Edit additions needed -Void Transaction (46 Legacy Votes)

hbanks

@jacobs Fixed! Restored from backup! A reason to keep backing up everyday. Phew.

jacobs

@hbanks A Quicken data file ends with .quicken, and Quicken backup files end with .quickenbackup.

Finding backups on Time Machine are a little tricky if you have left your data file in Quicken's default location — because that location itself is tricky. For complex reasons with a history I'll skip, Quicken by default stores data files and backups within your home folder, in your Library folder — which Apple in its infinite wisdom makes hidden by default!

The full path is Macintosh HD > Users > [your user account name] > Library > Application Support > Quicken > Documents (or Quicken > Backups).

There are two ways to get there. In the Finder, hold the Option key down and pull down the Go menu to select Library (holding the Option key is what makes Library show up in the dropdown menu); then open Application Support, and Quicken within that. Or, if you have Quicken running, click the Q in the upper right of the main screen, and select Show in Finder.

So… the trick to find a data file or backup file in Time Machine is to first navigate to this location so you have it open in a Finder Window. Then launch the Time Machine application from your menu bar. Time Machine will open this folder, so you can navigate back in time to grab the file you want to restore. (I suggest renaming your current data file first, so it doesn't get replaced.)

Or… you can move your .quicken data file and/or Backups folder to an easier to find location, such as creating a Quicken folder inside your home folder (in the same folder as Applications, Desktop, Documents, Music, Pictures, etc.).

– – – – –

As for your discrepancy, you could indeed enter an adjustment transaction to get your balance correct, if you don't mind that something's wrong in your transaction history. I personally hate not knowing what's wrong with my data, so I'd want to hunt down the problem and fix it — or restore from backup if that will resolve the problem.

smayer97

@hbanks if you have not already, be sure to add your VOTE to this idea thread. Currently, the threshold for an idea to be forwarding for consideration by the QMac developers is 30. We are almost there.

hbanks

@jacobs Thanks. Per other discussions on where Quicken stores the data file, I had already moved it to a place it was easier to find, and restored from the day before. Yay!

Saved me from the dreaded dummy transaction. :)

sux

Why does the Mac version NOT allow us to "void" a transaction? Why Why Why?

Chris_QPW

How many checks do you need to void?

I fail to see why this feature is important, and especially when you consider that Quicken Windows, which has this feature does it wrong.

It zeros the amount and doesn't put any kind of record of what the original amount is.

The proper procedure for Quicken Mac would simply be to put in a memo like: VOID $123.22 and the set the transaction amount to zero.

Quicken Anja

Hello @sux,

Your idea has been merged into this already active Idea thread regarding the same request.

Thank you!

jacobs

@sux Voiding a transaction is quite easy. Simply add "VOID" to the Memo field (and optionally, the original transaction amount and perhaps the reason for the void), and set the Amount to zero. Done. 😀

As this is something most users do pretty infrequently, please clarify why you think it’s important to add a command to do this.

ThrowerGB

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20417634#Comment_20417634

I'm sorry, unfortunately this answer is un-responsive and dismissive. That's not a good way to treat your users. Here are some reasons I think it's important to add a command to do this:

1. According to your documentation, this capability is in the Windows version. Rather than discriminate between Windows and Mac, capabilities should be the same between Windows and Mac versions.
2. Apparently there was a reason to provide the capability to Windows but not Mac users. Unless there's something weirdly different between Windows and Mac users, why is it in one and not the other?
3. The heading for this thread is "Edit additions needed -Void Transaction (46 Legacy Votes)". That's 53% more than the threshold of 30 (cited above) "for an idea to be forwarding for consideration by the QMac developers". It seems there are other threads with the same question that might not be counted. By the way, one comment above (Windows "does it wrong".) proposes a better way of voiding than the way Windows does it, and it appears similar to your suggestion.
4. I agree with you, voiding might be infrequent. But just because it's infrequent doesn't mean it's unimportant.

As a matter of interest, does the Windows version include "Void Transaction" in the Transactions pull down? If not, it would be helpful to have it there (right under Delete Transaction) rather than having to remember ctrl v for these infrequently used capabilities.

