Coming from EQ8
Your EQ8 quilts, wherever you sew.
Your EQ8 and EQ7 projects: where they are, how to open them on any device, and what comes across. Checked against Electric Quilt’s own pages.
Your EQ files
Where EQ keeps your projects, how to open them, and how to keep them safe.
Where are my EQ8 files? Finding My EQ8 on Mac and Windows
EQ8 saves projects in Documents › My EQ8 › Projects on Windows and Home › My EQ8 › Projects on a Mac. How to find them, and what to do if one is missing.
How to open a .pj8 file (EQ8 project)
What a .pj8 file is, how to open it in EQ8, where EQ8 saves projects on Mac and Windows, how to back up and share them, and what to do if you don’t have EQ8.
How to open a .pj7 file (EQ7 project)
A .pj7 file is an EQ7 project. How to open it in EQ8 and save it as an EQ8 project, where EQ7 kept them, older versions, and opening one without EQ.
Back up EQ8 projects and move them to a new computer
Back up EQ8 by copying the whole My EQ8 folder. How to move it to a new Windows PC or Mac, what to re-download, and how many computers one license covers.
Your EQ8 stash and fabrics: back them up and move them
Where EQ8 keeps Stash downloads, My Favorite Fabrics and project fabrics, how to back them up, and which fabrics come across when you open EQ8 files elsewhere.
EQ8 and your computer
Macs, iPads, Chromebooks and Windows: what runs where.
EQ8 on macOS 27 and 28: what Mac quilters need to know
Apple says macOS 27 is the last version with general Rosetta support. What that means for EQ8 on your Mac, what Electric Quilt has said, and what to do now.
Can you use EQ8 on an iPad?
The honest answer: EQ8 doesn’t run on iPad. What you can do today, the iPad quilt design apps available, and how Quarter Inch opens EQ8 projects on iPad.
Can you use EQ8 on a Chromebook?
No: Electric Quilt says EQ8 won’t run on Chromebooks. What that means, why Android and Linux apps don’t help, and how to work with your EQ8 quilts on one.
Choosing and moving
What comes across from EQ, and how the software compares on each device.
EQ8 lettering, photos and embroidery when you move
How EQ8 puts lettering, photos and embroidery on a quilt, and what happens to each, and to curves and stencils, when you open your EQ8 files somewhere else.
EQ8 alternatives: quilt design software compared (2026)
A fair, sourced comparison of 2026 quilt design software: EQ8, QuiltLab, NiftyFifty, PreQuilt, TideStitch, Quiltler and more, by device, price and EQ8 import.
Quilt design software for Mac, compared (2026)
Quilt design software that runs on a Mac in 2026: EQ8, TideStitch, Quiltler, QuiltLab, NiftyFifty and more, by price, Apple silicon and EQ8 import.
Quilt design apps for iPad, compared (2026)
Quilt design apps that run on an iPad in 2026: TideStitch, Quiltler, QuiltPop, Quiltography and NiftyFifty, by price, printing and EQ8 import.
Quilt design software for Windows and Chromebook (2026)
Quilt design software for a Windows PC or a Chromebook in 2026: EQ8, Fern Mountain, Quilt Assistant and browser tools, by price, devices and EQ8 import.
Free quilt design software: what you can do for free
Free quilt design software in 2026: NiftyFifty, QuiltPop and Quilt Assistant, and the free plans of QuiltLab, TideStitch, Quiltler and PreQuilt, compared.
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Your EQ8 quilts, wherever you sew.
Quarter Inch opens your EQ8 projects on your Mac, iPad or any browser, with a report for every file.
- Free, no account needed
- EQ8 and EQ7, Mac or Windows