What are QuickBooks Data files?

 


Let’s review managing QuickBooks data files when using Windows.

Windows allows you to organize your files into Folders or Directories or Libraries (these synonyms have been in use over the various Windows Operating Systems). The QB program has defaults (assumptions) to create, name and manage your Folders. You can control this, such as keeping Client files in one folder and your own Company files in another.

The Naming of Windows files has not changed much all these years: Filename (the first part) and Filetype (that part after the Dot) or Extension, such as My Letter.doc or My file.qbw or My Picture.pdf. Filetype allows Windows to launch the program which manages the data of a specific filetype.

The QuickBooks program works with its own Filetypes, the same way Word is the program that works with .doc and Excel is the program that works with .xls and Adobe works with pdf files. For QB, these are the filetypes for Company Data Files:

.qbw = Working file

.qbb = Backup file (compressed for easier storage)

.qbm = Portable file (think of the “m” as Mobile; smaller that a .qbb and sometimes easier to send via email)

The .qbw can be Opened; the others are compressed and must be decompressed by using the Restore function.

When moving data to a new computer, it is best to copy the recent backup (.qbb) on the new computer, then use the program and the Restore Existing File function. Open the “HowToRestoreExternalFiles.txt” found file in your Restored folder, and read it for any remaining tasks.

When updating a computer with a new Version (year) of the QB program, make a backup of each company file, then use the function of Open an Existing File and let the new program update it. If it does not update correctly, you can try the Restore process next.

There are other specific filetypes used by the Accountants Edition for managing Accountants Copy functions. Information on these can be found in the in product Help system.

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