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Most of the time OS X runs well without much intervention. However there are times when you want to do some cleaning, run automated maintenance at unusual times, or change settings that aren’t readily accessible from the user interface. Since OS X is based on a form of Unix, all of these things can be accomplished at the command line. However for most people, the command line isn’t very friendly. Not only is it hard to find the right command, but it can be very easy to make mistakes. OnyX solves many of these issues by giving you a clean interface to many of OS X’s internals. (more…)

In a previous article we looked at a way to hack a QFX file (Quicken’s version of OFX) to trick Qucken for Mac into letting you import at file from a bank that doesn’t pay extra money to Quicken for Mac support. Here we are going to examine a few ways to automate that process.

Since OS X is based on a form of Unix you have access to many of the Unix command line tools. Specifically, OS X supports sed, which is a utility for manipulating text files. The following two sed commands will make the necessary replacements in a QFX file.

Here is a script that will make the changes to any number of files passed in on the command line. (Shown as an image to keep wordpress from mangling the code.)

You can download the script here: sed_script.txt

By using automator, you can make it so you have the ability to option click on a QFX file and tell Automator to make the necessary changes.

Here is an example of that that looks like in the automator application:

Once this is setup correctly, you should be able to option click on your QFX file and see the following menu item to Process QFX:

After seeing my original post, Matthew Ryan sent me the following email:

Mark - I wrote to you a couple weeks ago thanking you for your QFX for Mac article on your web site, and wondering if you had an automated solution. You were kind enough to send me a shell script that handles the task.

I took your script, and wrapped it up as an AppleScript that does the following:

1 - Uses your Unix command to edit the file with the WaMu ID.

2 - Launches Quicken and imports the QFX file.

3 - Automatically deletes the original QFX and converted version after the import.

I am attaching the AppleScript here for your review. If you have any comments or changes, feel free to make them. And if you wish to make this available for download on your site, I give you complete permission to do so with no restrictions.

Mac users have been screwed by Intuit for way too long, so I appreciate you effort in coming up with a solution to the issue. I’ve been using the AppleScript daily for a week now, and it’s really convenient.

- Matthew Ryan

You can download a zipped copy of his file here: QFX Convert You will probably need to tweak it to make it work on your system. Thanks Matthew!

Between the Automator method and Matthew’s Applescript, you should be able to create a solution that minimizes any extra steps to import QFX files.

A few readers have said they had problems getting this method to work with investment accounts. It is possible that you’ll need the bank id numbers from a bank with an investment account option to make it work. If anyone finds numbers that work, please feel free to leave them in the comments.