Need help converting from Mac 2007 to Mac Subscription in 2023

original_jeff

Hello folks,

I have a new Mac Mini running Ventura 13.3.1, on which I have just installed the current subscription version of Quicken for Mac. I am migrating from an iMac running Mojave 10.14.6, on which I have been running Quicken 2007 for Mac.

I have moved a copy of the Quicken 2007 data file from the old iMac to the new Mac Mini, and am following the instructions on a web page of instructions from Quicken to which I would here post a link, except that this editor is throwing an error that tells me I "have to be around a little while longer before I can post links." So instead, I'll just leave you all to scratch your heads about what page I'm referring to.

In any case, on that page, under the section titled Convert from Quicken 2007 for Mac, step #8 says "Wait while the conversion is processing." For me, this doesn't happen. Instead, I get a pop-up dialog box that reads, "Do you want to use Quicken Cloud to securely import your Quicken Mac file? This version of Quicken uses Quicken Cloud to import Quicken Mac files." The only buttons in this dialog are Cancel and Use Quicken Cloud.

For personal reasons, I do not and will not use the cloud. Any conversions that need to be done can be done on my perfectly capable local hardware using local processing power and local storage. I'm certainly not about to send 20 years of personal financial data on a round trip across the Internet just to have it converted and sent back to me.

I initiated a support chat with Dora on 5/23/2023. Here's a snip from that chat session:

JEFF: What alternative is there to using the cloud conversion? Can I somehow export the data using Quicken 2007 on my old Mac, and then somehow import it in the new version?

DORA: No sorry Jeff, but in order to proceed with the conversion you need to allow the cloud. Like I said, after that you can turn it off, but that does not mean that the data will be on any cloud, or someone will have access to your data. this is only for conversion process

JEFF: So if I refuse to use the cloud converter, there is absolutely no way to convert my data?

DORA: No, sorry that is part of the request of the new process

Not really sure what "the request of the new process" means, but since I find it hard to believe this answer from Dora, I am now posting here to ask the community if anyone knows if there are any other options to convert that don't include using Quicken Cloud?

From reading other threads in this forum, it seems that originally the code for converting the quicken data file was built into the desktop app, but at some point in time this functionality was moved "to the cloud" (possibly when Apple dropped support for 32-bit code). I believe I have a copy of Quicken 2018 that I downloaded but never activated and used. Could I activate this copy and use it to do an in-situ data conversion, and then go from there to the latest Quicken without having to use the cloud?

What about export/import options? I see an Export menu option… is there some specific file format I can use to transfer all of my financial data? Aren't these QIF and QXF files designed for this purpose? What about exporting and importing as a simple CSV file? Does anyone have any experience with any of these options?

Can anyone confirm or deny Dora's answer, or provide me with any advice on an alternative to getting my data from Quicken 2007 to the latest?

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John_in_NC

Dora is correct; if you want to migrate from 2007 to Subscription directly, you would have to use the cloud converter. (This was more a result of Apple's phasing out Rosetta support for old PowerPC apps which 2007 really is underneath. A 2007—>(newer version) conversion can only be done on older hardware or machines that still support PPC emulation. IIRC, dropping 32 bit support was what finally killed the actual 2007 program itself.) 

I respect your decision to not use the Cloud Convertor. You can try running 2018 on your older machine, but if memory serves me correctly, even those older versions were all updated to direct to the cloud convertor as well as they had to update the apps to support the newer OSes that dropped Rosetta/32 Bit Apps.

You would need the original version of 2018 to install and do not update if it tries. (It might not even work-I don't know if that program would still be looking for disconnected Intuit servers so it might fail) Then, try the conversion with the native, local convertor if possible. 

There really isn't any practical (or meaningful) way to export/import out of 2007 that would retain data. If there were, they wouldn't be supporting this Cloud conversion for a 16+ year old app. 

