Using Quicken for Mac from two different Macs with different Apple IDs

kv0rmwald · January 2

Hi,

I have been using Quicken for Mac for years now (and lovin' it). My main Quicken data file is in my Mac Documents folder which is thus on iCloud. I'd like to be able to access my Quicken data file from my wife's MacBook Air without having to download the data file to her Mac which would create then two "active" Quicken data files (yikes). I've read where I can share a file from my Apple account to another person's Apple account by inviting them, but I believe that only allows the other person to access and download the shared file to their Mac. I think the only way two independent Apple ID users can directly access a single data file in one Apple account is if they are using a Mac tool such as Pages or Numbers. I thought I'd put the question to the experts to see if there's a best-practice way to accomplish my objective. Thanks for any suggestions.

RickO · January 2

It is highly recommended not to store your live Quicken file on any kind of cloud service, including iCloud Drive. Quicken reps seem to vacillate on whether this is allowed or supported. But the QMac SU group has heard too many stories of data loss to believe it's safe.

You can, however, store a backup of your file on a cloud service. If you need two people to work on one Quicken file, the only safe way is to set both computers to auto save a backup to the cloud site. Then when someone wants to work on it, restore the last saved backup file from the cloud to a local storage location.

I'm not up to speed on how to share files using iCloud Drive between different Apple IDs, but I would think a quick Google search would be revealing.

jacobs · January 2

I don't think your Apple ID, or using two different Apple IDs, has anything to do with moving a Quicken data file around. The key is that the data file must be either a Quicken-generated backup or a .zip file created in the Finder with File > Compress. Both of those wrap the Quicken data file (which is actually a collection of files and folders inside) in a compressed form so permissions on the internal files and folders won't be messed up when moving to a different Mac.

As @RickO said above, it is not a good idea to store your live Quicken data file on iCloud due to possible permission problems moving between different Macs, but it is fine to store the .quickenbackup or .zip copy of the data file there.

I'm inferring from your description that you and your wife have different AppleIDs, and you both use iCloud Drive associated with your AppleIDs? In that case, it might be better to use another storage service for moving your data file back and forth. You could use Dropbox, or if you're a Google user, Google Drive. That way both computers could access the same storage serves and same file location.

Austin@ · January 2

@jacobs You can share an iCloud Drive file or folder(s) of files to another Apple ID just like you can with Dropbox, so I don't think using a separate service is needed if iCloud Drive is already being used (you just control-click on the file or folder in iCloud Drive, choose "Share", then set the options to "Collaborate" instead of "Send Copy". This will add the file or folder to the recipient's iCloud Drive under "Shared".)

That being said @kv0rmwald, it's already been pointed out that the main Quicken data file shouldn't be stored or shared from a cloud service. If you want to share a folder of backups with your spouse via iCloud Drive (with two different Apple IDs), this is definitely doable without needing another cloud service.

Jon · January 17

@kv0rmwald Your use case is very much like what I do - I use Quicken on my desktop Mac when at home and on my MacBook Air when traveling. I have an automated task that runs every night on my desktop Mac that compresses my Quicken file and uploads the .zip file to iCloud. When I leave home I download it from iCloud to my laptop & use the file there. When I get home I transfer the Quicken file from my laptop back to the desktop.

RickO · January 17

One way to automate this without using any scripting or special tools is the following.

Point the destination of Quicken's automatic backups to a folder on iCloud Drive. You will then always have the most recent N backups there.
When you want to use the file on either machine, double click the most recent backup file. Quicken will ask if you want to restore it. Click Restore This File.
Quicken will then present a file dialog at the folder of your existing Quicken file with the filename set to the name of your existing file with " 2" appended.
Remove the " 2" from the filename in the above dialog, click Restore and choose Replace when Quicken asks if you want to replace the file.
Your local copy will now reflect the last saved backup's data.
You can do this procedure each and every time you open Quicken, or do it only when you switch machines. Either will work. The only caution is never to skip the procedure when switching machines and never work on both local copies at the same time. And always be sure to quit Quicken every time you are done working with it so that the auto backup gets saved.

RickO · January 2

It is highly recommended not to store your live Quicken file on any kind of cloud service, including iCloud Drive. Quicken reps seem to vacillate on whether this is allowed or supported. But the QMac SU group has heard too many stories of data loss to believe it's safe.

You can, however, store a backup of your file on a cloud service. If you need two people to work on one Quicken file, the only safe way is to set both computers to auto save a backup to the cloud site. Then when someone wants to work on it, restore the last saved backup file from the cloud to a local storage location.

I'm not up to speed on how to share files using iCloud Drive between different Apple IDs, but I would think a quick Google search would be revealing.

jacobs · January 2

I don't think your Apple ID, or using two different Apple IDs, has anything to do with moving a Quicken data file around. The key is that the data file must be either a Quicken-generated backup or a .zip file created in the Finder with File > Compress. Both of those wrap the Quicken data file (which is actually a collection of files and folders inside) in a compressed form so permissions on the internal files and folders won't be messed up when moving to a different Mac.

