Migrating app and data from old Mac

SteveCP

Hello: for reasons I wont bore you with I have the misfortune to migrate to a new macbook and I have to get Quicken, it's data and settings transferred over manually. Does anyone have any ideas how to accomplish this? I was thinking I would have to redownload a new clean version of Quicken and then manually move my files over to somewhere on the new mac. Thoughts?

And then how to make sure the transactions download as usual

RickO

For the application, your best bet is to redownload a fresh copy from your account at quicken.com and install it on the new Mac (as you said).

For the date file, on the old Mac you will want to make a backup (menu File > Save a Backup). You can put the backup file on the Desktop or anywhere else you can find it. Then transfer the file to the new Mac using a thumb drive, iCloud Drive, Dropbox or any other method that works for you. Transfer only a backup copy, not the original data file.

On the new Mac, double click the backup file and Restore. The default file location is Hard Drive > Users > (your username) > Library > Application Support > Quicken > Documents. But you can put it anywhere you like as long as that folder is NOT being synced to any cloud service (eg. iCloud Drive, Dropbox). Note that iCloud Drive can sync your Desktop and Documents folders, so don't put it there if that is enabled.

As for settings, most of them are stored within the data file. There are a few (eg. backup file location) that are local to the computer. So go through all the settings and make sure they are as you like.

As for downloads, you will likely need to re-enter passwords and/or re-do 2FA the first time you download on the new Mac. After you save the passwords in the keychain, you should be good to go the next time.

smayer97

Are you already a Quicken subscriber or were you using an older version of Quicken? If the latter, what version? If the former, start with RickO's instructions.

jacobs

If you have the new Mac and old Mac, did you use Apple's Migration Assistant to move all your Mac's apps and date to the new Mac? If so, your Quicken application, data files, backups and settings should have been seamlessly transferred to the new Mac. Simply double-click on the data file, you'll be prompted to log in with your Quicken ID, and you should be off and running.

That applies if you were using the current or a recent (past ~7 years) version of Quicken Mac (e.g. subscription Quicken, even if you didn't have a recent active subscription).

If you had Quicken 2015, 2016 or 2017, the current Quicken Mac (subscription) will be able to read your older data file(s) and convert them to the current format. Let us know if that's the case, and we can give specific instructions.

If you were using the very old Quicken 2007, the conversion process is more complex, but the current Quicken Mac (subscription) will be able to read your older data file(s) and convert them to the current format. Let us know if that's the case, and we can give specific instructions.

If you were using a version older than Quicken 2007, you may be out of luck, but it depends on exactly what version was on your old Mac. Let us know.