Transaction Attachments Not Working - Data File Corruption (Yet Again)

W5JP

The ability to add attachments to individual investment transactions is one of the great strengths of Quicken. Unfortunately, the transaction "Attach" button has stopped working (or works only very intermittently) on my Quicken Classic Premier for Windows R63.21. Since Quicken believes this problem is associated with a corrupted data file, I've followed the recommendation to Validate and SuperValidate the data file but the problem persists. Contacting Quicken Support led me through a "Saving a Template" and "Copying the File" to no avail. The final "recommendation" from Quicken Support was to "trim" the early transactions from the data file in an effort to eliminate the "corruption" (introduced by the Quicken program). Not only is that illogical (since the early transactions obviously worked for many years), but discarding essential historical financial data is a total non-starter. Moreover, the intermittent nature of the "Attach" initiation routine also casts doubt on the data corruption theory since the data file is not changing with successive clicks on the "Attach" button and occasionally it works. The Quicken Support "recommendation" to trim/discard early transactions appears to be driven by "this is the only tool we have" rather than a considered evaluation of what is likely, needed or reasonable.

If the data file corruption theory is correct, it's worth noting that the primary responsibility of any database is to preserve the data - not to corrupt it. Discarding precious historical data is not a "fix" - it's a total abdication of responsibility for a defective product. I've used Quicken for over 30 years and have had to address many data file "corruption" problems (yes, the data file structure apparently is quite fragile), but this response takes the cake. If Quicken can't prevent/detect the source of the "corruption" (by far the best approach), then it needs to develop a tool that can "repair" the data files that the program inevitably corrupts. A "fragile" data file is simply unacceptable in a modern financial database and arguably fails to meet minimum standards as a "merchantable" product - i.e. - not fit for its intended use. It's long past time to fix the cause(s) of the data file corruption problem instead of suggesting ridiculous/destructive "solutions" to apparently predictable data file failures.