Good FAQ Dick.

--
Regards
Bob Peel,
Microsoft MVP - Money

Hints/Tips
http://support.microsoft.com/default...d=fh;EN-GB;mny
UK Wishes/Suggestions
mnyukwsh[at]microsoft.com

"Dick Watson" <littlegreengecko[at]mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:OUWSgdwfDHA.1200[at]TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...
- quote -

Can anybody think of a time they'd wished this was in the FAQ besides me?
Maybe this will give me motivation to publish in October after taking a
month off for September?
---
Q): Where is Money hiding my data from me? In the registry? In the ether?

A): This question comes up over and over again in many disguised forms.
Examples include "How do I just start completely over?," "I want to move my
data to a new computer but can't figure out where it is on the old one, what
do I do?," and the ever popular "How do I backup my Money data to a CD-R
instead of a floppy?"

Money is a file-oriented program. It stores your data in .MNY data files
just like Word uses .DOC files, Excel uses .XLS files, Notepad uses .TXT
files, and Access uses .MDB files. These files are all just data files that
can be moved, copied, deleted, renamed, shared over the network, or burned
to CDs, no matter what application originally created them. Perhaps part of
the problem here is that Money users generally use the same single data file
for months or years at a time--and Money always opens the last file they
used--so they may not even remember that their data is in a file named what
they told Money to name it and stored where they told Money to store it.
Take note: there is a File|Open choice in Money, just like in Word. Money
also has a File|New choice, just like Word.

There are some additional considerations:

1) While Money stores all of your account and transaction data in the data
file you designated when you first setup the file, it stores your
Tools|Options settings in the registry. The Tools|Options settings are the
only thing that you ever put into Money that is not stored in an .MNY data
file. This can be an issue when you reload your system or move your data
file to a new system but the Tools|Options settings get lost. Particularly
painful is when printer alignment settings for printing checks get lost.
Write them down before replacing your system or reinstalling the
application.

2) It is generally considered a "best practice" to store your .MNY files in
the My Documents folder tree, not somewhere in the Program Files folder
tree. All of the reasons for this are beyond the scope of the FAQ, but think
of it this way: it's like throwing your coat in the back seat of the car vs.
under the hood. The back seat is your space--under the hood isn't.

3) Money can have your file open for access--and so can MoneyExpress and
MoneySide. You should always avoid doing anything to the data file (like
copying it to a CD-R as a backup or opening it over the network or from a
different user profile) when the file is already opened since this can cause
data file corruption problems. An .LRD file in the same folder with the same
name is usually an indication that something has the data file open.

4) Starting the Money application directly--as opposed to opening an .MNY
file from the Windows file explorer--results in Money trying to open the
last .MNY file you used from the exact same location. If, say, you've moved
your data file, this will result in a "file not found" type of error. This
message does not mean that Money lost your data--it means that you've hidden
your data from Money. Go find your data file using the Windows file explorer
and r-click Open it or double click on it. After doing this, Money will now
know where your file is located.

5) Because your Money file is just a file, you can burn it to CD or whatever
else you want to do with it, just like any other data file. Money really
doesn't care. Likewise, whatever you do with the file is at your risk, not
Money's.

6) If you don't remember where you told Money to put your file or what you
told Money to name it, here are some ways to find out:
- Search your system's disks for files of type Microsoft Money File (files
using the extension .MNY).
- The Money title bar shows the name of your file, as in
"MyDataFileNameIsHere - Microsoft Money" when you are using Money.
- The Most Recently Used choices numbered 1 through 4 at the bottom of
Money's file menu are the four most recently opened Money data files
- If, with your file open, you go to Money's File|Open dialog it will show
you the directory (folder, if you prefer) where your data file is located as
this is the place it will start looking. If there is any doubt where this
is, pull down the little arrow next to the "Look In" pull-down.

7) Because your Money data file is your data file, you are responsible for
protecting it as you would any other file with important data in it: this
means backing it up, keeping copies before reloading your machine, and so
on.

8) Money File|Backup creates files that are not identical copies of the
original file. For reasons unknown, occasionally this difference is
relevant. If you really have to be sure you have your data--like when
migrating to a new system or reformatting your present hard disk--it's a
very good idea to have both the Money backup .MBF file and the real .MNY
data file both copied onto, say, a writable CD or, better, several writable
CDs, before destroying the original. The best method, if possible, is to get
the new installation working before destroying the original.