Quicken files from Windows to Mac

Incorrect, unfortunately.

First of all, congratulations on switching. You will enjoy the Mac once you get used to some of the user interface changes that any Windows user would find different.

Second, you may want to invest in a copy of Virtual PC. The Windows version of Quicken is, unforunately, a far superior product to the Mac one. You would be giving up a lot of the investment functionality, including the

401k and ESPP features. I'm currently running Quicken for Windows over a terminal services connection to our old Windows machine. It seems like Intuit runs the Mac and Windows development as completely separate projects and the Mac version lags several years in terms of features. I really like what they do with the user interface on the Quicken Mac side, but I buy the software every year because it's functional on the other side.

Now that the Mac is going to be Intel-based, Virtual PC will run much faster; you might want to check it out.

If you REALLY want to use the Mac version of Quicken, Intuit will convert your files for a fee. I can't remember how much, but I strongly advise sticking with the Windows product. If you're buying an iMac, I think Apple still bundles Quicken with it; give it a try before you decide.

I looked into this a few months ago. It appears that the Mac and Windows versions of Quicken are completely different products with totally different databases. There are long convoluted manual procedures for converting from one to the other, but there are no guarantees that it will work. You need to back up accounts manually, import them, and then check everything for errors.

I have 15 years worth of data that I don't want to lose. Quicken is the one app keeping me from moving to the Mac. If I do, I'll probably have to resort to running the virtual PC and using Windows Quicken in order to maintain the integrity of my data, or else keep an old Windows machine around just for Quicken.

-- Mark

Seems to me that it would be a great opensource project. Some bright group of people could reverse engineer the process. I think Intuit charges several hundred dollars for the task of converting a file to another platform... one would think all they really do is drop said file into a proprietary two-way converter...

Wow, unbelievable.

I have some familiarity with OS-X, and so far everything I've seen just makes me want to switch all that much faster. But I'm waiting for the Intel-based line to be fleshed out a bit more.

I really, really want to leave Windows in the distant past, Virtual PC will seem like the Ghost of Redmond everytime I use it.

Oh joy, an easy conversion that should be a feature is really a revenue stream for Intuit. Figures....

Thanks for the reply.

The "old Windows machine" approach will work so long as Intuit supports Windows 2000. I'm not planning to upgrade past that, Redmond already has taken far too much of my money for an inferior product.

The "old Windows machine" approach is a fair short-term solution, but it is not viable on an ongoing long-term basis.

Thanks for the reply.