Quicken is TOO LOUD!

Hi William,

Do so going through the Volume Icon or Control Panel to Sounds. Click on Advanced. Click on Options to Properties then dot Playback and check to Show the following volume controls that you wish to adjust and click OK. Then just move the slider up or down to your preference.

It can't be done from within Quicken.

Oh yeah, I found the startup sound way to loud too, so I edited the sound files (using i.e. Audacity) to 'turn down' the volume.

'Program files\Quicken\Sounds\qopen.wav' is the startup chime. Not sure which one is the mouse clicks though.

Hi, Wendell.

In Vista, click Control Panel | Sound, then the Sounds tab. in the Program box, scroll down to Quicken and you should see a list of all the Quicken sounds. For "Click", the default is qclick.WAV.

I've forgotten the exact click-path for WinXP, but it's similar. But we've had MANY cases of "no Quicken" in that list in the Program box. For several years, the Quicken install program failed to make the proper entries here, leaving us with no way to edit sounds in Quicken. If you have that problem, post back and we'll dig up the .reg file from the archives to put the sound options into that box.

Stubby forgot to mention which OS he is using. In Vista, as thecreator said, the Volume icon near the clock allows us to adjust the volume, both generally and for specific running programs, such as Quicken. Well, it does for my motherboard's built-in Realtek High Definition Audio. YMMV, depending on which sound card or chip your computer has. I've never used Audacity, but if it will let us adjust the volume of individual .wav files, maybe I should.

RC

Well, I am using XP and did find the info as you mentioned. However, it certainly would be more useful to have the ability to adjust the volume of individual programs like Vista!

The Vista style volume you mention would work better IMHO. I used Audacity to make permanent changes to the sound file (ok, on a copy of the sound file, but still). A bit extreme I guess but it did fix the problem for me.

I'm really glad to see this thread, as this has been a problem for me as well. I like my volume for Vista as it is, but Quicken alone is just too loud.

However I just tried the below method, and maybe I am doing something wrong, I picked the Quicken open program sound, and adjusted the speaker volume down, but it appears to effect my sound universally across all of Vista, rather than just the quicken open program sound? I am running Vista Ultimate

64 bit.

Thanks for any additional info here,

Also, forgot to mention, I am running an X-Fi Extreme Music soundcard.

I use Outlook 2007 and Q2009D. New feature is sync to Outlook as part of the One Step Update process. Looks like it is like Billminder. Nice for me since I publish my Calendar to the Web.

Oilcan

Hi, Don.

In all my years of using Windows, I've never figured out how to adjust the sound volumes - plural because the sounds are louder in some programs than in others.

Vista's "Mixer" icon looks to be the perfect solution - until I try it. The number of columns with sliders varies, depending on how many and which applications are running. Right now, I see 3 columns. The first one is under "Device" and is labeled "Speakers". This one works about as expected and I can set the volume anywhere from zero (Mute) to 100 and hear a "ding" each time I click the mouse on the slider or tap a key. The other two current columns are under the "Applications" header and are labeled "Windows Sounds" and "Windows DreamScene". I'm not sure just what "Windows Sounds" means in this context; I can adjust it lower than "Speakers", but if I make it louder than "Speakers", then the "Speakers" setting increases to match it - and I hear the "ding" again.

Windows DreamScene is a neat "Vista Ultimate Extra" - one of the few "Extras" available. It runs a dynamic "wallpaper" as the desktop background; there are a dozen or so to choose from (I usually run the beautiful waterfall) but, so far as I can tell, none of them have any sounds, so I don't know why the mixer has a slider for this.

And, while I was typing that paragraph, a 3rd slider appeared under Applications: "Re: Quicken is TOO LOUD!" With an envelope icon. This apparently is for Windows Live Mail, but, except for an occasional new-message notification ding, there is no sound in Mail, either. Now I've started Quicken, which was not running before, and the Mixer added a column under Applications for it. At the moment, clicking on Quicken's slider does not produce a ding; usually it does.

All this is too much work for too little return. So I usually just reach over and turn the volume knob on the speakers whenever Windows Media Center or Windows Media Player - or my Grandson's "Hot Wheels! Beat THAT!" - starts up and blasts me out.

The bottom line is that I know many ways to adjust the sound volume. But none of them work consistently or the way I want them to. And the Quicken NG seems a strange place to be discussing THIS problem in depth. :>(

RC

Thanks R.C.

