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Prevent Auto-Creation of Categories
RA2
Member ✭✭
Please stop the automatic creation of categories. It's beyond belief that there is no control to prevent automatic creation of categories like Quicken for Windows.
I have seen other posts about merging categories when something is created by accident on the fly. However, that is not the right solution. Please increase the amount of preferences available to Mac users.
Quicken for Windows was the perfect blue-print and it was ignored when you built Quicken for Mac. Please add this vital control so categories are not created by accident which throws off budgets and reports. I should not have to periodically review for new categories to add to budgets and reports.....I already have what I need created.
I have seen other posts about merging categories when something is created by accident on the fly. However, that is not the right solution. Please increase the amount of preferences available to Mac users.
Quicken for Windows was the perfect blue-print and it was ignored when you built Quicken for Mac. Please add this vital control so categories are not created by accident which throws off budgets and reports. I should not have to periodically review for new categories to add to budgets and reports.....I already have what I need created.
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Comments
If you are using Quicken for Mac to closely track a budget, you will occasionally be surprised to find transaction in a new category. It could be 1+ months before you identify this unless you are remembering to check categories a couple times per month like I have been doing since using Mac version.
It only creates the new category if you accept the default to Create new category, but it's easy to tab to the next field and accept it. So what you're describing is basically user error, but one that is too easy to make. And you're asking for is either a warning to ask you to confirm that you really want to create the new category, and/or the ability to lock categories such that new ones cannot be created in data entry, only from the Categories window. Sounds like a good idea to me!
This falls into a class of actions that users have asked the program to safeguard against with warnings or optional warnings, such as deleting a transaction without realizing it. So far, the developers haven't implemented a bunch of optional warnings or locks, but it's not clear whether they are opposed to the ideas or are just concentrating on bigger issues than these types of small user interface refinements. Unfortunately, the list of enhancement requests from customers number in the hundreds, so some of them are going to take a long time before they are acted on.
@jacobs - a legit accounting software should have access / change controls to make sure you can easily audit the system. If you build in controls up front it saves dozens of hours of Ad Hoc review and repair. Sure the batch change mode works for some transactions but is useless when you have split transactions. Suggest a configuration control board with user reps - then to get changes made we could crowd fund the ones users most want
As a quick example of the former: the comment from @RA2 and my reply above were from April 2019, and since then, they have added a warning dialog box on the deletion of a transaction, which hadn't existed previously. They clearly listened to user requests and/or tracked Support Calls where users had inadvertently deleted transactions without realizing it. So, although it might have been a long time in coming, it was a positive step forward.