Please Finish the Archived Column Layout Request: Column Order, Widths, Sort, and Presets
I would like to reference the long running Quicken Mac idea thread titled "Add Ability to Set Default Columns, Sort and Sizes to Registers (125 Legacy/Merged Votes) (Q Mac)."
Sadly, that request appears to have been archived or left without full detailed implementation, even though it had many votes and years of user comments supporting it.
I appreciate that Quicken Mac eventually added the ability to apply visible columns to all accounts of the same type, such as all checking accounts, savings accounts, or credit card accounts. That was a very helpful step, and I was excited to see it added.
However, the original request was much broader than just syncing the column checkboxes. From the comments in that thread, users were asking for several things that still do not seem to be fully implemented:
- Apply column order to all accounts of the same type.
- Apply column widths to all accounts of the same type.
- Preserve and apply sort order.
- Create account type defaults for checking, savings, credit cards, investments, and other account types.
- Reapply a saved layout to existing accounts.
- Select which accounts should receive a layout.
- Reset layouts back to Quicken defaults.
- Make column widths match exactly between similar registers.
- Save templates or named layouts that can be reused.
From my own experience, Quicken for Windows has had the ability to make similar register layouts match for at least two decades. I used that feature regularly. It was extremely helpful to set up one checking or savings account the way I wanted and then apply that same layout to similar accounts.
In Quicken Mac, I recently decided to move the Tags column. I have about a dozen checking accounts and more than a dozen savings accounts. Going through each one manually is a pain, and even after doing it, the widths are never exactly the same.
I would love to see Quicken Mac finish this request and take the current "Apply to All" feature further.
My specific request is:
- Expand "Apply to All" so it includes visible columns, column order, column widths, and sort settings.
- Allow layouts to be saved by account type.
- Allow named presets.
- Allow users to choose which accounts receive a layout.
- Allow layouts to be used for both existing accounts and future new accounts.
I would also love to see layout presets for different workflows and screen sizes.
Examples:
- Laptop view: fewer columns, tighter widths, and a cleaner layout.
- Large monitor view: more columns, wider spacing, and more detail visible.
- Minimal view: Date, Payee, Amount, and Balance.
- Review view: Memo/Notes, Tags, Category, Clr, Posted, Statement Payee, Statement Memo, Match Status, FITID, and Status.
- Reconciliation view: columns focused on matching, posted dates, cleared status, and statement details.
This would be especially useful for people who switch between a laptop and a large monitor while using the same Quicken file. The layout that works well on one screen often does not work well on another.
The current visible column syncing was a great start. Please consider finishing the original request by adding full column layout syncing, exact column width matching, sort syncing, account type defaults, and named layout presets.
jacobs
"It should be noted, though, that "Apply to All [type] Accounts" makes all the same columns visible in the other like account registers, but it does not put them in the same order, nor assign them the same widths, of the original register. This makes the feature much less useful that it could be. Hopefully, someday the developers will build this additional functionality."
Hopefully that day can be sometime this year!🤞
