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Avoid losing precious Quicken information

This quick tip coincides with a tip I wrote last year called the Magical Title Bar (click here to read it…and it is a MUST read tip) . However, since I run into many Quicken users who "lose" data, I thought it was time to give Quicken users a tip of their own to help decrease anxiety and increase productivity with this truly legendary program.

When I get the frantic call or show up and see the disgruntled facial expressions, I smile inside knowing that I will almost always be able able to pull their data from their perceived digital hell. And I don't do anything magic, I simply employ the use of the Title Bar and Quicken's "recently used document list". My first question, is "When did you last backup?", followed by "When did you notice that your data was different?"

Then I ask the toughest question of all, "What is the name of your Quicken file?" The last question is usually met with a blank stare by the distraught Quicken user. But here's why the question is an important one; knowing the proper name of the file you are supposed to be working with will help you totally avoid the situation of lost data.

Quicken Title Bar

It starts again with the title bar. Take a look at the title bar that I placed in this tip. Like all title bars, it contains (from left to right) the logo of the program, the name of the program, and most imporantly the name of the file you currently have open. Since Quicken encourages users to backup and by default makes backups of your data on its own to a folder called "Backup" in your Quicken folder, keeping a quick eye on the title bar EVERY time you open Quicken is critical. Because of the automatic backups, a Quicken user may accidentally open a backup copy of their data and then start entering new data into it, then open the original copy later and think the original data is lost. For these automatic backups, Quicken will add either a numeral or date to the original name of the file to distinguish it from the main file.

So, when data seems lost, first look at the title bar and see if one of the backup files appears to be open, then click File from the menus and look at the recently opened documents (there will be up to four) listed at the bottom of the file menu. Carefully look at these recently opened documents and choose the one that should be the correct one.

If you might have been working in a backup file, I recommend doing two things:

  1. Move the most current file to the primary Quicken folder (usually in My Documents)
  2. Using Quicken's "File Operations" option in the File menu, delete your old file and rename the most current file to something that is descriptive and has NO numbers. Something like "Joe's Checking and Savings Account"

Once you have located and properly named your data file, make sure you glance at the title bar of Quicken EVERY time you open it to make sure that you are working in the proper file. And backup your data file frequently!

 

 

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6 thoughts on “Avoid losing precious Quicken information”

  1. I have been having this problem. Data is gone. It restores from my external hard drive.
    When I close quicken and reopen it the data is gone.
    When I click on the data file, I get a message “could not open file” though I see it listed.
    I have used quicken for 10 plus years. I am considering using a different program

    1. When requesting help like this, you should always include the name of your operating system (such as Windows XP) and the version of the program (usually found in the Help menu by clicking on About).

  2. Hi Dave,
    my computer’s operating system is windows 7 and my quicken version is 2009. I have been using this version since 2009. When I open quicken it goes back to April of 2010. I am able to restore my data from my external hard. Then I update my books, back up and close quicken. When I reopen quicken it is April 2010. Twice I had not backed up and had to reenter my data.

    1. I suggest that you google “quicken forum” and post your question in one or more of the forums dedicated to Quicken. I’m sorry I wasn’t wide awake enough to include this suggestion in my earlier comment.

  3. I am running Quicken 2010 on Windows 7 Ultimate.

    Two things happened simultaneously. For a few days all my data and familiar quicken have been replaced by screens that seem to want me to register a new version of quicken, starting from scratch (with personal info, beginning account info, etc). At the same time I have NO access to my original (years long) data files, or to Quicken itself, much less be able to access my extensive reports. HOW DID THOSE (BASICALLY ADVERTISING)screens arrive on my desktop, and what have they done to my Quicken program and data?

    1. You have apparently opened up a new quicken document. Your old Quicken file is more than likely sitting in its regular location just waiting for you to open it. In Quicken, click File from the menus then look at the bottom of the menu to see your recently opened documents and the 2nd or 3rd one listed is probably your “lost file”. If that doesn’t work, I hope you have a backup on CD or flash drive, because you can easily recover using it. Good luck.

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