Changes from Q'06 to Q'09 - Little Things

Here's a Quicken Forums discussion about the pros and cons of Q2009. In addition to the usual nasty comments from malcontents, there are some good points for the pros and the cons. [And since the thread started soon after Q2009 was released, I think some of the cons have been addressed by subsequent releases.]

And if you're coming from Q2006, I think that the ability to delete multiple investment account transactions at once; and the ability to retag (reclass) multiple transactions at once ... without regard to their category; are two very useful improvements (I think you could do both in Q2008, so they might not be mentioned in the noted thread.]

"Walt Bilofsky" wrote

(snip) Some little things have improved. In Q'06, most of the time when a report or other window was opened, any window already open was minimized. In Q'09, usually the window remains open. In particular, it is now possible to have two reports open at the same time and compare them. (Way back, maybe 10 years or more, all Quicken windows behaved this way, so it was even possible to have two registers open at the same time.) (snip)

I reluctantly converted from Q2002 to Q2008H&B. I have found only a few things about 2008 that I like better than 2002. I think tags are a big improvement over classes. But there's a lot I really dislike. Here's three examples.

The Account register FIND function was much easier to use in 2002 than in

2008 (unless I just haven't figured something out).

In 2002 when I opened FIND, the FIND window didn't minimize after it found the target like it does in 2008. I could simply click FIND NEXT repeatedly until I found the target I wanted. In 2008 I have to re-open the FIND window each time to select NEXT (or possibly there's a keystroke combination for NEXT -- I haven't looked). In 2009, does the FIND window stay open as long as you need it?

Also, in 2002, I could click in the register field I was interested in targeting before I opened FIND. For example, if I clicked on the AMOUNT field in the register, then opened FIND, the FIND fields would already be filled out for AMOUNT. In 2008, FIND offers PAYEE (IIRC) and I would need to manually select AMOUNT. Has 2009 fixed this annoyance?

One more: When creating reports in 2002 I could "drag" down contiguous categories, classes or accounts to select as many as I want. In 2008 I must select each one (unless I SELECT ALL). Has this changed in 2009?

If 2009 has "fixed" these, I'll get it today!

There is: CTRL+SHIFT+F

Yes.

Yes. But Q2008 isn't quite as different as you suggest.

The "Find" in the Q2008 register menu defaults to the last field used in a find (at least until you leave the register) ... not always Payee.

But if you put your cursor in the field you want to "Search" on, right-click the transaction, and left-click "Find": find will use the field your cursor was in. Also true if you use "Find" from your Quicken toolbar: click in the field you want to search on, click Find in the Toolbar, and your "selected" field will be in the Search box.

No.

I never knew about this feature before; I had to run Q2002 to find out what you meant. That certainly was a handy capability, and I'd love it if they put it back ... now that I know what it is..

So far, I have just been hoping they'll provide 3 group category items: Income, Expense, Transfer; and allow the user to click the box next to them to toggle all their categories from selected to unselected and back.

Two out of three ain't bad.

"John Pollard" wrote

(snip)

Great! That makes it easier.

(snip)

You could use this capability to select or de-select items, and drag either up or down.

(snip) > Two out of three ain't bad.

Agreed! Thanks... Care to try for 3 out of 4?

I have no use for the Exp field. It's a pain to tab twice to get from MEMO to AMOUNT to bypass EXP in a split window. Can the EXP field be eliminated?

No question that this was better than what we have now.

Unfortunately, my Q2009 is on the fritz; I'm reasonably certain that I need to reinstall it to clear up the problem ... but I've lost my CD. So while my Q2009 is in its current state, I can't test doing what you ask.

If Q2009 RPM [Rental Property Manager, which includes all Home and Business features] were working for me, I would have looked in Business > Invoice & Estimates > Design Forms ... to see whether the reimbursable expense column could be eliminated. Is that what you want to do? [I suspect that it can't be removed from the invoice form.]

Hi, Rick.

It's good to see you here again. Just now I was looking in some 2003 archives and saw one of your posts and waxed nostalgic. ;^}

Do you mean the Tag field in a Register? In my Q2009 Deluxe, in a checking Register, the Split window has fields labeled Category, Tag, Memo and Amount. To eliminate the Tag field, click Edit | Preferences | Quicken Program | Register, and remove the X from Show Tag field.

I hope that's what you wanted. I've never used the RTM or H&B, so they may be different.

Are we 3 out of 4 yet?

