Multiple Extended Displays Bug

Don148

Quicken 2020 (R26.21 Build 27.1.26.21) (Windows 8.1)

Quicken does not work in a dual extended display configuration. When you maximize Quicken on a non-main display that is a higher resolution than the main display (1440 x 900 vs. 1366 x 768) Quicken extends beyond the display. It appears to "fit" vertically however horizontally part of Quicken extends beyond the non-main display and onto the main display. Very annoying. This has been an evolving problem. It worked fine under Quicken 2015. When I was forced to upgrade to a subscription it wouldn't display on the non-main display at all, it was "fixed" to fit vertically but still does not fit horizontally. When will this be fixed correctly?

Chris_QPW

The first thing to notice here is that Don isn't talking about a high resolution screen, which is what UKR's workarounds are talking about.

The next thing to know is that most multiple display problems in Quicken are due to a poor decision (in my opinion) on the part of the Quicken development team.

Normally the sizing and positioning of the main screen would be left up to the low level Windows routines that know how to do it properly in all the different kinds of configurations you might have.

The Quicken Windows developers decided that they wanted to put their controls here:

Well the standard Windows routines do not allow for having custom controls in this area!

So how did the Quicken developers accomplish this?

They draw their own windows frame around Quicken.

And of course to do that they have to control the size and position of this main window.

You can see the kludgy results even when you aren't on multiple displays where the window will come up at slightly the wrong size and then resize to the proper size.  And at times when Quicken gets busy you will see it where you get a black screen for Quicken.

Not sizing properly on multiple screens is just another affect of this.

These controls should have never been put there, (they could have been put in other places).

@Don148

Here is something to try for your problem.  Set the display that Quicken is on to be the "main display".  What I believe is happening here is that they are using an old function to determine the size of the display that only looks at the main display.  So it is trying to size Quicken's main window on your secondary display as if it was on your main display.

Quicken Francisco

Hello @Don148

 

Thank you for reaching out on the community and telling us about your issue. I believe the problem you're having is sometimes caused when windows scaling is higher on the second monitor causing for it to cross over onto your main screen. 

Could you try these steps from one of our superusers UKR.

• 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 repeating the entire procedure!)

• 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.

 

Please try these out and report back to use how it goes!

 

Thanks,

 

Quicken Francisco

Don148

I had already found and tried that work around. I just tried it again and it does not solve the problem. When I maximize the quicken window on my second extended display the right side still spills over to the main display (starting from about the maximize/restore icon).

Chris_QPW

The first thing to notice here is that Don isn't talking about a high resolution screen, which is what UKR's workarounds are talking about.

The next thing to know is that most multiple display problems in Quicken are due to a poor decision (in my opinion) on the part of the Quicken development team.

Normally the sizing and positioning of the main screen would be left up to the low level Windows routines that know how to do it properly in all the different kinds of configurations you might have.

The Quicken Windows developers decided that they wanted to put their controls here:

Well the standard Windows routines do not allow for having custom controls in this area!

So how did the Quicken developers accomplish this?

They draw their own windows frame around Quicken.

And of course to do that they have to control the size and position of this main window.

You can see the kludgy results even when you aren't on multiple displays where the window will come up at slightly the wrong size and then resize to the proper size.  And at times when Quicken gets busy you will see it where you get a black screen for Quicken.

Not sizing properly on multiple screens is just another affect of this.

These controls should have never been put there, (they could have been put in other places).

@Don148

Here is something to try for your problem.  Set the display that Quicken is on to be the "main display".  What I believe is happening here is that they are using an old function to determine the size of the display that only looks at the main display.  So it is trying to size Quicken's main window on your secondary display as if it was on your main display.

Don148

@Chris_QPW
Thanks for your quality analysis ... hope Quicken does the same or leverages yours!

What you suggest does work. In fact that is one thing I tried, years ago now, when this problem first cropped up. I didn't want to "turn my world around" though for a bug in one app. I just resize the window when I need to.

Quicken: It looks like Chris_QPW has done some work for you. Perhaps you can test a solution in your sandbox and move the two custom controls to the Toolbar (there is enough room) and leverage standard Windows code to resize the window.

Chris_QPW

@Don148

This exact fix might get fixed, but I can't pretty much guarantee that Quicken Inc/Quicken developers will not listen to my advise.

They purposely put in this kludgy software I guess to make it look like they can do what Microsoft does or something.  Note that Microsoft violates their own policies in this regard on their own applications.  Microsoft can do that because they can go to the groups that are writing the underline routines and get special ones written just for them.

As you have pointed out this is far from a new problem.  The history is that Quicken has for at least 20+ years had a "fake window".  They seem to have done that first so that they could hide it when doing scheduled updates, and whatever they were doing worked pretty well, but when they switched to .Net 4.x (I think it was in 2012 or maybe 2014) it started acting like two different applications.  This when these kinds of things started popping up along with "focus" problems where shortcuts stopped working because the focus was on the "outer Quicken" instead of the inner controls.  And various other problems.

For years they tried forcing the focus to certain controls in certain circumstances.  Going at the problem one control at a time.  The same with reported problems with multiple displays and high resolution screen problems.

During the years development of the subscription version there was brief period of time where they dropped this fake window drawing and only had the standard one, and it worked great!  This was the culmination of months of work on their part to rewrite a lot of this "interface", most of which people only see when it doesn't work right.

Only one problem, the global search was left off.  And of course the users noticed that, and complained.  A few of the SuperUsers argued that you could bring back the global search by putting it on the toolbar, but of course they didn't listen to us.

I will give them credit that they did fix a large amount of the "high resolution screen" problems, but I believe it is their "vanity" and their belief that they have make Quicken look like it is "modern" when in fact it is anything but that will ensure they will never change in this regard.