As @RickO said above, it is not a good idea to store your live Quicken data file on iCloud due to possible permission problems moving between different Macs, but it is fine to store the .quickenbackup or .zip copy of the data file there.

I'm inferring from your description that you and your wife have different AppleIDs, and you both use iCloud Drive associated with your AppleIDs? In that case, it might be better to use another storage service for moving your data file back and forth. You could use Dropbox, or if you're a Google user, Google Drive. That way both computers could access the same storage serves and same file location.

Austin@ · January 2

@jacobs You can share an iCloud Drive file or folder(s) of files to another Apple ID just like you can with Dropbox, so I don't think using a separate service is needed if iCloud Drive is already being used (you just control-click on the file or folder in iCloud Drive, choose "Share", then set the options to "Collaborate" instead of "Send Copy". This will add the file or folder to the recipient's iCloud Drive under "Shared".)

That being said @kv0rmwald, it's already been pointed out that the main Quicken data file shouldn't be stored or shared from a cloud service. If you want to share a folder of backups with your spouse via iCloud Drive (with two different Apple IDs), this is definitely doable without needing another cloud service.

jacobs · January 2

@Austin@ Thanks for the additional info. My wife and I have separate Apple IDs, but I pay for more storage on iCloud and she shares my iCloud storage using Apple's Family sharing. I wasn't sure how it worked if each person had their own, separate iCloud storage.

Austin@ · January 2

@jacobs Gotcha. It works whether each person has their own storage or share storage via Family Sharing. My parents and I share a number of folders (across 3 different Apple IDs and computers), and it works great.

RickO · January 2

First hit in my Google search, the official process from Apple: https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/share-and-collaborate-on-files-and-folders-mchl91854a7a/mac#:~:text=Invite%20people%20to%20collaborate%20on%20files%20or%20folders&text=Click%20the%20Finder%20icon%20in,Share%20from%20the%20shortcut%20menu.

kv0rmwald · January 17

Thanks for all the great advice and suggestions. Just to be clear, currently my live Quicken data file is on my local Mac hard drive in its default location. Good thing I didn't move it from there to my iCloud Drive as your comments about lost data were good to heed. I think I'm going to try the idea of putting a backup in my iCloud Drive and try sharing it with my wife's iCloud account. And I think the best approach would be to download the backup to her MacBook Air and then auto-back it up to the iCloud folder. The real use case scenario is that we want to take her MacBook Air with us when we travel for longer periods, but mainly use Quicken from my Mac when we're not traveling. Thanks again for quick suggestions.

Jon · January 17

@kv0rmwald Your use case is very much like what I do - I use Quicken on my desktop Mac when at home and on my MacBook Air when traveling. I have an automated task that runs every night on my desktop Mac that compresses my Quicken file and uploads the .zip file to iCloud. When I leave home I download it from iCloud to my laptop & use the file there. When I get home I transfer the Quicken file from my laptop back to the desktop.

kv0rmwald · January 17

Hi Jon,

Thanks for your comments. After reading the previous comments, your method is exactly what I'm gravitating to. And your use case scenario also matches exactly to what I want to accomplish too - mainly use Q-Mac from my Mac when at home, but also be able to use it from my Wife's MacBook Air when we're traveling. Thanks again.

RickO · January 17

One way to automate this without using any scripting or special tools is the following.

Point the destination of Quicken's automatic backups to a folder on iCloud Drive. You will then always have the most recent N backups there.
When you want to use the file on either machine, double click the most recent backup file. Quicken will ask if you want to restore it. Click Restore This File.
Quicken will then present a file dialog at the folder of your existing Quicken file with the filename set to the name of your existing file with " 2" appended.
Remove the " 2" from the filename in the above dialog, click Restore and choose Replace when Quicken asks if you want to replace the file.
Your local copy will now reflect the last saved backup's data.
You can do this procedure each and every time you open Quicken, or do it only when you switch machines. Either will work. The only caution is never to skip the procedure when switching machines and never work on both local copies at the same time. And always be sure to quit Quicken every time you are done working with it so that the auto backup gets saved.

smayer97 · January 18

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20410853#Comment_20410853

Note that Quicken auto-backups are compressed. So you could save yourself the trouble by simply having Quicken store the backups to the cloud-synced folder.

Jon · January 18

Yes, saving auto-backups to iCloud would be an option but the basic iCloud is only 5GB of storage and my Backups folder is currently that big. I could save fewer backups but it was better IMO to only have one Quicken file on iCloud to leave more room for other things.

Nowadays I pay for more iCloud storage but didn't see the need to change something that was already working. if it ain't broke, don't fix it. 😀

(OK, if I'm being honest maybe I enjoyed figuring out how to get launchd to automatically run something & how to automatically upload something to iCloud, I am a retired software developer after all.)

smayer97 · January 18

@Jon I get that ;-)

BTW, an alternative would be to simply copy the latest Quicken Backup from its backup location to the cloud-synced folder, then you also only end up with one copy in the cloud storage.

Using Quicken for Mac from two different Macs with different Apple IDs

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