Thank you

jacobs

I'm sorry, unfortunately this answer is un-responsive and dismissive. That's not a good way to treat your users. 

You seem to have a mistaken impression. I'm not Quicken; I don't work for Quicken; I'm just a fellow Quicken user like you are! And I wasn't being dismissive; I was explaining that you can manually void a transaction in a few seconds for someone who may not have realized it's possible and how easy it is. And then I inquired why, since this is something most people do infrequently, that user saw it as significant problem. I'm always interested in learning different ways Quicken users make use of the program, and always open to seeing there are other ways and reasons for doing something. Not dismissive at all.

Quicken Windows and Quicken Mac differ in lots of small features. In fact, the legacy Quicken Mac 2007 had a void menu command as well. The reason it didn't matter to add a prefix of VOID to Payee names in Quicken Windows and legacy Quicken Mac is that changing the name for that transaction didn't affect the database in the way it would Quicken Mac today. If you add a prefix for VOID to a Payee name in Quicken Mac, that would actually create a new Payee. And because changing a Payee name calls up a dialog to ask if you want change all other instances of the same Payee in the database, this would inevitably lead to some users clicking through that box and renaming the Payee as "VOID xyz" for all their transactions. So if they add a Void command, I hope they will implement it as modifying the Memo field instead of the Payee name; I just don't know if they will, since not everyone uses or even makes visible the Memo field.

Saying that because something exists in Quicken Windows, it should therefore exist in Quicken Mac ignores the reality that each feature must be designed, codes and tested, and the small Mac development team can only implement a limited number of feature enhancements and additions each year. There might be 500 good ideas out there, but only 50 will probably get done in the next two years. I'd have no objection if they add a Void menu command, as long as they do it the "right" way. I just personally feel there are many more important priorities for the developers; every feature submission we find here is competing for the finite amount of time from the development team. Unlike many others, this one (a) has an easy manual way to do the same thing, and (b) most people probably do it only a handful of times a year. That's why, for me, this isn't much of a priority.

Chris_QPW

@ThrowerGB let me clarify my statement. To me "important" is a judge of priorities. So, what I meant is that if I was looking at the list of features that Quicken Mac needs it would be way down on the list. There are just so many things that Quicken Mac needs that are more important, and yes, they also have every attribute that you have pointed out for this feature too like Quicken Windows already having it. There is something else that also comes into my mind about adding features that most users don't take into account. When you add tons of features that people don't really use, they tend to just get in the way making the program harder to use. I'm not saying this is the case with this feature for Quicken Mac but as I answer your question about how it works on Quicken Windows I will show you what I mean.

Quicken Windows implements this as one of the menu items on the context menu:

Simple enough right? Just add more items to a list like this for any given request.

Here is the thing. My displays are 28" 1920x1200 with 100% (no windows scaling).

Here is the whole height: (EDIT posted wrong screenshot)

Some people with worse eyesight or smaller screens will push the "min" requirements for Quicken for the display (and complain it can't be less). Here is the same thing at the min requirements.

There have been numerous requests for more things on this menu, like copy and paste at the field level.

Here is the problem with Quicken Windows implementation (and yes, it is easy to fix, but has never been fixed, why? My guess would be the same reason, priorities).

After voiding:

Do you see the problem?

The problem for Quicken Windows is that now you have no idea what the original amount was. That is very important information that Quicken Windows throws away. So, the user ends up having to manually put that in the memo. If this isn't going to be a right click and select operation, then it just isn't that much more to add the "**VOID**" and to set the amount to zero.

And in the case of Quicken Mac this is the wrong thing to do because changing the payee is global. So basically, for Quicken Mac the process is just add a memo that this is a voided transaction for $XXX.YY amount and then set the amount to zero. To me the fact that Quicken Windows sets the status to cleared is neither here nor there since you can set that during a reconcile.

Chris_QPW

Note that the only person in this thread that is from Quicken Inc is @Quicken Anja (one of the forum moderators) which is making sure that suggestions like this from different users get into the correct thread.