QWin: Need a feature to customize color scheme (75 Legacy Votes)

Greg Semple

I just installed Quicken Deluxe 2017. I have been getting the new version every year since 2012. I don't care for the stark white background on all the tab views. Even the buttons blend in the the tab view, if it wasn't for the faint black outline. 

Please change this in future releases of 2017. Even if it was an off white or light gray to give some contrast. It is too bright and monotone for my liking. 

splasher

That is the new "modern" look that evidently the designers think everyone likes.  Supposedly, that is what folks like in the mobile apps, so they brought it here.

I'm with you, the "old" color schemes were less than awe inspiring, but the new stuff is terrible.

Unknown

Quicken Developers:  I'm sure the young people like the colors with 2017, but unless you provide a color customization option for graphs and bar charts, I'll be returning it and reverting back to 2016.

I can't even discern one bank account from another on the Calendar.  Did anyone look at that when choosing colors?

Unknown

Glen Williams said:

Quicken Developers:  I'm sure the young people like the colors with 2017, but unless you provide a color customization option for graphs and bar charts, I'll be returning it and reverting back to 2016.

I can't even discern one bank account from another on the Calendar.  Did anyone look at that when choosing colors?

If you are waiting for Quicken to implement this change in 2017, you are probably out-of-luck.

Quicken reserves release updates primarily for bug fixes and I doubt they would consider this a 'bug'.

So...if they implement this, I would expect it in Quicken 2018 or later, not sooner.

With that said, if this is a show-stopper for you, you probably should return Quicken 2017 now before the 60-day return window expires.

By the way, I agree that some of the color choices could have been better.

To request a refund, contact Quicken Support (see the links at the bottom of the article).

Unknown

Glen Williams said:

Quicken Developers:  I'm sure the young people like the colors with 2017, but unless you provide a color customization option for graphs and bar charts, I'll be returning it and reverting back to 2016.

I can't even discern one bank account from another on the Calendar.  Did anyone look at that when choosing colors?

Then Quicken needs to pull their proverbial head out of their proverbial posterior because this is the most ridiculous thing I've seen in Quicken if not, software in general.  I've been using Quicken since 1990 and I've seen every update since that time, and this is insane.

The color schemes essentially make the Calendar specifically, next to useless when trying to discern individual bank accounts and their relative balances when next to each other.  This is more than a bug; it is a removal of functionality.  The clean look that is becoming so popular isn't comfortable on the eyes and in many ways, harder to read.

I don't know if you are an employee of Quicken or what, but you seem to have an educated opinion of how Quicken works.  I'm not sure if giving up and asking for a refund is a good business model recommendation, but if that's what Quicken recommends, then that's what Quicken will in all likelihood get.

I'll be more leery of future yearly updates...

mshiggins

Glen Williams said:

Quicken Developers:  I'm sure the young people like the colors with 2017, but unless you provide a color customization option for graphs and bar charts, I'll be returning it and reverting back to 2016.

I can't even discern one bank account from another on the Calendar.  Did anyone look at that when choosing colors?

Unless the poster has Employee tagged to their name, they are just another Quicken user like you. Recommending you get a refund is pretty much the only alternative a fellow user could provide.

Unknown

Glen Williams said:

Quicken Developers:  I'm sure the young people like the colors with 2017, but unless you provide a color customization option for graphs and bar charts, I'll be returning it and reverting back to 2016.

I can't even discern one bank account from another on the Calendar.  Did anyone look at that when choosing colors?

Then said fellow user might want to keep their opinion to themselves...

Rocket J Squirrel

Glen Williams said:

Quicken Developers:  I'm sure the young people like the colors with 2017, but unless you provide a color customization option for graphs and bar charts, I'll be returning it and reverting back to 2016.

I can't even discern one bank account from another on the Calendar.  Did anyone look at that when choosing colors?

Why? You yourself wrote "unless you provide a color customization option for graphs and bar charts, I'll be returning it and reverting back to 2016." QuickenUserDC confirmed that as a reasonable option. And I agree.

Unknown

Glen Williams said:

Quicken Developers:  I'm sure the young people like the colors with 2017, but unless you provide a color customization option for graphs and bar charts, I'll be returning it and reverting back to 2016.

I can't even discern one bank account from another on the Calendar.  Did anyone look at that when choosing colors?

Wow...


That comment was directed to Quicken designers and engineers in the hope that they would listen to and heed user comments. It was not intended to solicit user opinions or suggestions, certainly not those opinions that implied Quicken customer service methodology.


