tag:infinitekind.tenderapp.com,2009-01-14:/discussions/general-questions/102633-changes-to-qif-import-for-20201Infinite Kind: Discussion 2020-12-16T20:20:24Ztag:infinitekind.tenderapp.com,2009-01-14:Comment/486137432020-09-08T22:13:40Z2020-09-08T22:13:40ZChanges to QIF Import for 2020.1 <div><p>I'm a fellow user.</p>
<p>In relation to your first question I tested Build 1928 with an OFX file and it did not download into the open account, or even prompt for that to be the default. As I have not previously imported a OFX file for this account it provided the account number from the OFX file and wanted me to select the account that it should download the transactions to and also asked if it should remember the choice, the software was asking me to map downloaded files that contain this header information to an account in Moneydance.</p>
<p>I would nor expect QIF and OFX/QFX to be the same. QIF files do not have explicit Account identifying information in them whereas OFX/QFX do. So to make the currently open account the default, and that does not mean just import the data, seems to be a reasonable approach to take with QIF files.</p>
<p>Just to correct a misconception that seems to be prevalent. OFX can refer to a number of things. It can refer to the Direct Connect Protocol, which is what a lot of banks seem to be de-committing from. But a subset of this is the structure of transactional information which is in the data stream if you use Direct Connect or can also be in a file that you download.</p>
<p>The different between OFX and QFX is quite minor. QFX files include some Quicken private tags. The OFX specification does allow for private tags but they are done in such away that applications other than Quicken can ignore them.There was no technical requirement for Quicken to define their own file extension.</p></div>dwgtag:infinitekind.tenderapp.com,2009-01-14:Comment/486137432020-09-16T20:19:05Z2020-09-17T19:59:59ZChanges to QIF Import for 2020.1 <div><p>Since there's only one "Import..." menu item, I would expect ALL files to behave the same way, as that follows the principle of least surprise. Having different behavior for an area that isn't format-dependent is most surprising, especially since financial institutions aren't known for using file names that are truly representative of data format.</p>
<p>If the intent is only that importing a file for which no account identifiers are present will default to the currently selected account, then that's probably a good thing, and unlikely to result in surprise for a new user. But presenting it as above was confusing at best, and misleading otherwise. If it's choosing a default account based on the file name extension (yikes!) or the data format, and not if account information is present, well, that's also worth a complaint, and wouldn't follow the principle of least surprise. :)</p>
<p>QIF files can have a lot of data, including identifying accounts. It's how I (and I suspect many others) switched to Moneydance in the first place. :) I don't recall if I've ever downloaded a QIF file from a financial institution, if so, it's been many years, so I certainly don't know if any of them include such data or not. My recollection is the format as documented is so loose on what data is required, that I wouldn't be surprised if there are some QIF files that Moneydance wouldn't know what to do with at all. :)</p>
<p>For reference, when I referred to OFX not working, I meant the connection to the OFX servers of my financial institutions. I apologize for the lack of clarity. Attempting to specify the various names used by different financial services and software for the protocol seemed overly cumbersome (as does trying to keep in mind even what Moneydance calls it everywhere, which varies based on the dialog you're looking at :( ).</p></div>Tom