Quicken Investment Register

Mike Sabot

There is still no way to adjust the fonts in the investment register as we can in the banking register.  This is a needed feature.  Changing to Large fonts affects far more than needed with other options.  Need a way to enchance the contrast and or font's in this register, just like the ability in banking register.  

mshiggins

Excellent suggestion.

Stan

Why is the Investment Register different? Quicken 2018 allows you to select the register font size in the Edit>>Preferences menu, and this works works for Banking registers and Property&Debt registers, but the font preference doesn't work for Investment registers!!

Also, has the text in the Accounts side bar just got smaller in 2018? With 66 year old eyes I need slightly larger text (10pt instead of 9pt) and a little bit more contrast. Why isn't there a font size preference for the Accounts side bar?

Quicken: clearly this has been an issue since at least 2017 (I don't think it was a issue in 2016). When are you going to fix this?

mshiggins

From C. D. Bales:

"Why is the Investment Register different?"


https://getsatisfaction.com/quickenco...

Stan

Semantics. I don't care whether an investment "register" is not a "register". The user still needs to be able to adjust the size of the font so that it is readable - just like with a banking register. It still needs to be fixed!

mshiggins

From C. D. Bales:

[removed]

You asked about the difference between investment accounts and non-investment accounts - and you got a factual answer, which also included other Information applicable to the overall subject, which you also appear to have ignored.

There is nothing to be "fixed" as nothing is broken: the decision to treat investment accounts differently than non-investment accounts was made consciously, intentionally, by Intuit over a decade ago (it was present in Q2004 - which was noted in the discussion you apparently ignored) - with all of the ramifications of that decision known by Intuit when they made the decision.

In fact, when the change was first made, investment accounts were much more restricted in their behavior than they are now. My guess is that Intuit/Quicken has already made the easier changes to investment "Transaction Lists" and are now left with the most difficult ones.

Decisions about whether to change something in Quicken including when/how to make the change, have to survive some sort of cost/benefit analysis. It matters how many users are affected and how adversely they are affected; how difficult/costly the change would be; and how many, and how difficult/important, other problems there are needing attention. There are lots of other users with problems/desires besides yours - and some of those other user problems/desires may have - probably have - a better cost/benefit ratio than investment account font changes.

I believe this community has a means to submit what amounts to a "request for change" to Quicken. I imagine you'll find your desire already in one or more such discussions, where you could cast your "vote". Or you could start your own such request.

Given reality, I don't see how your current approach can do anything to improve the odds you of seeing your desired change made - why not try just asking?

miklk

Did you look at the Register Row Height which does work in the Investment "Register"

Mike Sabot

Yes, but that does nothing for the size of the font nor does it do anything for c contrast

Stan

I have been using Quicken since 1991 and faithfully upgrading every one or two years. I have 24 active accounts (+ many unused accounts that are hidden), including 9 active investment accounts. During the past 26 years I have not had a problem reading the information in the registers until this week – when I upgraded from version 2016 to 2018!


You say “There is nothing to be "fixed" as nothing is broken: the decision to treat investment accounts differently than non-investment accounts was made consciously, intentionally, by Intuit over a decade ago”. What has that got to do with the font problem that this message thread is about? Maybe you have a monitor size that doesn’t exhibit the problem, but there are customers that do have a legitimate problem.


You say “No, pertinent facts.” OK, let me give you facts.


Sometime between version 2016 and 2018 Quicken reduced the font size used to display content in the account registers and the Accounts side bar (there are complaints from 2017, so it may have been done in version 2017) – I suspect the algorithms for scaling fonts were modified. The result for me and others is that it is now very hard to read the register contents.

Partially solving the problem, Quicken has provided a preference for increasing the font size in the registers (Edit>>Preferences>>Register>>Register appearance>>Fonts) where you can increase the size of the register font. I find I can increase the size from 9pt to 10pt and that resolves my problem in Banking accounts and Property & Debt Accounts.

BUT, the font size change doesn’t affect Investment accounts – leading one to ask why would Quicken provide a tool for non-Investment accounts that doesn’t work for Investment accounts. Quicken also has a preference for colors in the registers (Edit>>Preferences>>Register>>Register appearance>>Colors). This preference works for all register types, Investment accounts and non-Investment accounts – so why be different?


So, Quicken could help those users with this problem by fixing what I feel is a bug (that the fonts preference isn’t changing an Investment register font size). That would be a big step forward. But it doesn’t solve the issue of the Accounts side bar which doesn’t have a preference.

The Accounts bar problem is not just that it has tiny text, it is compounded by the fact that the text has less contrast and is more difficult for “old” eyes to read. For this problem, maybe Quicken should add more granularity for the Use Large Fonts option (View>>Use Large Fonts). What we have now is probably a 50% font size increase of everything on the screen, which is far too much. If Quicken offered a slider like in Excel where the user could select 110%, 120%, .. etc,

I think that would satisfy everyone needs for registers, the Accounts side bar, and charts.

