cleaning out my category file (Q Mac)

Question

I have many categories that have been misspelled or which I don't use anymore.  How do I clean up the category file?

jacobs · Answer

If you have misspelled categories, you can merge them with the properly spelled categories. So, Groceries and Froceries can be merged to Groceries, and any transactions which used the c misspelled category will be automatically changed to use the correct one. Merging is done in the same Windows > Categories window Jon mentioned above. Command-click on two or more categories, click the Merge button at the bottom, make sure the "Into" field is showing the category you want to remain, and click Okay.

If you're doing a bunch of changes, it's always a good idea to save a backup before you start (in case you accidentally merge Groceries with Vacation, for instance), so you can go back and start over.

Jon · Answer

You can open the Categories window from the Window menu (or by pressing Command-Shift-C). In that window you can rename & delete categories. It will also show you which ones are not being used.