Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.)
3/17/08, 3:00 pm

• About CheckBook Pro
Can I try CheckBook Pro before registering?
Can CheckBook Pro track my stock portfolio?
Does CheckBook Pro print checks?
Can CheckBook Pro play MP3 or AAC song files?
How do I request a new feature I would like to see in CheckBook Pro?

• Maintaining CheckBook Pro
How do I install CheckBook Pro?
What is a Disk Image file?
How do I upgrade to the latest version of CheckBook Pro?
Do I need to enter my serial number each time I upgrade to the latest version of CheckBook Pro?
How do I move CheckBook Pro to a new Mac?
How do I backup my CheckBook Pro data?
How do I restore my CheckBook Pro data from a backup?
Does CheckBook Pro make its own backups?

• System Compatibility
Does CheckBook Pro work on non-English systems?
What are CheckBook Pro's system requirements?
Is CheckBook Pro available in Universal Binary format?
Does CheckBook Pro work on Windows?

• Data Compatibility
Will CheckBook Pro work with my Quicken data?
Will CheckBook Pro work with statements downloaded from my online bank?
Can CheckBook Pro export its Account data?
Can CheckBook Pro sync with PalmOS or PocketPC devices?

• General Use
Can I customize the available Types in CheckBook Pro?
Each time I go to the Help Menu and select CheckBook Pro Help, I get a blank Help window.
Can I use CheckBook Pro on more than one Mac?
I need to access the same data on two or more Macs. What files should I copy to make sure the data is the
same on all of my Macs?


Can I try CheckBook Pro before registering?
Yes. In fact, we encourage you to do so. An unregistered copy of CheckBook Pro will allow you to create an unlimited number of Accounts with up to 50 Entries apiece, which you can use until you are sure you are ready to register.

Can CheckBook Pro track my stock portfolio?
No. CheckBook Pro has not been designed for stock portfolio tracking.

Does CheckBook Pro print checks?
No. This is a feature that we are very interested in providing to our users. If you would like to see this functionality in CheckBook Pro, please drop us a line at feedback@splasm.com.

Can CheckBook Pro play MP3 or AAC song files?
No.

How do I request a new feature I would like to see in CheckBook Pro?
Please send us an email outlining your feature request and some specific examples of how you would use the feature to feedback@splasm.com.

How do I install CheckBook Pro?
You can download CheckBook Pro in Disk Image format at http://www.splasm.com/downloads/checkbook/CheckBook Pro.dmg. Double-click the file to reveal a window named CheckBook Pro X, where X is the version you have downloaded. The window will have three icons inside: ReadMe, CheckBook Pro and Applications. Drag the CheckBook Pro icon to the Applications icon, then select the Eject option from the File menu. You will find CheckBook Pro in your Applications folder.

What is a Disk Image file?
Disk Image files are special files that allow us to deliver CheckBook Pro in a single package that acts very much like a CD or USB drive. When you double-click a Disk Image, your Mac reads the file and places a new icon on your Desktop that looks just like a hard drive icon. This is known as a Disk Image. If you open this new icon you will see the actual files we want you to have - the ReadMe and the CheckBook Pro application. While you can use these files directly from the Disk Image, it is best that you copy the CheckBook Pro application to your Applications folder on your hard drive and use it from that location. Once you have copied CheckBook Pro to your Applications folder you can safely eject the Disk Image by dragging its icon to the Trash. If you like, you can save the Disk Image file for future installation of CheckBook Pro.

How do I upgrade to the latest version of CheckBook Pro?
Each update is designed to completely replace previous versions, so download the latest version of CheckBook Pro at http://www.splasm.com/downloads/checkbook/CheckBook Pro.dmg and overwrite your existing copy. Your registration for CheckBook Pro 2.x entitles you to all updates before CheckBook Pro 3.0, so feel free to download and install the latest version at any time.

Do I need to enter my serial number each time I upgrade to the latest version of CheckBook Pro?
No. Each update is meant to replace your previous copy of CheckBook Pro, and will update your Accounts and Preferences (which is where your serial number is stored) automatically. You will not be asked to enter your serial number again.

How do I move CheckBook Pro to a new Mac?

First, make sure CheckBook Pro is not running on either Mac. Then, copy the following folders to the same locations on your new Mac:

/Users/[your username here]/Library/Application Support/CheckBook 2/
/Users/[your username here]/Library/Preferences/Splasm/


How do I backup my CheckBook Pro data?
Please use the Backup Accounts... menu option from CheckBook Pro's File menu. We recommend storing your backups periodically on another disk, such as a CD-R or CD-RW, so that your data will be safe in the event you need to reinstall Mac OS X or your internal hard drive crashes.

How do I restore my CheckBook Pro data from a backup?
First, make sure CheckBook Pro is not running. Go to the /Users/[your username here]/Library/Application Support/CheckBook 2/ folder and rename Accounts.plist to Accounts.plist.old. Then, copy your backup to the same folder and rename the copy to Accounts.plist. It's best to copy your backup because you want to protect it from any mishaps during the restoration process. Launch CheckBook Pro and verify your data appears as you expect. If everything shows up correctly, you can safely remove the Accounts.plist.old file.

Does CheckBook Pro make its own backups?
Yes, CheckBook Pro creates an automatic backup once per week. It names each backup with the current date and version of CheckBook Pro, and compresses the file so that it takes up very little hard drive space.

