Quicken Data Files were "copied" - now they affect each other for online accounts

Question

I created a new quicken data file by making a copy of the existing file and then renamed.   The goal is to separate out certain accounts for various reporting purposes.    However, when deleting accounts from the 2nd file, then opening the original data file, Quicken states online accounts are not working and need to be fixed.  This affected each account in the original file that was deleted in the new file.

Why would two separate data files affect one another like this.  They have different file names.

Tom Young · Accepted Answer

The file names aren't what Quicken is looking at here, it's looking at an internal file number and the file numbers of the two files are the same because, I expect, you used the Windows "copy" feature.

To make the two files distinct, use Quicken's File > Copy (Create a Copy or Template) process.  That will result in a "new" file (new internal file ID number) so that the two files don't interact.  The new file will be completely disconnected from downloading so you'll have to re-establish these connections.