Quicken 2006 help file - can you print

It's probably not as simple as you would like, but sure you can print the Help; there's a button in the Help toolbar for doing just that. I think you can only print one main topic with all its sub-topics in a single step, so it might take some time. As far as pdf files are concerned, if you have the software that creates pdf files, I assume you could print to that. Not sure about putting all the individual topics together into one file/report.

To add to the correct information John Pollard provided...

If you are using the Microsoft Windows version (as opposed to the Mac version), then the help file you are looking at is in the WinHelp format (.hlp files). Your not being able to print out the whole help file at once and only print one topic at a time is a shortcoming in the WinHelp system, not Quicken. Intuit could not have provided the functionality you desire, even if they were of a mind to do so. At least not in the WinHelp format.

It is possible to compose a help file in one format and then output it in multiple other formats. In the technical writing field, this is called /single-sourcing/. They could compose the help in (for example) Adobe FrameMaker and then output it in two useful formats: RTF (which could be compiled into WinHelp) and PDF (which, when supplied to you, could be used to print the help--one topic at a time or the whole kit 'n' kaboodle).

So write to Intuit and recommend they adopt this very user-friendly technology. Aside from a one-time conversion from their current format to a single-sourcing capable format, producing the help in two versions costs them very little extra.

-- Steve Koterski Atlanta, Georgia

"Whenever you are to do a thing, though it can never be known but to yourself, ask yourself how you would act were all the world looking at you and act accordingly."

-- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

... or have a look at:

Notan

this is neat software, thanks for the tip - the free demo allowed me to convert two small quicken help files - one for home inventory and the other for some financial planning.

But I cannot find the main help file - even with search. I wonder if it is not an .HLP file?

alan

Hmm. I have heard of these applications. Played with a couple a long time ago. Perhaps they do a better job now than they did then. Perhaps they have perfected the technology for reverse engineering help files.

From Alan's response it would seem so. He seemed pretty satisfied.

-- Steve Koterski Atlanta, Georgia

"Whenever you are to do a thing, though it can never be known but to yourself, ask yourself how you would act were all the world looking at you and act accordingly."

-- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

For the newer .CHM help files, have a look at:

Notan

yes thanks - it worked great. But now I see I have a 1200 page file. But might be useful to me.

thanks

alan

Glad to help!

For the most part, gone are the days when manufacturers also included a complete user's manual in the cardboard box, which now contains nothing more than a CD.

Notan

Ah yes, and then remember for a while they used to at least put a PDF file of the manual on the CD so that, at least, you could print it off at your own expense? Now I see that in my recent Q06D directory, there's a 'Whats New' PDF, but that's all I found. It's a conspiracy to make you go to the Barnes and Nobles and buy the book!

Manuals, such as they are, are available for download for free at Intuit's Support web site. I have been having trouble passing along url's lately, but if you can get to this one, it has a link to download manuals.

There is a very capable online guide available here:

Ah yes, good point John. I started at your link, this one I eventually got to, think it resolves "closer":

Still ticks me off that I have to do the download and spend my time and $ for an instruction manual. Oh well....

Sorry about the link thing; not sure what I am doing wrong.

Are you saying that you are being charged a fee to download the manuals? Or that your time to do so is worth money? (I do not argue the latter, just curious about your point).

He might've been referring to printing supplies (paper, ink).

Notan

Perhaps a fair observation. But, Andrew complained that the manuals were not on the CD, clearly implying that, if there, they would still not be on paper. And, PDF files do not require printing to be usable as manuals.

The world has changed BIG TIME. It will never be the way any of us remember it to have been: I suspect a few important bits may get lost; but I think mostly it is just the changing of the guard, combined with the relentless, and respectable, desire of human beings to get more for less.

Yes, it was the cost and aggrevation of having some Staples or OfficeMax print the manual which I do sometimes (usually, just the 'whats new' stuff). (Prints faster and easier than one my laser or inkjet) Yes, I know the world is changing big time. But one thing I still like is the ability to see ink on paper; I'm not a big fan of electronic books, newspapers, etc. Call me old fashioned...I like reading in a comfy chair, not sitting at a computer screen, or reading on the bus, subway, beach, whatever. The ability to highlight and margin annotate is also nice. I even ditched my geeky digitial watch last year for a nice analog so that one can actually tell time by looking at *hands*! Imagine that.

But I do appreciate the pointer to the PDF online.

But at best we can only agree with him. He should complain to Intuit, the source of his problems.

Yup, me too. But it's the "book" I like: I could read a real book almost anywhere and enjoy it, but I can't imagine reading my favorite novel on a computer screen.

When it comes to reference material though, I have gotten used to good pc, or online, manuals. In some ways, they are better than hard copy; but I don't think Intuit's offerings reach that level.

Not THAT big a deal! There's a lot more problems in life than this one. (Take, for example, abysmal CD support in Q....now that's worth tearing one's hair out over.)