Add Option to Stay in Edit Mode or Hit Return To Open New Transaction in QMac (46 Legacy Votes)

Unknown · July 2018

Hmmm. After reading all of these (and I have in the past been able to ignore or change the Command keys and what they did on my Mac Pro (wish I could find a video card) I will try to change to the Command Return/Enter.
Thank you all.

jacobs · July 2018

DL, what I was saying above in my comment to @RickO is that when I tried Command+Return, it did not work to save the existing transaction and open a blank new transaction. Command+N does this for you right now, but if you prefer a different keyboard shortcut, you can choose a different key command if you wish following the instructions in the link @RickO provided -- just not Command+Return (or any modifier key + Return).

Unknown · July 2018

There is no way to do a short-cut the new system, so your way is probably the only way.
As I read this again. . . I am now understanding to NOT press the return key at all, just the command + n key... so I can hit both those in one stroke if I don't need to Return.

jacobs · July 2018

Bingo! You've got it. Sorry if it wasn't clear in the previous posts that writing Command+N here means to press the two keys simultaneously. Just trade pressing Return for pressing Command+N.

(All our other chatter in the past half-dozen posts is about how you could, if you wanted to, change the Command+N shortcut to some other similar shortcut, like Option+Z or Control+F or whatever -- which you can completely ignore unless you find that Command+N is hard to do on your keyboard.)

Unknown · July 2018

The Lion OS was easy to that, but High Sierra (if it is there) it is hidden so well I can't find it, or figure out how.
Your explanation of Com + n was fine. I just never learned anything about all these keys and what they do. I don't even like the Cloud; can't find a darn thing easily on it, especially when it Archives and puts my things where IT thinks it should go.
I have my own "old time" folder filing system and would rather NOT be on the Cloud. I finally had time to p hone Support on how to move it all on my desktop and remove the link to it. All was great until the next update and Apple reconnected it and screwed up all the work I did. And of course, Tim Cook made sure that you can't remove iCloud or Safari. I really miss Steve Jobs.

Unknown · July 2018

WOW! Thank you!

wwinston · February 2019

It would be helpful if, when an Account Register opens, a new (+) Transaction line would appear at the bottom of the Register, ready to accept information, a s it does with Quicken 2007. Is there a Preference setting for this function? If not, there should be.

jacobs · February 2019

@wwinston This is an issue that many users (including me) coming from Quicken 2007 complain about when initially coming to the modern Quicken Mac. I can offer some explanations and some tips to see if you find them helpful...

The Quicken Mac product manager has explained in the past that there are a number of reasons they decided not to implement the "blank transaction" in the register for the modern Quicken Mac; I won't try to list the technical reasons, but it seems unlikely they are going to change the behavior.

The developers found that a majority of people now prefer to have their registers set to have the newest transactions on top, which is the way you typically see transactions if you log into your bank account, your credit card account, and most online lists nowadays. It's the default for Quicken Mac, but you can simply click on the date heading in any register to revert to the Quicken 2007-like way of having new transactions on the bottom. I resisted this idea for a short time, but pretty quickly discovered I did, in fact, prefer having my registers in descending order, with new transactions at the top.

So what about creating new transactions? There are multiple ways to do this: click New in the bottom toolbar, elect New Transaction from the Transaction menu, or simply press Command-N. Now here's a trick if you're entering multiple transactions: when you complete entry of one transaction, do not press Enter/Return to save it, and then need to create a new transaction for the next one; instead, when you're done entering the first transactions, press Command-N: it will save the first transaction and create a blank new one, all with just the one keystroke. So basically, instead of pressing Return in Quicken 2007, you press Command-N in Quicken 2019, and it does the same thing.

If you create a new transaction and don't want it, just Command-Z to undo. If you create and save a blank transaction -- which Quicken 2019 will allow you to do, unlike Quicken 2007 -- just click on it to highlight it and click the Delete key to remove it. (Unlike Quicken 2007, the modern Quicken Mac has unlimited undos -- so if you accidentally press Delete a few times too many -- and I've done that! -- you can Undo to bring back transactions you didn't mean to delete, one at a time.)

It definitely takes some getting used to if you've recently moved from Quicken 2007. I've found that most of the user interface changes end up being better than what we were all used to, once I get used to them.

Shing · December 2020

This would be extremely helpful when entering multiple investment transactions (like 401k contribution investments) when downloading transactions is not an option.

Paul-RI · February 2023

I am missing this feature from the very first version of Quicken.

Can an option be added to automatically advance to the next transaction line without having to select 'new' at the bottom of the register window? It would be so nice when entering multiple check entries to have the next line ready to go, after pressing 'enter" from the previous transaction. Having to select 'new' really slows things down when doing multiple transactions.

J_Mike · February 2023

QMAChas a short-cut that will do this.
Hit 'Cmnd + N' instead 'Enter' when you already to advance to the next transaction.

jacobs · February 2023

@Paul-RI You don't need to select New from the menu bar while entering multiple transactions. Instead of pressing Return/Enter at the end of entering a transaction, and then pressing New, use the keyboard shortcut Command-N. This will save the current transaction and open a new one, all with just the single keystroke. This does take some retraining of your brain-eye-hand muscle memory for longtime Quicken users.