RC

When searching I always click FIND ALL instead of FIND. Much more useful.

But the Find window does stay open and you can keep clicking.

I looked in Q2008's Business > Invoice & Estimates > Design Forms and didn't see anything that addressed the reimbursable expense column.

Yes

[I suspect that it can't

I don't care about the form, since I don't use Q for invoicing. I just want to toggle the EXP field off the register (at least in the splits window), and thought that might be possible since the TAG field can be toggled off.

[The EXP field isn't one of my complaints about Q2008; I see it as a good thing for those who need to track reimbursable expenses. Why did I buy H&B then? I was completely happy with Q2002D until it just couldn't handle my huge (35-45 MB) data fileset anymore. So, I thought (and prayed) that a more recent version of Q could handle a big fileset. (It DID! -- although the conversion engorged the fileset size to over 65MB). Anyway, Q2009 had already been released when I was seeking a modern version of Q. My office needed Q like YESTERDAY! Since it's been repeatedly advised on this NG not to seek the latest Q, I searched every store in my town for any available Q2008. The only Q2008 version I could find was H&B, still on the shelves at Office Depot -- and it runs fast and flawlessly although with a lot of features my business doesn't need and has other work-arounds for]

Thanks for your help John; G/L finding that lost disk!

"R. C. White" wrote

Thanks, RC. Katrina (The Hurricane Of 2005) simply turned my world inside-out. (My house is waterfront); I miss relaxing and posting here in this NG. I'm anxious for "normalcy" but that's at least a year away. (snip)

No.

I guess the EXP field is unique to H&B. It's a separate field from TAG.

combination

When searching I always click FIND ALL instead of FIND. Much more useful.

But the Find window does stay open and you can keep clicking.

Thanks. That's enough reason to upgrade to 2009 for me.

The EXP field shows up only in the split window. I am running H&B

2008 and can find no way to eliminate the field.

Lee "Every man desires to live long, but no man wishes to be old." Jonathan Swift

"NC_FUBAR (SPAM)" wrote

I don't have Q running now, but I am almost certain that it's in the register. I just don't need to tab past it to enter the data I need to enter, so it's not an annoyance like it is in the split window.

(snip)

Thank you for this! I just moved from '06 to '09 and my fingers just don't want to get used to skipping 2 fields where one once was. I use categories and subcatigories (minimally), but haven't yet found a reason to need tags. Gone!

"NC_FUBAR (SPAM)" wrote

(snip)

(snip)

Look in the register window below "Amount" or "Charge".

It is; but it doesn't show if you have "Single Line Display" selected.

I'm pretty sure you can't eliminate the Exp field in the split window.

On the other hand, did I mention that you can now have up to around 245 split lines in a transaction?

Hmmm. I sent that. Don't know just why the funny identification. I see that I sent it using Motzarella, which I normally don't do, but I sent it using OE like always, so I don't understand why strange name.

Let's see how this one turns out.

Think of it this way... Categories and subcategories help you define what an expense is. Tags help you define things like who spent it or for what purpose.

For example, I have a Category called Travel. With tags, I can specify 'Vacation

2009', 'London 2008', etc.

Likewise, I have a category called Auto, with a subcategory called Fuel and another called Service. With tags, I can specify 2009 Jeep and 2008 BMW.

Using the same tag in different categories, say London 2008, it becomes easy to see all the different categories that have related expenses.

I have sub-subcategories, like auto:service:mustang, and travel:0808 Asheville. I suppose if I wanted to keep track of how much I spent on fuel for a driving vacation, tags would be useful? As it is, I just have a subcategory for each vacation. But really, that's all I need to know.

I'm guessing that since tags can cross categories, some may find them useful. I've been using Q for over 15 years and haven't come across the need.

Here's another aspect of this that may or may not apply.

I do a lot of volunteer work for some clubs and spend monies out of pocket for them that I need to get reimbursed for.

So for example, I have a category called Postage, another called Office Supplies. If I buy envelopes and postage for a mailing that I want to be reimbursed for (it's not really my money), I have tags for both 'Cooking Club' and 'Civil War Club' that allow me to easily include and exclude transactions by including or excluding the appropriate tags. When I later get reimbursed, I can offset those expenses by deposits into the same categories/tags. By excluding these tags in my own personal net worth reports, transaction reports, etc., it's a truer picture of my own personal financial picture. Plus it's easy for me to see if I need to get reimbursed for expenses outstanding.

Just another potential use.