

I use 4-6 different QDF files every day and never close Quicken in between.  By having Automatic Backups set up Quicken will automatically save a backup file when the QDF file is closed.

• Select where you want the backups to be saved to.
• Select how frequently you want the backups to be saved.  (I save after every single QDF session.)
• Select how many backups you want Quicken to save before Quicken starts to delete older ones.  (It's not really the number of backup files to be saved that is important.  What's important is the time period you want backups to be saved for.  I generally want at least 1 month of backups on file at any given time.  So, for most of my QDF files I select 35 because I run those files 1X per day.  For one of my QDF files I select 70 because I run Quicken 2X per day.)
• Quicken will add a date and time modifier to each backup file name so you can easily sort through the backup files to find a specific one you might want to restore.
  

I have been doing it this way for at least 5 years and it works great.  It is so reliable that I rarely ever find a need to manually save a backup file.  In fact, I can't remember the last time I manually backed up a QDF file.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Boatnmaniac

BTW, here is what my Auto Backup file names for just one QDF file looks like.  Shaded in yellow is the date modifier Quicken adds to the file name.  Shaded in green is the time modifier Quicken adds to the file name.  So you can always easily know the date and time the backup Auto Backup file was made.

It is like this for every QDF file I use and every one of them was saved when the QDF file was saved and I opened a new one while Quicken remained open.