Here's how to restore an automatic backup:

1. Quit CheckBook Pro.
2. Go to /Users/[your username here]/Library/Application Support/CheckBook 2/ and rename Accounts.plist to Accounts.plist.old.
3. Select a backup to restore. Go to /Users/[your username here]/Library/Application Support/CheckBook 2/Backups/ . This folder contains weekly backups that should be named something like Accounts_3_13_2008_2.0.plist.Z. The first three numbers are the month, day and year the backup was created. The last number is the version of CheckBook Pro that created the backup. The best candidate to restore from is usually one that has been modified within the last week or so and is larger than the older backups. If you are in a situation where your original Accounts file was accidentally moved or removed, there may be a very recent backup that is smaller than the other backups. It's probably a backup of an empty Accounts file, so keep looking at the backups until you find the most recently modified file that is larger than the others.
4. Copy the selected backup to the /Users/[your username here]/Library/Application Support/CheckBook 2/ folder.
5. The backup file you just copied to the CheckBook Pro folder is in Unix compressed format. Simply double-click the backup file and Stuffit Expander should expand it for you. You should now have a new file with the same name as the backup but without the .Z at the end.
6. Trash the backup copy. It is very important that you trash the copy you made, not the original backup, which should still be in the Backups folder.
7. Rename the expanded backup file to Accounts.plist.
8. Launch CheckBook Pro and verify that your data appears correctly.


Does CheckBook Pro work on non-English systems?
Yes. CheckBook Pro should function on non-English systems. The text of the application will not appear correctly but the general functionality should remain intact. Also, CheckBook Pro respects the date and number formats selected in the user's International Preferences, so Entry dates and amounts should be shown correctly.

What are CheckBook Pro's system requirements?

CheckBook Pro requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 and a display with a resolution of 800x600 pixels.

We recommend Mac OS X 10.4 or later and a display with a resolution of 1024x768 pixels.

CheckBook Pro is not compatible with Microsoft Windows or Linux.


Is CheckBook Pro available in Universal Binary format?
Yes. The regular download is a Universal Binary and will run natively on PowerPC and Intel Macs.

Does CheckBook Pro work on Windows?
No. CheckBook Pro is only for Mac OS X.

Will CheckBook Pro work with my Quicken data?
Yes. CheckBook Pro supports the QIF file standard, which Quicken can export to. CheckBook Pro allows you to choose which Account you would like to import, the date format of the Account and how to rearrange some of the incoming fields to be more compatible with how CheckBook Pro presents your Entries.

Will CheckBook Pro work with statements downloaded from my online bank?
Probably. CheckBook Pro can import statements in the OFX, QIF and CSV/TSV file formats. It's likely your online bank supports at least one of these.

Can CheckBook Pro export its Account data?
Yes. CheckBook Pro can export to QIF, for import into other personal finance applications, and to tab-delimited text, for advanced analysis in a spreadsheet.

Can CheckBook Pro sync with PalmOS or PocketPC devices?
Kinda. CheckBook Pro provides QIF Import and tab-delimited text Export, which may be suitable for your particular PalmOS or PocketPC application.

Can I customize the available Types in CheckBook Pro?
Yes. Types are customizable per-Account. The options for managing your Types can be found in your Account Options, which are available by selecting Edit Account... under the Account menu.

Each time I go to the Help Menu and select CheckBook Pro Help, I get a blank Help window.
Occasionally, in earlier versions of Mac OS X, the Help Viewer application will have an issue loading an application's Help files. The workaround is to "reset" the Help Viewer's memory, after which it will work correctly. To do this, you need to remove one or more files associated with the Help Viewer. This should not harm the Help Viewer in any way, but it will cause it to temporarily forget about any third-party applications' Help content. This content will return when you next select the Help option from each application's Help menu.

To reset the Help Viewer, first quit CheckBook Pro and the Help Viewer, then remove the following file:

-  /Users/[your username here]/Library/Caches/com.apple.helpui

If you find that CheckBook Pro's Help is still blank, quit CheckBook Pro and the Help Viewer again, then remove the following files:

-  /Users/[your username here]/Library/Caches/com.apple.helpui
-  /Users/[your username here]/Library/Preferences/com.apple.help.plist
-  /Users/[your username here]/Library/Preferences/com.apple.helpui.plist
-  /Users/[your username here]/Library/Preferences/com.apple.helpviewer.plist

For additional information, please see Apple's support article, "Mac OS X: Can't access Help content, or content is blank or missing links" at http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25667.


Can I use CheckBook Pro on more than one Mac?
You can use CheckBook Pro on another Mac, as long as you respect your license agreement. The single-user license states that you are licensed to use CheckBook Pro on only one Mac at a time. Make sure each copy of CheckBook Pro using the same serial number is not running on more than one Mac at any given time and you're welcome to copy it to as many Macs as necessary. The family pack license expands the number of Macs you may use CheckBook Pro simultaneously on to five (5).

I need to access the same data on two or more Macs. What files should I copy to make sure the data is the same on all of my Macs?
Here's how to transfer the data back and forth:

Make sure CheckBook Pro is not running on both the source and destination Macs, then copy the folder where CheckBook Pro keeps your Accounts data from the source Mac to the same location on the destination Mac.  The folder to copy is located at /Users/[your username here]/Library/Application Support/CheckBook 2/.


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