Unhappy customers might want to actually be honest and brutal with their disappointment regarding Quicken 2017 - assuming those disappointing items exist - rather than criticize something they find important then erase that criticism by mentioning that something else works well.


I am not happy with the color palette used on the Calendar Account Bar and then to make it worse, I can't change it. Quicken has made comparative accounting virtually impossible when using the Calendar. That is a design flaw and the cause of user angst and one that if not fixed, will preclude present and future users from upgrading in the future. Why upgrade/purchase new when I'll have to upgrade to the next version to get items fixed?


That's a heck of a marketing strategy...

Philip107

Agreed. The colors are terrible in 2017. Not sure what I gained by upgrading from 2016 to 2017. The bar graph in Lifetime Planner is very disturbing it's so ugly, also, the same with the bar graph in Home/Scheduled account balances. In fact the display in total for 2017 is bad. Quite often anything near the bottom of the screen gets cut off. the icons on the toolbar seemed to have lost all color as well. Why do that?

Unknown

The new color scheme is not user friendly. Please create a patch to fix this version. Thanks.

Unknown

Glen Williams said:

Quicken Developers:  I'm sure the young people like the colors with 2017, but unless you provide a color customization option for graphs and bar charts, I'll be returning it and reverting back to 2016.

I can't even discern one bank account from another on the Calendar.  Did anyone look at that when choosing colors?

I agree that the new quicken format is horrible.  It is difficult to see and the defecation brown of the account bar is horrible.  I wish i had seen this before I upgraded. We need choices to fix this unless Quicken wants to lose long time customers.

Simon H

Also onboard with this. The Color schemes are awful. Too bright and monochrome. Quicken should add a patch for this. Other than the tax planning in 2017, do not see much else of use in 2017 over 2016. Thinking of going back to Quicken 2016 and requesting a refund for 2017. Been a user for 15 plus years - been mostly very satisfied, but this Q 2017 is so bad, it makes me want to look at other financial manager software. Just add a patch to at least replicate 2016 colors and this will keep customers coming back. Seriously - do not lose track of the basis for using Quicken - just managing my finances. Thank you...

Unknown

Simon H said:

Also onboard with this. The Color schemes are awful. Too bright and monochrome. Quicken should add a patch for this. Other than the tax planning in 2017, do not see much else of use in 2017 over 2016. Thinking of going back to Quicken 2016 and requesting a refund for 2017. Been a user for 15 plus years - been mostly very satisfied, but this Q 2017 is so bad, it makes me want to look at other financial manager software. Just add a patch to at least replicate 2016 colors and this will keep customers coming back. Seriously - do not lose track of the basis for using Quicken - just managing my finances. Thank you...

Make sure to click on the Vote button at the top of this post to record your vote.

Unknown

I'm a long time Quicken user and am very unhappy with the Easter/pastel colors in the pie charts. They are very glaring to the eye. Unless this can be changed, I will be reverting back to the 2016 version.

Quicken Kathryn

Hi All,
Thank you for adding and voting on this issue.  I wanted to let you know that this is currently marked as "Not Planned" - this doesn't mean that this won't happen in the future, but it's not on the product plan within the next several product updates.  

Please continue to vote and add your feedback here for a potential update in the future.

Thanks,
Quicken Kathryn

Simon H

Are you kdding? Seriously, am going back to Q 2016 and then will be looking for another way to manage finances after 15 years.

Philip107

The problem is there isn't any body else that does all that Quicken does, despite their shortcomings. If there were we'd probably be using it and not commenting here in their forums.They have the market and seem to know it. Maybe since they're under new ownership things will improve with customer satisfaction.

Unknown

I can't say I am surprised that Quicken has set this idea as 'Not Planned' but I am disappointed.

With that said, I am curious as to the reason:

Is it that Quicken is too busy with other fixes/bugs to devote time to this idea?

Is it that Quicken believes that not enough people wish for this change?

Is it that Quicken believes that the programming effort is too high.

Is it that Quicken has some ideas on the drawing board that would prevent Quicken from making this change now?

It is probably a combination of reasons and I am sure there are reasons I haven't thought about.

Unknown

Agree with all. Colors are awful. Way too bright. Hurts my eyes to look at it. Quicken - please fix this by giving us a brightness option of an muted color scheme. This product is a BIG step backward from Quicken 2014 which I was using. I would return it if not for Quicken cutting me off from online bank and brokerage connections unless I upgraded.

