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Quicken file size limitations [with respect to max number of attachments in a file]

QuickRick

Spent a couple of hours online with tech support yesterday trying to troubleshoot a problem with my Quicken data file. The program had been routinely locking up when I added attachments to transactions or imported banking or credit card activity or updating prices to my portfolio.

After the lock up, I had to shut down Quicken in the Task Manager, but then I could not re-open the file. I would have to open another Quicken file then run File Maintenance, Super Validate and point the operation to the damaged file. After SV I could re-open the Quicken data file, but the entire process would repeat after adding a few transactions.

My Quicken data file is 2GB in size, with data dating back to the early 1990's. I've used Quicken since the early DOS versions. I was told by support that I needed to split my file into two smaller files. While this is not what I had hoped to hear, because I had been previously told that file size was only limited by disk space and it should not matter, the truth is that Quicken may not limit your file size, but it will surely fail when the file gets too large.

Personally, as someone who has made a living selling various accounting software packages, this seems to me to be a problem with the back-side file handling system used by Quicken. I would not expect to see these limitations in, for example, a SQL based database. But it seems that Quicken tries to load the entire database when it opens and that means there will be performance issues when the size of the file gets too large.

I also must say that I use Attachments profusely. It is a great feature and had a lot of benefit to me. But it certainly causes the file size to mushroom. I'd like to see Quicken address the file size/performance issue and go to a filing system that can handle larger file sizes without sacrificing performance. I realize not everyone has 30+ years of data in their file, but even smaller files with lots of attachments will push the limits of the program in time.

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Comments

Greg_the_Geek

One thing people can do to get a handle on what is taking up the space is by using 7-Zip (it is free to download/use).

7-Zip can open the QDF file, which is in fact a compressed file containing all the old files that were in Quicken in 2009 and below.

A while ago I stripped out all of my attachments. I really wasn't using them, and my data file had grown to 500MB so you won't see any attachments below, but if you do have them they will in a folder called Attach. Note in the newest version of Quicken there is an option in the copy that allows you not to copy the attachments.

splasher

Another user came up with a way of having the attachments NOT kept in the Quicken data file.

They created a folder structure to keep the attachments under Documents and stored the new attachment there. They then created a shortcut to the attachment and stored the shortcut in Quicken as an attachment, thus saving a lot of space. They were then able to delete the shortcut that was originally created since it was now stored in Quicken.

One HUGE advantage to this scheme is that you have direct access to the attachments without going thru Quicken to get to them which is something that comes up here in this forum quite often.

A second advantage is that your Quicken data file does not become bloated with the attachments.

A third thing is that Quicken encrypts the attachments, so that even if you use some scheme to pull them en masse from the data file, you won't be able to view them since you will not be able to de-crypt them.

Chris_QPW

Just a few notes.

Whenever people talk about huge data files it is usually because of the attachments, especially if they are collecting images instead of say PDF or text.
In general attachments don't cause performance problems. Since Quicken 2010 the QDF file has been a compressed file and the attachments are in a separate folder in that compressed file. As such they aren't opened unless you actually access that attachment.
I doubt using 7-Zip will reduce the size of a QDF file for the very reason that it is already a compressed data file. In fact, 7-Zip can be used to open up that compressed data file to look at the individual files in it (but it can't be used to write it back out, that will corrupt it).
If one wants to strip out the attachments, there is an option on the copy these days that allows for that.
Personally, I long ago dropped using attachments in Quicken because of the fact that it does make the data file larger, but more importantly it has terrible attachment management where you can only deal with one attachment at a time.