EQ8 projects
Where are my EQ8 files? Finding My EQ8 on Mac and Windows
EQ8 keeps every project in one folder called My EQ8. Here’s where it is on Windows and on a Mac, what else is in it, and how to find a project that’s gone missing.
The short answer
On Windows, EQ8 saves projects in Documents › My EQ8 › Projects. On a Mac, they’re in Home › My EQ8 › Projects (in the Finder, choose Go › Home). Each project is a file ending in .pj8.
On Windows
EQ8 makes a folder called My EQ8 inside your Documents folder when you install it. Your projects are one folder further in:
Documents › My EQ8 › Projects
- Open File Explorer from the taskbar.
- Click Documents in the list on the left.
- Open My EQ8, then Projects. Each file ending in .pj8 is one project.
If you use OneDrive, it may have moved your Documents folder, so look in OneDrive › Documents › My EQ8 too. If that leaves EQ8 unable to find its folder, Electric Quilt’s fix is to reinstall EQ8 and then move your projects into the new My EQ8 › Projects. It advises against removing OneDrive.
On a Mac
On a Mac, EQ8 puts My EQ8 in your Home folder, not in Documents. Electric Quilt moved it there to avoid problems with iCloud Drive syncing Documents.
Home › My EQ8 › Projects
- Open the Finder.
- Choose Go › Home.
- Open My EQ8, then Projects.
To find it faster next time, drag My EQ8 to Favorites in the Finder’s sidebar. Don’t move or rename the folder itself: Electric Quilt says that can cause problems with EQ8.
What’s inside My EQ8
The folder holds more than your projects. The parts Electric Quilt’s support pages name:
- Projects: your .pj8 files. This is the part to treasure.
- Add-on Libraries: extra libraries you’ve downloaded, such as EQ Stash fabric collections.
- User: libraries you made yourself, such as a My Favorite Fabrics library (files ending .FAB for fabrics, .BLK for blocks).
- Images: pictures you’ve imported, such as scans of your own fabric.
Add-on quilt projects you buy from Electric Quilt are installed into My EQ8 too. Copy the whole folder when you back up, and you have all of it: backing up and moving to a new computer has the steps.
EQ7 and older projects
EQ7 kept its projects in a different place, and with a different ending. If you used the recommended install, Electric Quilt lists them as:
- EQ7: Documents › My EQ7 › PJ7, files ending .pj7.
- EQ6: Documents › My EQ6 › PJ6, files ending .pj6.
Upgrading to EQ8 doesn’t move them. They stay where they are until you open each in EQ8 and save it as an EQ8 project. Our guide to opening .pj7 files explains how.
Still can’t find a project?
Electric Quilt’s own advice for lost projects is to search your whole computer for the ending:
- Windows: open File Explorer, choose This PC on the left, and type .pj8 in the search box. Microsoft calls this the slow but thorough search, so give it a minute.
- Mac: press Command and the space bar to open Spotlight, and type .pj8. Or search for “My EQ8” to find the folder itself.
A project you saved somewhere else, like the Desktop or Downloads, is still yours: it just isn’t in My EQ8, so EQ8’s list of existing projects won’t show it. Open it, choose FILE › Save As in EQ8, and save it into My EQ8 › Projects.
If EQ8’s project list is suddenly empty. When EQ8 can’t find My EQ8 (because it was moved, renamed or deleted), it asks you to reinstall, and the reinstall makes a new, empty My EQ8. Your old projects aren’t gone: they’re still in the old folder. Search for .pj8 to find them, then move them into the new My EQ8 › Projects.
Opening them in Quarter Inch
Once you know where your projects are, you can open them in Quarter Inch on any computer, iPad or Chromebook. On the home page, use Choose files… for one or two, or Choose a folder… and pick your My EQ8 folder: we look through it, find the .pj8 and .pj7 projects, and leave everything else alone. Your files are read in your browser, and opening them needs no account.
Open an EQ8 or EQ7 file without an account and Import your whole My EQ8 folder go step by step.
Questions
Short answers.
Something else? A real person replies.
hello@quarterinch.app
Where does EQ8 save my quilts on a Mac?
In your Home folder, in My EQ8 › Projects. In the Finder, choose Go › Home, then open My EQ8 and Projects. Older versions used Documents; Electric Quilt moved it to avoid iCloud Drive problems.
Where does EQ8 save my quilts on Windows?
In Documents › My EQ8 › Projects. If you use OneDrive, your Documents folder may be inside OneDrive, so look in OneDrive › Documents › My EQ8.
Are my quilts saved inside the EQ8 program?
No. Each project is an ordinary file ending in .pj8, so you can copy it, back it up and open it on another computer.
My existing projects list in EQ8 is empty. Have I lost them?
Probably not. If EQ8 couldn’t find its My EQ8 folder and you reinstalled, it made a new, empty one. Search your computer for .pj8 and move the files into My EQ8 › Projects.
Where are my EQ7 projects?
EQ7 used Documents › My EQ7 › PJ7, with files ending .pj7. EQ8 can open them; save each one again in EQ8 to make it an EQ8 project.
Sources
We checked every fact above against these pages on , and we update this guide when they change. Spotted something out of date? Write to hello@quarterinch.app.
- Lost or missing project files The Electric Quilt Company
- Where is the My EQ8 folder on a Mac? The Electric Quilt Company
- Missing folders in your My EQ8 directory The Electric Quilt Company
- Backing up EQ files The Electric Quilt Company
- Link EQ Stash Online to EQ8 The Electric Quilt Company
- Adding a new fabric library The Electric Quilt Company
- Open a project from a previous version of EQ in EQ8 The Electric Quilt Company
- Find your files and apps in Windows Microsoft Support
- Find what you need with Spotlight on Mac Apple Support