How to "clean" and edit memorized payee list?

Question

Am using quicken  for windows - have been for over 15 years.  When I go to Online Center and begin to enter a Payee, it attempts to 'auto complete' the payee.  I would like to think that it uses the most recently used Payee (and associated data such as category, splits, memo, etc), but it does not.  If I use the mouse and set the focus on the Payee field, it will show a list of payees that match the first few letters that I've typed.

The issues I am trying to address are:

* The most recently used Payee name and associated data does not show up when I start typing the payee - can this be fixed or is my expectation incorrect?
* when I choose a Payee from the list, for some payees, the associated data of category, split, etc does not always show up in the corresponding fields - Is this a bug or how to fix?
* Is there a way to edit the Payee list that shows up so that all 'old' versions of the Payee are no longer in the list? I don't what to see a list of 10+ versions of the Payee, just a smaller set and hopefully the most recently used Payee.
* For some versions of the Payee, the associated data is empty in the corresponding fields. For example, if I type in the name of the gas company as the payee, and fields such as Category are empty, even though in my previous payments to that payee, I entered the category, e.g. House Utilities: Gas.

I have a feeling that the underlying data base is somehow corrupted. The most annoying issue is that the data (category, splits, etc.) associated with the Payee are not automatically populated.  This happens with some Payees, but not others.

How to fix?

Thanks

Quicken Kristina · Answer

Thank you for your reply,

When you say you used the Quicken verification tool, are you referring to the Validate & Repair File option?

If that is what you're referring to, do you recall the results? Did it find any issues?

Thank you!

three_jeeps · Answer

Am responding to your questions:

* The quicken data is on a local hard drive where quicken is installed,

C: users\jjh\Documents\Quicken
* I did not do any troubleshooting.  I have checked the data base with quicken verification tool
* IDK when the issue started to occur, at least a year ago.  I just ignored it/worked with it hoping I would discover a fix or it would fix itself.
* The only significant updates have been to Windows 10 (64bit) itself, the aperiodic updates from Quicken, and browser updates (Firefox, Edge).

Hope this helps

J

Quicken Anja · Answer

Hello @three_jeeps,

Thanks for reaching out to tell us about this issue!

Regarding the first 2 issues you described—first, could you please provide the following details?

* Where is your Quicken data file stored? Is it on your local hard drive (C: Drive) or a cloud-based/external drive (e.g.: OneDrive, DropBox, USB, etc.)?* Please provide the exact file path as shown in the example below.

* Have you attempted any troubleshooting steps so far? If so, what were they?
* When did this issue first start occurring?
* Were there any significant changes to your system or software before the issue began (updates, new installations, etc.)?

Your answers will help us diagnose the issue more effectively.

As for your other two questions—while there isn't a way to hide old entries from the Memorized Payee List, there are two options that may help you clean it up and reduce duplicate entries.

The first option is to merge payees. To do this, hold Ctrl on your keyboard while selecting each Payee line item you want to combine, then click Merge/Rename in the bottom-right corner. You will then be prompted to enter the Payee name you want to keep moving forward with. This can help consolidate multiple versions of the same Payee into a single entry, including the associated memorized information.

Alternatively, you can delete any unwanted entries from the Memorized Payee List. Select the line item you want to remove and click Delete in the bottom-right corner. You will receive a confirmation message, as shown below, which also explains that deleting the payee will not affect any existing transactions currently in your registers.

Looking forward to your response!