Bug found in Tag usage when used in split transactions

fciani

I use Tags and sub-Tags extensively in Quicken. In non-split transactions the behavior is as expected. However, when sub-Tags are used in split transactions, the behavior is half right.

If I initially have Tag1:Tag2 in my split transaction everything is fine. The register and all reports show and report everything correctly. However, if I decide to edit the tags, I run into problems.

Scenario 1:
I remove Tag2. The register correctly shows the change (Tag1). However, the register report shows the updated designation on the transaction level, but the 'by tag' still aggregates the transactions with the original (Tag1:Tag2) tag designations. The cash flow by tag report also aggregates the tags by the original input (Tag1:Tag2) and not with the new (Tag1) changes.

Scenario 2:
I created a new tag - Tag3. I updated the split transaction (Tag1:Tag2) with Tag3. The register again shows the split updated with the correct tag (Tag3). However, the reports and Tag headings show the update as Tag1:Tag2:Tag3. Apparently, Quicken is assuming Tag3 is now a sub-tag of a sub-tag.

The bottom line is that for split transactions that contain sub-tags, editing those transactions is only partially working. The only solution I see at the moment is to delete those transactions completely and reinput the data. That's not an ideal solution.

I am not sure if the issue resides in the tagging code or in the report generation code.

fciani

As an addendum, I think this issue is more severe than originally reported. I tested this in a test file. If my split transaction had Tag1:Tag2 and I deleted Tag2, all the split transactions showed NO tags. When running a report by Tag, I get a message saying there are more that 250 columns of tags. I then tried to enter a tag on a split transaction. The register transaction correctly shows the new tag, however, the reports do not collect this new information.

On non-split transactions with Tag1:Tag2, deletion of Tag2 correctly displayed Tag1.

Rocket J Squirrel

I believe you are describing a real bug, but your conception of tags is incorrect. There is no such thing as a sub-tag. All tags are at the same level. Tag1:Tag2 simply means that a transaction or split line has been tagged with two different tags. It is confusing that Quicken uses the colon for both sub-categories and as a tag separator.

fciani

I have researched this a little further and I think I have found the source of the problem. I exported data in QIF format to see how the data was stored. Here's what I found.

All non-split transactions have a single line 'L' entry:

LCategory:Sub-Category/Tag1/Tag2

For split transactions there are two entries for the first data entry 1) 'L' and 2 'S'

LCategory:Sub-Category/Tag1/Tag2
SCategory:Sub-Category/Tag1/Tag2

When I remove Tag2 in the register, I'm removing it from the 'S' entry line but NOT the 'L' entry.

LCategory:Sub-Category/Tag1/Tag2
SCategory:Sub-Category/Tag1

Conversely, if the 'L' entry has a single tag initially (Tag1) and I modify the transaction split to add a tag, Tag2 is displayed on the 'S' line, but not the 'L' line.

LCategory:Sub-Category/Tag1
SCategory:Sub-Category/Tag1/Tag2

Somehow, this mismatch is confusing the report generator. I believe that for split item transactions, the 'L' line should be ignored by the report generation code.

Riverrunner

Yes I posted this same issue as a new discussion on 11/12/2022. I did not articulate as well as it is here, but my solution was the same, to delete the transactions and re-enter them to get the reporting to work correctly. I hope Quicken comes up with a solution that does deletes the tag in both places so the reporting is correct. Thank you.