Long term access to all my Quicken data WITH increased speed

ed2014junk

Background.
Some users would like to keep ALL their transactions within and accessible from Quicken. You have suggested that for speed of access we might limit the amount of data kept in Quicken.

Suggestion.
This suggestion will allow long term storage of data with quick access to MOST current data.

1. Create a new parameter - maybe 'RecentData' - that indicates a user-defined date representing the oldest date to be used when the normal loading of data occurs as Quicken is started.
2. When 'RecentData' is defined, an archive file is created to contain all data before the 'RecentData' date. (This lightens the content of the normal data file.)
3. Thereafter when opened, Quicken will perform normal activity with all data between 'RecentData' date and the current date.
4. If a SEARCH is activated, Quicken will treat the normal data file and archive data file as ONE. Thus a search may take a bit longer, but day-to-day operation of Quicken will not be slowed down.
5. If/when the user redefines the 'RecentData' parameter, Quicken will move the relevent records to/from the archive file.

Result.
User gets to have ALL their data available for recall and can also have reasonable response for day-to-day operation.

Chris_QPW

Where did you hear that you shouldn't keep all of your data in your data file?

If it from Quicken Support, then I would suggest that one of three things happened.

1. You got a support person that isn't really properly informed.
2. You ran into performance problems and that was the only possible (but most likely not correct) answer the support person could come up with.
3. You are an "active trader" and Quicken was never designed for a lot of securities/security lots/transactions and will perform badly when trying to use it like that.

No where on this forum will you find any SuperUser suggesting breaking up your data file.

Quicken's data file is at its heart a database. A database doesn't lose speed just because you add records. They are designed for that. What's more Quicken doesn't read in an account's data until you access that account.

Performance problems in Quicken tend to fall into two categories.

1. Some kind of install/configuration/data corruption problem.
2. Investment account performance, which in my opinion isn't the data file/database's fault. Why do I believe that? Because I can do a report on investment data that retrieves much more than what might be in one account, but at the same time have bad performance in one investment account. I believe that the real problem with investment account performance is in the GUI and what they choose to calculate on the fly instead of doing it in a more efficient manner. Note that if you are trying to use Year End Copy to improve this, you are wasting your time and breaking up your data file needlessly because Year End Copy doesn't touch investment transactions, because of the complications of dealing with security lots. Try the Archive Transactions feature in a given investment account to move closed lots to another account.