I think you are probably right, normally just before I open Quicken I reach over and lower the volume knob for my speakers, so I don't get blasted by the Quicken start up sound, probably what I need to just keep doing.

For everything else while using Vista, my volume it just right, it is just Quicken that is so loud.

I think I saw this as a feature somewhere, but dismissed looking into it when I upgraded to Q2009. So, your post interests me -- what does Syncing to Outlook buy you? Outlook is a calendaring/email program to me primarily, so I don't understand what I would 'get' by syncing to Outlook - or am I missing some major point?

Thanks!

Two options to consider:

1. Rename the Quicken/Sounds folder to No_Sounds, and enjoy complete silence in Q.
2. Use one of the other 15 or so qstart WAV files. I use qstart_2000.wav; much softer and more pleasant.

Aha, many thanks Jim! My dumb butt didn't even explore enough to realize there were other options in there, I like the qstart_2000.wav as well, much better now!!

To me, it is a replacement to BillMinder (which I never used). It just simply places Scheduled Payments in your Outlook Calendar as a reminder. You choose the payments you wish to see there.

Oilcan

-----Orig> I use Outlook 2007 and Q2009D. New feature is sync to Outlook as part

I think I saw this as a feature somewhere, but dismissed looking into it

when I upgraded to Q2009. So, your post interests me -- what does Syncing to Outlook buy you? Outlook is a calendaring/email program to me primarily, so I don't understand what I would 'get' by syncing to Outlook - or am I

missing some major point?

Thanks!

Where do you make this change in wav file used? I looked in quicken.ini and don not find any WAV files listed for any action.

Thanks, Archie

Hi, Archie.

No. NOT in Quicken.ini.

The .wav files contain the actual "music", which is played at the appropriate times. These files for Quicken are stored in the Sounds subfolder of your Quicken folder. The exact path depends on the organization of YOUR computer. Yours may be in C:\Program Files\Quicken\Sounds\qclick.WAV. Mine is E:\QuickenW\Sounds\qclick.WAV, and there are 39 *.WAV files there, including 19 qopen*.WAV files. (I don't see the qstart_2000.WAV file that Jim mentioned, but I have qopen_2000.WAV, which may be the one he meant.) In Windows Explorer, I can play any one of them in Windows Media Player simply by clicking on it.

Now, you need a way to tell Windows to tell Quicken which .WAV file to play whenever you click something. This also is NOT in Quicken.ini, but in the Windows Control Panel. To get to the Control Panel in Vista, I click Start | Control Panel | Sound. Here I see 3 tabs: Playback, Recording and Sounds. On the Sounds tab there is a "Program" window. The first item in the program window is Windows itself, and the list is quite long. After that, there are listings for other Windows features, such as Windows Explorer, Speech Recognition and Photo Gallery.

There MAY also be a listing in Program for Quicken, but sometimes Quicken's Setup program fails to make the proper entries in the Windows Registry and Quicken does not appear in this list at all. :>( Ever since about Windows

2000, we've had many Quicken users report this problem. The fix is a small .reg file that I wrote long ago (and have posted here several times) to create those Registry entries. If you don't see Quicken in the Program box in Control Panel | Sound | Sounds, please post back and I'll find my .reg file in the archives and post it again.

If you DO see Quicken in the list, then all you have to do is look under the Quicken heading to see the seven events that can trigger a sound, such as Delete, Memorize or Record. Click any of these and then look in the "Sounds" box below to see which .WAV sound is set to play for that event. The default for Delete, for example, is qdelete.WAV. There's a convenient "Test" box there so you can play that .WAV file to hear the sound. If you don't like it, or want to choose a different one, just click in the Sounds menu and browse until you find one you like.

We use the Control Panel to choose from the files in the Quicken\Sounds folder. It's easy to choose a different .WAV file, or to delete some from the folder, or even to add more .WAV files if we have some. But if we want to change the .WAV file itself, then we'll have to use some program (such as Audacity) outside Quicken for that.

RC

Hi, R.C.

Got it! Thanks a bunch.

Another senior moment and I forgot about the control panel.

Archie

Ah, ok - thanks. Since I use Quicken just as much as Outlook (At least, I fire Q up first thing every morning to download transactions and see what went on overnight), this is overkill for me.

I modified my "MY PAGES" to put the Bill and Income reminders first on the opening screen and show the next 30 days out. I don't recall if I had this option before Q2009, but I do think they've spruced up the reminder and bills a little better in the latest release.