Transferring from one Mac to another Mac

Cheryll's Avatar

Cheryll

Jun 30, 2012 @ 02:49 PM

I'm changing computers and I can't find any help about how to export my Moneydance files from the older computer to the new computer so i can pick up right where I left off on old Mac. I use Moneydance 2010r2 (735). It has to be possible to do this but for the life of me, I can't figure it out. I'm not terrifically savvy about such things. I'm willing to buy a new version. I don't need to use Moneydance on my iPad or iPhone. I just don't want to lose all my data and have to start over. Help?

  1. 1 Posted by -Kevin N. on Jun 30, 2012 @ 05:33 PM

    -Kevin N.'s Avatar

    Hi Cheryll,

    There is no need to purchase another license key.
    Download the Moneydance installation file from here:
    http://moneydance.com/download_2010
    Build (757) will be a slightly newer build than what you have.
    Once it's installed you can use your existing license key.
    Menu bar > Help > Register Moneydance.

    As for your data, you'll need to locate your data file and then copy it to your new machine.
    Your data file will have a .md extension. For example Moneydance.md
    Do a 'Search' of your old machine for *.md
    The star is a wildcard, it will help to find any file with a .md extension.
    Another option is to open Moneydance on your old machine and look to the window title bar, at the very top to see if the path to the file is listed there.

    Once you've located your data file. Make sure that Moneydance is closed.
    You can then burn the file to a CD / DVD, copy the file to a flash drive or email the file to yourself and download it to your new machine.

    HTH -Kevin N.

  2. 2 Posted by Cheryll Greenwo... on Jul 01, 2012 @ 12:59 AM

    Cheryll Greenwood Kinsley's Avatar

    One tip, if other laypeople like me get stuck with this, is that when the
    Mac saves the data files, they are saved with the date following the file
    extension, i.e.:

    Our Accounts.md-2012-06-29

    In order for the procedure you outline below to work, one needs to remove
    carefully everything in the filename to the right of the extension -- that
    is, the date -- so it becomes:

    Our Accounts.md

    Then the data flows right in and voila! Moneydance is all ready to go on
    the new Mac.

    Thanks for your quick response. It got me unstuck.

    Cheryll

  3. 3 Posted by -Kevin N. on Jul 01, 2012 @ 02:10 AM

    -Kevin N.'s Avatar

    Hi Cheryll,
    You're welcome. I'm glad to hear that you've gotten things working again.
    Just to clarify, Moneydance by default creates backup data files in the same directory as the main data file. Backup data files carry the same name as the main data file but with the exception of having their creation date appended to them.
    Accounts.md-2012-06-29 is a backup data file. As you've discovered, renaming the file minus the creation date allows the user to then open the file.
    You can determine the location and number of backups created in 'Preferences' on the 'Backup' tab.

    HTH -Kevin N.

  4. 4 Posted by james f on Jul 01, 2012 @ 02:10 AM

    james f's Avatar

    The data file with a date appended to it is the backup that is made whenever you make a change to your primary .md data file.

    Your primary .md data file is the name you gave it the first time that you ran Moneydance and performed the first Save under File - Save As.

    During that innitial Save, you ought to have been prompted to name the file and which folder to save the file. For instance: my primary .md data file was named "myaccount.md" and was saved to a folder named "Moneydance" on a usb thumdrive named "Backup".

  5. System closed this discussion on Mar 31, 2015 @ 03:45 PM.

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