Can I restore Quicken backup taken on Windows to Mac?
Is look and feel of Quicken usage similar or different?
If it is an actual backup from Quicken from Windows, then yes, you can restore.
The look and feel is more a matter of opinion. I far prefer it, but the Mac version will have a more modern feel. You will adjust in a good way.
Sorry, but NOPE. Different file formats. BUT, you can rename that Q backup file to just be a Q data file and import it to QMac.
Lots of posts here on that conversion.
Based upon further info, it seems I was mistaken.
The Quicken for Mac Importer will handle the Quicken Windows Backup file-assuming it a recent, supported version.
Thanks for the correction
@John_in_NC ,
This is news to me and I am now so curious that I have to try it myself this weekend. If a QWin.QDF-backup file can be restored to QMac, then why can't a regular .QDF file be imported to QMac?
And does the opposite direction work as well (Mac to Win)?
Thanks
EDIT: Never mind my curiosity - I was able to import/convert both, a backup and a regular QDF file to Mac. Worked like a charm. 👍️
In fact Quicken Mac can't convert/import a QDF file. What is happening in the background is the QDF file is sent to the Quicken server which runs a modified Quicken Windows version (that was called the "converter") which exports a QXF file which is then imported into Quicken Mac. The reason this has to run on the Quicken server is because Quicken is 32-bit and as such can't run on the typical user's Mac machine, it is instead run in a virtual environment.
And as for converting a .QDF-backup file there is literally nothing different between a .QDF file and a .QDF-backup other than the "type name". Quicken Windows only uses the type to decide to open the file directly (.QDF) or to copy it to another place and then open it (.QDF-backup).
Yup, I know the backup and qdf files are the same - which led to my initial curiosity.
And in my testing, I did it in my Mac VM which is typically offline, and it wouldn't convert. The moment I brought it online, it converted. So yes, many thanks @Chris_QPW for the explanation. I learned a few new things today.
You are welcome. Side note, I don't know if standard user's version of Quicken Windows is as up to date as their "converter" version on the server, so exporting a QXF file from Quicken Windows might have different results. At one point the Mac developer group actually got a hold of the code for Quicken Windows and did the modifications for a better export in QXF format for Quicken Mac. I know some of this made it back to the original Quicken Windows code base, but it is unclear how well that is maintained. But to this day the recommendation it to got through the "converter" on the server, so I think that is a good indication of which they trust to be up to date more.
I was able to convert QDF file from Windows to Quicken on Mac. However, there are discrepancies.
For several accounts, balance is way off. It appears I have to setup all the accounts for downloading transactions
That's great, @ssohani
Yes, you will have to reconnect accounts for transaction downloads, and correctly link them to the respective accounts.
Then, you can examine if you still have any account balance mismatch, and what reasons cause this. There is really no way for us to tell you why this may have occurred as we can't see your data.
Good luck!
