QMac cannot use Categories imported from QWin that were marked Hidden

MontanaKarl

This is a super frustrating issue for anyone importing a Quicken Windows file [via QXF] into Quicken Mac, and an issue reported earlier in this File Conversion thread by @zurubi with a response from @jacobs:
https://community.quicken.com/discussion/7903489/after-import-to-mac-version-cant-used-categories-that-were-hidden-in-windows-version

As @jacobs summarized there:

...start with a Quicken Windows file which has some categories marked as hidden, then import into Quicken Mac and observe that these categories appear like normal Quicken Mac categories but can't be merged into existing Mac categories and can't be used in transactions -- as if Quicken Mac knows they are hidden categories, even though Quicken Mac doesn't yet have a hidden categories feature. The fix needed is to either allow users to set categories to hidden/unhidden, or to ignore the hidden flag if that is indeed what is imported from Quicken windows.

I've got weeks of data entry in an imported file, as I've migrated to QMac and only today my wife and I found that we cannot use quite a few categories in transactions.  Looking back at the QWin file, I can see that the problematic categories (and subcategories) are all checked as Hidden there.

QMac's Category window has no checkmark for Hidden, nor when you Edit a category is there any indication that one could be hidden or not.  Yet, QMac imports the hidden flag, and the code for transaction entry honors that flag.   The only thing missing from QMac is the user interface in the Category list window to see the hidden status and change it.

Also: if you type in a hidden category in Windows, it let's you do so and categorizes it properly.  If you enter a hidden category in a transaction in QMac by typing it out... QMac just clears the field.

Quicken must add the UI for the hidden flag to the Category list window to avoid all of these errors

A short term fix, if they can do it, is to provide users with a sqlite3 SQL UPDATE query for us to run in Terminal that will clear the flag in the Category/ZTAG/etc table inside the database.

Until then, I caution anyone thinking of migrating from Windows to Mac to make sure that they clear the checkmark for all categories in the Windows data file before the migration.

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Edit 2/10/23:  Made a lot of tests this morning and confirmed that this issue no longer seems to arise with migrating a QDF; it only arises from importing a QWin QXF.

jacobs

MontanaKarl said:

A short term fix, if they can do it, is to provide users with a sqlite3 SQL UPDATE query for us to run in Terminal that will clear the flag in the Category/ZTAG/etc table inside the database.

That ain't never gonna happen!  I'm certain the developers won't release a SQL script to run in Terminal. 

But if they were inclined to do that, they could build such a "fix" into any version update. There are always scripts running to make database modifications during these updates.

Of course, the better solution would be for the developers to implement the UI for hiding categories, an Idea request which has nearly 200 votes here in the forum. 

MontanaKarl

jacobs said:

 ...they could build such a "fix" into any version update. There are always scripts running to make database modifications during these updates.

Of course, the better solution would be for the developers to implement the UI for hiding categories, an Idea request which has nearly 200 votes here in the forum. 

A script to clear the 'hidden' flag for all Categories as part of an update would be the fastest/easiest to resolve the current lack of functionality for all people who migrated from Windows.  I'd love the UI to get added, but would like to get back to work with the unavailable Catagories (due to QMac's logic for not allowing hidden Categories to be entered manually).

It's remarkable that something so easy as providing the UI flag - when the logic for handling it is already in the QMac code - has 200 votes and still has not been added to the product.

MontanaKarl

.....

MontanaKarl

I made a lot of tests this morning with a tiny fresh QWin file and confirmed that this issue no longer seems to arise with r migrating a QDF (Start screen).

So, it only seems to affect those of us who migrated via importing a QWin QXF (File > Import).  We have no way to 'clear' the hidden flag for our imported hidden categories.

In my case, the QDF import failed on my data file, so I had no option other than to use QXF Import.

MontanaKarl

This bug/issue of hidden Windows categories coming into Quicken Mac as unusable (flagged behind the scenes as hidden) only happens with importing from Windows via QXF, not QDF.

I did not even think of QXF when my QDF import repeatedly failed, until I found this Quicken Support article:
https://help.quicken.com/display/MAC/Things+to+do+before+converting+your+data?_ics=1676152297281&irclickid=~icacmBNS-3.VQMKDzqnlb~6XYNOFDvrqia7YUQMD

which at the moment still says:

If you are converting from Quicken Windows 2010 or higher, you need to perform these tasks:Prepare the existing Quicken for Windows data fileIn Quicken Windows, open your data file.Update all your accounts and download the latest transactions.Fix all transaction-related issues such as duplicate or missing transactions.Remove your data file and transactions passwords.Ensure that there are no hidden accounts.Ensure that the account names and category names are not more than 15 characters long.Ensure that the security names do not contain any special characters, and the ticker symbols are in upper case.Accept all downloaded transactions.Cancel all repeating and pending online payments.Quit the Quicken Windows application.Note: After preparing your data file, check your online and Quicken account balances. Ensure that you note the balances, so that you can verify later in Quicken.Transfer the .QXF file to your MacTransfer the .QXF file to your Mac machine using your network, USB drive, a CD or via email.Import the .QXF file into QuickenFor details, go to the Getting started topic.
Going to the Getting started article only takes about QDF files (vs File > Import > QXF)...
So, it seems that Quicken is of two minds on whether to endorse QXF import as a way of moving from Quicken Windows to Quicken Mac.  The plus of QXF, other than this hidden flag import bug, is that your data file does not have to be sent to the cloud for conversion.