"Request of the new process" likely means the initial steps when you launch the new program. Do you convert, start from scratch, etc.

smayer97

Catalina was released in Oct 2019. Quicken introduced the cloud-based conversion of QM2007 on Oct 30, 2019 with v5.13 (aka Quicken 2018) (My notes suggest that it was also made available to QM2017 v4.8.6 in Dec 2019.)

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/7862670/quicken-for-mac-v5-13-released

This suggests that at least any version prior to these dates would still have the converter built-in (there may even be later versions with it too but I have not checked).

You can find older versions of Quicken Subscription (2018+) here:

https://www.quicken.com/support/reinstalling-and-patching-your-quicken-subscription-version-after-your-membership-has-0

You can activate a subscription with one of these to try and see if it works. You have a 30-day refund guarantee if it does not work for you.

Do report back any results.

jacobs

@original_jeff For what it's worth, my understanding of the could-based converter is that (a) the data is encrypted both ways for security, (b) the data on the Quicken server is deleted immediately after the conversion is complete, and (c) Quicken is not processing the data through any of its other systems other than the stand-alone conversion server. The process seems benign to me, and I trusted it co convert my data a few years ago. Tens (or hundreds) of thousands of fellow wQuicken Mac users have used cloud conversion over the past three and a half years with no reports of data issues.

original_jeff

Thanks to John, smayer97, and jacobs for taking the time to reply. I appreciate very much your time and the information you provided.

It turns out that my old "intermediate" copy of Quicken is actually Quicken for Mac 2017 v4.3.1 (not 2018). Here is what I experienced with it.

First of all, the app will not run without immediately checking for, downloading, and applying an update to the latest version, v4.8.6. I tried every trick I could think of to prevent this: disconnecting the network (it refused to run, throwing an error about an Internet connection is required); clicking Cancel or killing the process before the update could be fully downloaded or fully installed (it simply re-downloaded the update at the next launch); monkeying with the system date/time (no impact) or the version data in the .app folder (no impact). In the end, I had no choice other than to let it self update to v4.8.6, and as smayer97 suggested, this version has the cloud-based updater. I verified this by attempting to import my 2007 data file, and was told it had to go to the cloud.

On a lark, after the update was complete, I tried putting a pre-update (v4.3.1) copy of the Quicken.app folder back in the Application directory, overwriting the v4.8.6 version. When I did this, Quicken would execute. It would report itself as v4.3.1, and it would offer to update itself but with an option to decline—which I took. I could then proceed to try to import my 2007 file with what was ostensibly the 4.3.1 engine in a bastardized hybrid 4.3.1/4.8.6 install. Unfortunately, the second step of the conversion wizard was simply a blank dialog. No options, no instructions, just a link in the bottom left to "Contact support" and a Start Over button. So unless anyone knows a reliable method for preventing a fresh, out-of-the-box install of Quicken 2017 from phoning home and updating itself, I think I've gone as far as I can with this option.

Finding copies of Quicken for Mac 2016 and earlier has proven unnecessarily difficult. Since we now live in an era of media-less software distribution, it's becoming harder and harder to find archived copies of old software. I haven't been able to find any downloadable copies of 2016, but I'm trying to negotiate an online purchase of a copy of 2015 on disc. Of course, the $60k question here is, will that version require some kind of software activation and will Quicken.com still facilitate that activation?

I'll post my findings in a few days when I have the disc in hand and an opportunity to install it.

John_in_NC

I have all the older original initial releases disk images, so I can an install on an older (10.11) machine without updating.

I don't think you will have much luck with this. If you install the original 2.0 (2015) version (as I tried), it immediately goes to Intuit ID entry for file creation before conversion. Since Intuit sold Quicken off, all those servers have gone dark, so that is a dead end. Same thing when you use a newer version that tries to download the older, local convertor. It repeatedly times out attempting to download said convertor.

I have the Quicken Essentials Convertor that would convert your cash transactions, but not any investment transactions.

If you don't wish to use the Cloud Convertor, then it appears you would have to start a new blank file.

