Sharing a database
Unknown
Member
We're thinking about upgrading from Quicken 2015. We've always shared the data between 2 desktops on a network & never had a problem doing so. Of course, only 1 user can be in Quicken at a time, but that's OK because Quicken 2015 doesn't let you open a file twice simultaneously. Quicken now says this might cause data corruption. If so, that makes the upgrade impossible for us. Is there a way around this?
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Best Answers
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RickO
SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
Mac or Windows? I'll answer for Mac (I don't know about Windows).
For Mac: It's not a question of upgrading or not. The technology related to sharing the database over network is no different between QM2015. It is not recommenced and there is a risk that your database could get corrupted. If you are going to continue to do this, it is recommended that you keep daily backups and be willing to revert to one should your database go belly up.Quicken Mac Subscription; Quicken Mac user since the early 90s5 -
Greg_the_Geek
SuperUser, Windows Beta ✭✭✭✭✭
Same goes for Windows.Quicken Subscription HBRP - Windows 105 -
Sherlock
SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
Upgrading should not increase or decrease the risk you are taking of corrupting your data.
A safe way to share access to a Quicken on a network is to use a Remote Desktop client to access a shared desktop used for Quicken. The Quicken file should have a short (8.3) name (for example, QData.QDF), be access in a folder on a local drive, and not accessible at the same time by any other program (Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, MegaSync, etc.).
Quicken user since 1997
Premier on Windows 105 -
Sherlock
SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
We do not have to dedicate a computer or use a VM to use a remote desktop. We are just sharing a user account on one computer. This is actually a simpler and safer environment. It means we only maintain Quicken on one machine. Coordination is simpler. We're even able to access Quicken safely and securely over the network when we travel from any machine with an appropriate Remote Desktop client.S. Flaum said:Windows, & I backup every 2 hours automatically.
I thought of a remote desktop, but I understand that I'd either have to dedicate a computer or use a VM, both of which seem like overkill just to keep 2 users from accessing the same database simultaneously.
I suspect the scheduled backup has accessed the database when Quicken was in use, but it's good at staying out of the way.
I figured I could continue to work as heretofore, but the warning was so dire that I figured they might know something I didn't.
Quicken user since 1997
Premier on Windows 105
This discussion has been closed.
Answers
For Mac: It's not a question of upgrading or not. The technology related to sharing the database over network is no different between QM2015. It is not recommenced and there is a risk that your database could get corrupted. If you are going to continue to do this, it is recommended that you keep daily backups and be willing to revert to one should your database go belly up.
A safe way to share access to a Quicken on a network is to use a Remote Desktop client to access a shared desktop used for Quicken. The Quicken file should have a short (8.3) name (for example, QData.QDF), be access in a folder on a local drive, and not accessible at the same time by any other program (Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, MegaSync, etc.).
Premier on Windows 10
I thought of a remote desktop, but I understand that I'd either have to dedicate a computer or use a VM, both of which seem like overkill just to keep 2 users from accessing the same database simultaneously.
I suspect the scheduled backup has accessed the database when Quicken was in use, but it's good at staying out of the way.
I figured I could continue to work as heretofore, but the warning was so dire that I figured they might know something I didn't.
Now running Quicken Windows Subscription, Home & Business
Retired "Certified Information Systems Auditor" & Bank Audit VP
Premier on Windows 10
@echo off
set REMOTE_DIR=\\Server\QuickenShare
Quicken was created with the assumption of 100% good read/writes. It has nothing for error correcting.
And as a business if you are going to state that your product works on a network you have consider the network to be not 100% reliable.
The word "network" doesn't even tell a person what kind of environment they are dealing with. Is it Ethernet or WiFi or some other hardware? Is it one of the Microsoft protocols or maybe Unix/Linux/Mac?
Was it setup by an expert or a person that doesn't even know what a network is?
What you can do, and what Quicken Inc will support are not the same thing.
And yes the risk is higher to use a network instead of using a local drive just because that is the nature of the beast.
Re: "Was it setup by an expert or a person that doesn't even know what a network is?" Somewhere in between.
Yes, hardware problems can happen on any computer system, and they're undoubtedly more common the more complex the configuration is, as you noted.
It seems to me that a command file like that would let one user's transactions overwriting the other's.
In truth though what I really do is copy my data file to a OneDrive location that her Quicken opens (in a script). My data file is never a copy of hers.
In the past I have used a network drive and the locks work quite well. We had a few "Oops" I didn't know you had it opened situations and of course Quicken just says that the data file is in use or shoots you back the "New user" dialog. But note mine was always over Ethernet. WiFi has got a lot better so I'm might trust it these days, but I certainly wouldn't have say 10 years ago.
There was two main reasons I stopped using a network drive. One is that it is slower than a local drive and in some releases of Quicken it was "really slow". But the main problem was that I needed to maintain a machine that would always be on separate from my wife's or mine machine. I actually have such a machine, that I use for home automation and such, but it is just a RaspberryPi, which doesn't even serve up Gigabit speeds.