It's just a matter of getting in the habit of using Command-N.

Paul-RI · February 2023

Good suggestions, and 2 keystrokes is better than using the mouse. However...

'Enter' needs to be selected to register the previous entry, so, how about 'Enter' doing double duty?; registering the previous entry and opening up the next line automatically (one keystroke instead of 3)?

Again the first version of Quicken did this and it definitely made more sense.

jacobs · February 2023

@Paul-RI No, that's incorrect. Pressing Command-N saves the previous entry and opens a new entry. It does exactly what you're asking for: save and open new.

Jon · February 2023

I don't think I'd want the Enter key to create a new entry every time I press it, I'd just wind up having to delete a lot of unwanted empty transactions.

Paul-RI · February 2023

Totally get what you're saying, and Command-N is better/fine, but what I am suggesting is definitely easier and I know, not too complicated for Quicken to allow as an optional ability. I used it for years and never had a problem with incorrect entries.

jacobs · February 2023

I agree with @Jon: I wouldn't want Return/Enter to automatically create a new blank transaction which I'd then have to delete many times. (Perhaps they could add a different shortcut like Shift-Return or Option-Return to do the same as Command-N does now, but that wouldn't make things an easier than what currently exists.)

Paul-RI · February 2023

That situation of blank transactions wont happen if it is designed not to establish a fully executed transaction unless data is actually entered into it. Advancing automatically to the next line would only indicate the next available entry line, not an actual accepted/entered transaction. Just as now, when you open a Quicken register, it defaults to a blank line, ready for an entry, not an executed blank transaction.

Jon · February 2023

I don't see that. When I open a register there are no blank lines.

Paul-RI · February 2023

Ha Ha, you're right. Forgot that. My error.

So how about we compromise and I would be willing to select 'new' for the first transaction, then you let me have at it? Or establish a defaulted blank transaction line that is non-functional unless data is entered?

retird · February 2023

@Paul-RI may be a Windows user as am I. Always opens with a blank line. Type info in a field, hit Tab, enter data in each field this way and when you hit Enter it posts and goes to a blank transaction ready for data entry. Mac must be different...

jacobs · February 2023

Yes, you want to to work the way the database in the old Quicken 2007 did. The modern database Quicken Mac now uses doesn't work that way. When there's a blank line in a register, it's because a new transaction has been created in the database. They could possibly make it work like the old program by searching for blank transactions and deleting them when you switch registers or quit the program, but that would likely add a lot of complexity and potential for problems. I don't see the advantage of doing so.

I'm not sure what you're describing here. It doesn't work that way, and hasn't since the modern Quicken Mac was created more than 8 years ago.

Paul-RI · February 2023

Yes, 8 years using the 'new' Quicken, and it bothers me every time. Ha ha-Please don't make me go to Windows.

jacobs · February 2023

@Paul-RI While I do understand you want it to work the way it did a long time ago, have you actually tried using Command-N instead of Return for a while? It took me a bit of time to retrain my brain, and I still sometimes press Return without thinking to press Command-N, but most of the time, my fingers now know to press Command-N, and it works perfectly well for me.

Paul-RI · February 2023

Jacobs. Definitely. Thank you. I didn't know about that option, but started using it after you all mentioned it. Much better but I would still like any of the Quicken-Mac engineers to consider my suggestion as an option but not as a rule.

jacobs · February 2023

Aand your comments have apparently been merged into the existing Idea thread for doing so. I can only tell you that the previous Quicken Mac product manager explained that they had decided not to make it work that way and he didn't think they were likely to reconsider it. But never say never…

Paul-RI · February 2023

Yes I read The merged thread. Thanks for the info.. I can't imagine that this is an engineering impossibility. I was motivated to bring up the subject after getting another Quicken program update today. When ever I get these, I look for it to be added thinking, that they'll finally catch up and realize that it is a desired feature for some of us, and as I said, was on the original Quicken software. We'll see if anything happens going forward.

mydearwatson · July 2023

Quicken subscription for Mac in Monterey 12.6.6

As a general rule I'm in the habit of using keyboard commands, not mouse clicks, for everything I can. Moving my hand back and forth between the keyboard and a mouse slows things down frustratingly. That said…

I've just read this conversation from 2018 forward. I'm in the Paul-RI camp when it comes to the Return key, but I'm OK with Command-N as it now works to create a new, blank transaction from anywhere in a register.

What I'd like to see the Return key do, however, is advance to the next transaction when working in a register—not necessarily a new transaction, but selection of the next from wherever I am in a register. Multiple Returns would advance the selection down a next, next, next transaction, and so on, allowing me to navigate within a register. And Shift-Return to go UP to the previous transaction in a register, also a legacy function in many apps.

It would be fine is this were an option in Preferences rather than the default. It doesn't have to be for everybody, just those of us who want it.

BIG on my Quicken wish-list.

Add Option to Stay in Edit Mode or Hit Return To Open New Transaction in QMac (46 Legacy Votes)

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