Simultaneous use of Quicken for MAC & Windows on same device

Question

After decades of Quicken for Windows use I began using Quicken for MAC on an Apple MAC Mini about 2 years ago.  While I like the look and feel of the MAC version for daily use, I do miss many of the addl reporting and investment functions in the Windows version.  My question is if I install the Quicken Windows version using my VMWare Windows environment on the MAC, would it affect any of the Quicken for MAC program files?  Are Quicken files stored in separate MAC & Windows program subdirectories or am I at risk of one version overwriting the other in a common directory structure?  After searching I did not find any prior comments on this in particular.

It appears I could adhoc when needed do a backup of my Quicken for MAC file and then restore to the Quicken for Windows to use temporarily for research/review/reporting.  I do not anticipate going Windows to MAC, only MAC to Windows.  Thanks………..

smayer97 · Answer

Converting between QMac and QWin can be done, and does work well BUT as pointed out, it is only data that converts back and forth, and even then, some data may not transfer, because of a lack of matching features in QMac, e.g. currency conversion. The purpose of converting from one to the other is intended as a one time conversion, to migrate more permanently. It is not designed to go back and forth repeatedly, as not everything migrates over.

Chris_QPW · Answer

I don't believe there is any overlap between the two operating systems and even if there was, they work completely differently not sharing even one file.

If one used Online Billing or something like on both then maybe at that level, you could get yourself in trouble but even Quicken Web/Mobile isn't shared between Quicken Windows and Quicken Mac.

As for the converting it is always going to "leave a lot behind" in the best of cases, and in some cases require fixing up the data.  For instance, saved reports aren't going to transfer.

bmciance · Answer

The Windows and Mac versions are completely separate and non compatible.  While there is a way to convert a Quicken file from Windows to Mac there isn't any easy way to convert from Mac to Windows.  You can use both versions but going back and forth is not really possible.