Unknown

Agree with all said above.  So frustrating in 2017 that a simple option like screen invert and color options are not available.  Project manager should be fired.  The Q2017 screen layout probably designed by her 15yo nephew who needed a summer job ...

Though not optimal here's an option I found called "NegativeScreen 2.4":

http://downloads.pcauthority.com.au/article/33527-negativescreen

Its a free download which enables you to invert your screen colors (like we all do on our iPads when reading at nite).

I'm running Windows 10 and Q2017. The designated "toggle on" key combo does not work, though the "toggle off" combo does.  I put a shortcut on my desktop to turn the inversion on when using Q2017 to save my retina.

I created the shortcut (right mouse click on file once unzipped) to execute the program:
NegativeScreen.exe

Glance at the "read-me" file that unzips with the download for the toggle key info.  I cross-referenced the software on several different sources as I'm always leery of viruses and malware in "free" downloads.

My screen seems to lose a little resolution with the invert, but not bad. Here's what to expect:

Unknown

Q2017 color scheme is the worst of any software I have used in 50 years of using computers. I would return it but Quicken is cutting off my online access in two months since I was using Q2014.

Unknown

Quicken Kathryn said:

Hi All,
Thank you for adding and voting on this issue.  I wanted to let you know that this is currently marked as "Not Planned" - this doesn't mean that this won't happen in the future, but it's not on the product plan within the next several product updates.  

Please continue to vote and add your feedback here for a potential update in the future.

Thanks,
Quicken Kathryn

Kathryn: please listen to users and ask your company to publish an update to revert to "old" color scheme. The new one is useless in calendars, is hard on the eyes, and more importantly, is negatively affecting your users' experience. Would appreciate your help on moving this feature from "Not Planned" to "almost ready to implement and release". Thank you.

jkuzeja

The blue font against the gray background on the "Accept" and "Edit" buttons in the transaction section makes them extremely hard to read.  Blue and gray look almost the same to me in the best of cases.  Changing the color scheme doesn't appear to do much except change the color of that one big bar across the screen near the top.  Disappointing.

Unknown

Agreed. The color scheme for charts is particularly ridiculous.  Maybe done for Easter.

Jeff Kantner

No fan here of the new color/graphic scheme. It is indeed harder to use, and harder to locate 'known' items. I'm sure someone thought it was a better idea, but guessing no survey of the user community was done.  Seems unlikely there was any performance benefit to it - the program is a beast anyway, can't make a significant difference.

So a bit of constructive criticism .. in a not-too-distant 2017 Rn rev release, include an option for the user to use "old look'n'feel" vs. new.  Then keep track of how many users take advantage of the revert option.  Know you can track this, but if you're feeling prim about privacy, then at least track users who've signed onto the feedback program. If this means incorporating the option in a 'plan', by all means write a plan.  

Think of this as an ex-post-facto usability study.  And the next time the 'green team' gets a 'fantastic' new idea, consider a usability study *before* implementing it.

JK in CA

Unknown

The immediate need here is to fix where the default color scheme creates a functional issue.  Example is the aforementioned Calendar view, where if just three accounts are selected, one gets green, and the other two are both red, and therefore indistinguishable!  I understand customization and themes would take some time, but at least set the default colors to be usable.

Unknown

Color scheme options are terrible we should atleast be able to choose from the white to black backgroung it is so hard on my eyes if it stays this way I will be forced to stop using Quicken because it gives me a headache

Unknown

Making all the icons on the toolbar monochrome grey (except for the red "Q"!) seems a very strange design choice. The icons are pretty cryptic at best - I had to turn on icon labels to be able to figure out what they are! There are countless sources for good "design for accessibility" - I recommend the Quicken designers read a few. Eric Dunn keeps talking about how he's going to make a better product - this would take, what, an hour to fix and test? It would make the product a lot more usable for everyone, so it seems like a no-brainer to me.

Unknown

I'll add my Points to everyone else's -- been a quicken user for something like 20 years.  In terms of color schemes, this is one of the worst.  I'm a s/w designer myself, and I can say there is little to no excuse not to provide a capability to use a different color profile.  Intuit is in need of some serious competition to get them to focus on their existing customer base in things like this.

Unknown

Me too!  Just installed  hoping "new look" would be better, but it's even worse, way worse.  Way too light to comfortably read and register alternate line color is so faint it's useless.