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confusion over which data file is current one (Q Mac)

Gretchen P

I'm using Quicken Classic Deluxe Version 7.3.2. In the process of cleaning out my Mac, I found a couple data files titled xxxx's Finances.quicken and one titled xxxx's Finances.quicken2016. I think two of these are old Quicken data files, but I don't want to delete them until I'm sure. One of the files titled xxxx's Finances.quicken shows that it was opened today; the other two haven't been modified or opened since 2022, when I bought this Mac. Is it safe to delete those other two?

Also - the file that I believe is my current file is stored on iCloud Drive>Documents>Documents-xxx's MacBook Air. Should it be moved to my user folder on my hard drive? If so, how to safely move it?

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Quicken Jasmine

Hello @Gretchen P,

You can safely move the file by either copying the file to the correct hard drive. Another thing that you can do is File > Move To. However, please be advised that it is recommended to not move or copy the file while that file is currently open within Quicken.

As for the older data files, you can delete them at your discretion based upon the necessity of history, it should not affect your current file.

I hope this helps!

jacobs

The files with the 2022 date stamps seem safe to toss, since they haven't been used in the past year. If you want to play things safe, you can…

Throw them in the Trash, but don't empty your trash for a while, until you're 100% certain the file you're working with live is the correct one.
In the Finder, click on each one and do File > Compress, which will create a .zip file which can't accidentally be opened by Quicken. Throw the .zip files in a folder to retain for as long as you want the security of having these old files.

You definitely want to get your live data file out of iCloud. It may work fine for a long time and suddenly you experience data corruption or get locked out of your file. (It has to do with the way database programs update pieces of data throughout the file while cloud storage systems look to move chunks of a file back and forth between local and cloud storage.) The location I suggest for a Quicken data file is in your Home folder — the folder inside Macintosh HD > Users which has the name of the Mac account you log into when you launch or unlock your Mac. Inside your Home folder, you'll find folders for Applications, Desktop, Documents, Library, Movies, Pictures, etc. Create a folder here called Quicken or Gretchen's Quicken or whatever you want. Then, in Quicken, use File > Move To… and navigate to the folder you just created. Quicken will move the active data file there. You can verify the location after this move by clicking on the red Q logo in the upper right of your Quicken screen and selecting "Show in Finder".

While we're on the subject of storage, let me also mention the location and setting for Quicken's automatic backups. In Quicken, go to Settings > General and you'll see the setting for "Keep last x files". Quicken defaults this to 5 files, which means if you open and quit Quicken a few times in a week, your oldest backup may be only a week or so old. Since disk space is plentiful and Quicken files aren't huge, I recommend setting this to a larger number: at least 20, maybe more. These files are maintained by the Quicken program inside a Backups folder, so they're out of sight and our of mind unless/until you need them. The Backup Folder button next to the number of backups allows you to select where Quicken places its folder for backups. Unlike your live data file, it's safe to store your backups in a folder on iCloud if you wish — and doing so gives you some security should anything ever happen to your Mac.

(I also encourage all Mac users to have at least one external backup, the easiest being the built in Time Machine software which only requires you to plug in an external disk drive, turn on Time Machine for this drive, and let it do its thing. The initial backup will take a while, but then it will back up anything that's changed on your Mac, every hour, without you having to do anything. If it's a desktop Mac, plug in the drive and just forget about it; if it's a laptop, just connect the external drive regularly to let it catch up on its backups. If you don't have an external hard drive, you can get a 1 TB hard drive which just plugs into you Mac — no external power needed — for under $100, or a 1 TB solid state drive for under $150. It's the best investment you can make to protect your valuable data, from email to photos to music to Quicken and any other documents on your computer. There are also cloud backup services, like iDrive, which starts at just $10/year for 500GB of storage.)

Gretchen P

Wow, thank you both for all of the help!