Embrace Open File Formats QMac - OFX

FormerIntuit

I would like OFX as an export format. I want to be able to export, modify and potentially import some changes that quicken failed to download or place into my account register.

Please do not "data" handcuff your customers.

From CS» We apologize for any inconvenience, as we are currently implementing some changes. We understand that some customers may prefer a standard format for importing data into the program. Unfortunately, this feature is not yet available. However, we are working diligently to make it possible in the near future.

NotACPA

Why do QIF and QXF formats not work for you? They're both text also, and are currently available.

Jon

@NotACPA Quicken Mac can neither import nor export QIF files; the closest you can get on export is QMTF which is a modified version of QIF, but you can't import QMTF. You can create a new file from a QIF but that's the only place in QMac that QIF files are explicitly supported. And while you can import and export QXF files, you can only export your entire data file; there's no way to export a subset of your data to QXF.

@FormerIntuit "I want to be able to export, modify and potentially import some changes that quicken failed to download or place into my account register."

Why can't you just make those changes inside Quicken?

NotACPA

@jon Thanks for the correction. I posted before I notice that this was a Mac thread.

QuickUserPSP

The question becomes if Quicken does implement this, would it be the OFX or QFX format? Right now, QWin uses the QFX format which is a proprietary version of the standard OFX format. IF they do implement the OFX format, will they also update QWin to the OFX format as well? Or will they implement the QFX format for QMac to match what they have for QWin?

jacobs

@QuickUserPSP QXF and OXF are the exact same format with literally one line of difference in each file: the inclusion of the financial institution identifier code, which Quicken validates to see if the file is from a financial institution which is signed on with Quicken. They won't move away from QFX because Quicken contracts to Intuit for connectivity, and this is Intuit's way of insuring files are being imported from a financial institution they're set up with.

QuickUserPSP

@jacobs That is good to know. I knew that they weren't exactly the same, but I wasn't sure what the differences were. But, I think the header record may be different also. I think there is a "newer" header format that some FIs use, but I am not sure if that makes a difference, or how interchangeable the old and new formats are.

Chris_QPW

Actually, it a bit more than one line, and some of it is repeated information.

<FI>
<ORG>ISC
<FID>10898
</FI>
<INTU.BID>10898

Not sure the min that you might get away with in Quicken Mac or Quicken Windows for that matter.

This is an area of where I wonder if this is something in the license agreement between Quicken Inc and Intuit.

Note that Quicken Mac Essentials did allow importing plain OFX files, but they removed that when they finally got the new Quicken Mac out (and started charging for it).

Note that the "header" and the format of OFX/QFX files have changed over the versions but Quicken Mac and Quicken Windows can read the old or "newer" version formats. I quoted newer, because I'm sure that neither has kept up with the current versions. The main reason they can get away with this is because the financial institutions aren't supporting the newest versions anyways. And in fact, you will certainly see a lot of them using version 102 (which is 1.02) basically the first release every used outside of testing.

The 1.XXX versions are a "sort of XML" that violates a lot of XML rules, whereas 2.XX is pretty much straight XML.