Unknown

I was just about to quit using Quicken because of the investment tab font size. I had tried large fonts option but it did not work on my 19" normal format monitor. I bought a 24" wide screen monitor and the large font option in the VIEW tab now works for me.

Unknown

I changed my mind after using the large fonts more -  they still don't work.

k7ney

Well said, I have the same problem and would like some relief. Spent over an hour on the chat session with a support person who didn't even realize this was a problem and spent a lot of wasted time thinking it was my fault and trying to fix it.  You would think they would have told me that was they way it was supposed to work.

Jim_Harman

This topic has been subject to a lot of discussion over the years, and Quicken has made a lot of changes (some might say improvements) to the handling of fonts and compatibility with various screen sizes and resolutions.

Have you tried changing the Windows font settings? In Win 10, right click on the desktop, pick Display settings, and set the font size there. On my desktop system it offers 100% (recommended), 125, and 150. On the laptop with a smaller screen it offers 100 and 125. This appears to make *everything* bigger so it may not be to your liking, but it may worth a try if you are having trouble seeing the smaller fonts.

Unknown

I use the 150 setting on Windows, and it does not help with the contrast or font appearances within Investment accounts, the account sidebar, Property accounts or miscellaneous areas such as Download Transactions and Bill Reminders.     

I agree with the original premise of this chain - the application of font changes within the application is highly desirable.   I too am a long time Quicken user (easily 20 years). I also have a professional background in IT, and know updates need to be prioritized - a single release can never include all the problems and 'nice to haves'.   

That said, font and contrast issues, particularly when different accounts are treated 'differently' from a general display perspective should be reviewed and prioritized as needed. 

leishirsute

This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled Quit treating investment list GUI behavior different from registers.


Make Quicken more user friendly.  Treat transaction list and register with similar GUI behavior when it comes to font setting, column width adjusting, vertical frame adjusting (like for the a vertically adjustable reminder section).  Don't make these transaction screens have different behavior especially with features lacking in the the investment lists.  Give them a consistent behavior throughout Quicken.  It just makes Quicken seem more complex and user-unfriendly when similar type screens such as investment list transaction detail and register transaction detail have inconsistent GUI behavior. 

Please don't just "fix" features by changing the Help screens to describe the different behavior of transaction list vs registers' GUI behavior.

Mick

This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled Investment Registers.


Agree!

Note: This conversation was created from a reply on: Quit treating investment list GUI behavior different from registers.

denmarfl

I have been evaluating Quicken for the past 5 years asking for a better and more improved Interface; Registers both Banking, etc and Investment that users can personalize.  Investment Registers to Select Font, text Size Bold, etc.  If you go out to the site where Quicken users can evaluate Quicken you will see the highest percentage of users completing the evaluation vote that the Interface needs to be improved. 5 years Plus and still nothing has been done to improve personalization of what we see when using Quicken but Quicken introduces new features that are worthless and do nothing but get in the way.  Its their thing to make users think something new and great was added to a new version which is a must so go out and buy the new version.  Nothing in as many years as I can remember has been added to Quicken that has made my experience using Quicken better.  You would think its harder to think of something new to add than to simply add features to personalize the Interface, what we see and how we see it.  Quicken has an older following; many like me go back to the 80"s...so lets face the truth, and so should Quicken, our eyes need help....Quicken you want me to continue to use this product, give me something I Need.

Now I have used Register Colors to at least inbed the Black text in a color as opposed to the white background which does make the black text pop out a little better.  

Quicken LISTEN to your BASE.....

Mike Sabot

More than a year latter, a new version, 2019 and the suggestion still remains unfulfilled

Unknown

I would like to add my "vote" for a more customizable investment register. Why can't we have the same options available for other accounts?  Why make little changes no one asks for when many people have over years for readable investment registers? 

Rich S

This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled Allow investment font to change just like bank register fonts.


Quicken 2019 Windows - Add an option to the register for Investment fonts to have them sized just like the bank fonts.  Or else, remove the font sizing from register and just add overall font options for the product, small, medium, and large. Monitors and resolutions are getting bigger, fonts getting smaller as a result and some of us strain to read the small fonts.

Leon Pink

I have been using Quicken since 1984. Currently using Quicken 2017 Home & Business. Font size should never have become an issue. I just switched computers and now no matter what I do, the Investment Register is to small and needs to be worked on. When adjusting to use large fonts it cuts off the view. Come on Quicken programmers let's fix this small issues as they really upset the users!

UKR

Quicken Subscription aka Q 2020 is better in that respect. The programmers made a lot of changes, but it's not quite there yet for all monitor types.

Font size problems? Display issues? (Windows)

If you are using a version of Quicken at the Quicken 2019 US R 19.44 patch level or newer and you have previously made the following Compatibility change, please undo the change.
Users of other Quicken versions please try the following:

• Close Quicken !!! (This process won't work while Quicken is running!)