Psst: if you use any banks, brokerages, or other form of Financial Institutions, all your data is already in the Cloud, like it or not.

smayer97

re: "disconnecting the network (it refused to run, throwing an error about an Internet connection is required);", since you did not mention how you disconnected, here are a few workarounds to try (these may no longer work but still worth a try):

• turn wifi off or disconnect the ethernet cable to fully turn off the internet
• Open /Applications/Utilities/Keychain Access.app and delete the keychain item named simply "Quicken". That keychain item stores the authentication tokens, so once you delete it, you will no longer have an expired token, so Quicken won't try to renew it at launch
• Wait 180 seconds for Quicken to give up on renewing the authentication token

smayer97

@John_in_NC said "If you don't wish to use the Cloud Convertor, then it appears you would have to start a new blank file."

Taking off from this, and "thinking out loud", I wonder if the following would work… (I have not thought it all the way through):

QMac allows importing more than one QM2007 file into one new QMac file. What if you start by creating a new file first, then import your QM2007 data file. Maybe that might give you different options regarding conversion.

original_jeff

I found another thread where someone else was trying to do a fresh install of Quicken 2015. The out-of-the-box version required activation with an Intuit ID, which obviously failed. Someone kindly offered the user a patch to the latest (last) version of 2015, but all that did was switch from requiring an Intuit ID to a Quicken ID, and the user got the same blank/white screen that I did with my version of 2017. So, it looks like using 2015 really isn't an option because you literally can't use the software.

<rant> This is why software "activation" and "subscription" is evil and I generally won't pay for software that requires it. I was willing to possibly make an exception for Quicken on a trial basis, but now… well…. But that's s different topic.</rant>

I suspect 2016 isn't going to be any different that 2015 or 2017, in that it probably won't activate correctly, or making it activate correctly will also require a version that uses the cloud converter. So, it looks like using an older version of Quicken to perform an intermediary conversion of my Quicken 2007 data on my local machine is truly not an option. It may have been an option at one point in the past, but because of software activation requirements and the sale of Quicken from Intuit, that window of opportunity has closed.

Is there any point in trying an export to QXF in 2007, and then importing it in the current version? Or is this equally a lost cause?

smayer97

2007 does not have QXF export. It has QIF instead BUT new QMac only officially supports QIF import from competing products for a new data file, and not from QM2007. :-\

Another roundabout would be to export to QIF and import into Quicken for Windows, which has its issues….then convert back to QMac using QXF. BUT YMMV as to the effort and results.

original_jeff

Just a short update on my progress, in case anyone is following this.

I was able to export from QM 2007 using a QIF file. Unfortunately initial attempts to import the file using both QM 2017 and the latest subscription version (7.0.4) failed with the same error, something about "the text encoding can not be determined". I opened the QIF file in TextEdit, did a Save As, and explicitly specified UTF-8, which I figured was as close to pure ACII as I could get. After that, the QIF file appeared to import successfully into QM 2017. At first glance, all of our accounts came across and the transactions all appear to be accurate. It doesn't look like the current or running balances are correct, but those can obviously be adjusted. We're in the process of doing a more detailed audit to see where we stand.

At this point, in spite of what smayer97 says, I'm still hoping we'll be able to import the same QIF file directly into the current version of QM. Failing that, I'm hoping we'll be able to import a Quicken 2017 data source to the current version of Quicken without having to go through the cloud converter. I'll post again when we're a farther along.

Again, my thanks to everyone who has chipped in with hints, ideas and suggestons!

jacobs

The current Quicken Mac will create a new data file from the Quicken 2017 data file without problems; no need to go back to the QIF file again.

You’ve spent a lot of time to avoid the converter (which I’ve explained why I feel is unnecessary), but I’m glad you’re nearly there. 😀

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smayer97

@original_jeff said: … I opened the QIF file in TextEdit, did a Save As, and explicitly specified UTF-8, which I figured was as close to pure ACII as I could get. After that, the QIF file appeared to import successfully into QM 2017.

That is a pleasant surprise, since QIF import is ONLY supported for NON-Quicken data intended for migrators from competitors. (Odd choice/limitation, I know). Nice that you found a workaround.