• Check the Compatibility tab settings in your Quicken Desktop program icon:

• In the Windows Start Menu right-click the Quicken icon. Select "Open File Location". This brings up a Windows File Explorer window. Right-click the highlighted Quicken shortcut line item.
  or

• Go to the traditional Windows Desktop and right-click the Quicken program icon.

• Now click Properties.

• Select the Compatibility tab.

• Uncheck all settings.

• Windows 7, 8.1: Check "Disable display scaling on high DPI settings". 
  Windows 10:  Check "Override high DPI scaling behavior. Scaling performed by:" and select "Application"  (also try the other available options!)

• Be sure to uncheck the "Run this program in compatibility mode for [older Windows version]" setting.

• Click the "Change settings for all users" button.

• Click Apply and exit.

• Now start Quicken and see if that makes a difference.

Some additional tuning suggestions:

• Try this workaround for 4k monitors
  https://www.quicken.com/support/work-around-display-issues-high-resolution-monitors

• Unless absolutely required, try not to use "View / Use large fonts"

• Try setting the bank account registers to use a different font style or size: go to Edit / Preferences / Register, click the Fonts button and try different fonts.

• Try adjusting the bank account registers' row height: go to Edit / Preferences / Register, choose among the available Row Height choices: Compact, Comfortable or Standard
• If all else fails, try changing Windows Control Panel / Display options for "Make text and other items … smaller or larger" to use a different scaling level.

u1938

I have been a Quicken user for more than 20 years. In Quicken for Mac 2019, fonts for Register and windows are exactly same and are clear and very readable. But in Quicken for Windows fonts except in Register where they can be modified, are microscopic and difficult to read for elderly guys like me. Why Quicken cannot make fonts in investments and elsewhere customizable or alternately, give users a choice of small, medium and large?

Bedford

Well said. It’s time to fix this limitation/bug.

UKR

u1938 said:

I have been a Quicken user for more than 20 years. In Quicken for Mac 2019, fonts for Register and windows are exactly same and are clear and very readable. But in Quicken for Windows fonts except in Register where they can be modified, are microscopic and difficult to read for elderly guys like me. Why Quicken cannot make fonts in investments and elsewhere customizable or alternately, give users a choice of small, medium and large?

Have you read and followed the instructions I gave earlier in this discussion?

Quicken for Windows relies on the settings in your version of Windows for everything except bank register fonts.
The results very much depend on the versions of both Quicken and Windows and the type of monitor that you use.

Mary Ann Edson-Plumb

Thank you UKR! The first part of your instructions fixed the problem completely. Yes, the investment register font is still a little smaller than I'd like, but I can live with it this way.

fzimm

As noted in this discussion, the issue has been around for years as to why the font adjustments in the main preferences work on the registers for banking and others but do not work on the investment accounts registers. The compatibility adjustment described toward the end of this discussion above did not work on my machine.
What did work is the following. In the main preferences menu under Edit, I would normally have set the font and size for the registers to Arial 12, and while that worked for registers other than the investment account registers, the fix I came up with is to set the font size to 8 and then under the View drop down, select Use Large Fonts. This adjustment leaves all the registers at an acceptable size for me. Hope this helps others

tgrantdavis

If you change the Windows font size, then the search box gets squeezed to where it is barely readable. And it doesn't end up with reasonable similar sizes for everything. None of these work-arounds are adequate.

Please just fix it by making the settings for font and size apply to all registers.

This seems like common sense, but it does not seem so common. The Quicken marketing and development departments need to get out. Listen and watch real users in their actual environments. Please, please.

carolynllevering

Why can't we adjust the width of the Description column of the investment transaction register. It is way too big for the information that is shown in this column, thus crowding out other important data that I want to see. Seem like a simple fix. Also why can't we have more options to show or not information in the investment register as there is in the banking registers. Seems like another easy fix.

Jim_Harman

Like it or not, the Description column has a minimum width because for some transaction types it has to hold several sub-columns when the transaction is selected. For example, when you select a Sold, Bought, or ReinDiv transaction, the Description column has to have space for the number of shares, the share price, and the commission. This is also what lets you enter and edit these transactions directly in the transaction list, without clicking on the Enter Transactions button.

An investment account transaction list looks very similar to a banking register, but they are very different behind the scenes, making it difficult for Quicken to change.

Chris_QPW

Actually I disagree is very easy to change they have just chosen not to change it.

You are very correct that there multiple sub fields that the user doesn't tend to notice, but that isn't the problem.  Take the Date, Action and Security columns for instance.

Notice they allow those to be reduced to a point where all they have is ....

If they were to do that with the Description it wouldn't go to "zero space", but it would be a lot smaller.  Here is the underline sub columns showing (at min size).  Clearly those columns don't have to be that big, and if allowed to reduces to ... in each it probably would be half the size.

And how is this changed?  They go into the GUI designer, click on the field and change its min size.  It took me way more time to explain this then it would for a developer to change it.