Is a list of default Quicken categories available?

Dorothy H
Dorothy H Member ✭✭✭
Quicken for Mac. Online version. 20+ year user.

Over the years I have added and deleted categories in the category list, including deleting some default Quicken categories. I'm in the midst of doing alot of cleanup and now would like to primarily use the default Quicken categories. Is a list of default Quicken categories available?
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Best Answer

  • RickO
    RickO SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    Answer ✓
    Sorry, I don't know of any way to easily distinguish between a default category and one you created. You can click the popup menu at the top and choose to display only unused categories. That may help.

    The only other suggestion I have is to create a new file and open the Categories window in it. In this new file, you will have only the default categories. I would say to print out this list, but you can't. So you'll have to take screenshots of the category window in the new file. 

    Then go back to your regular file's Categories window. Open the screenshots in Preview and place the windows side by side. Then you can go down the list and compare and contrast the lists.

    Also, be aware that if you, for example, want to use a default category instead of one you have created, but want to keep the old category's transactions categorized, you can Merge categories using the Merge button at the bottom of the Categories window.
    Quicken Mac Subscription; Quicken Mac user since the early 90s

Answers

  • RickO
    RickO SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    When you say "online version", are you using the Mac Desktop program? Perhaps you mean "subscription version"? If you are using Quicken for Mac Desktop, what version are you running (see menu Quicken > About Quicken).  If you are using the online-only product (Simplify), then the answer would be different and we'll need to get your question moved to a different forum Category.
    Quicken Mac Subscription; Quicken Mac user since the early 90s
  • Dorothy H
    Dorothy H Member ✭✭✭
    Subscription version
  • RickO
    RickO SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    Okay then. Here's what you need to do:
    1. Open the Categories Window (menu Window > Categories)
    2. Click the three dot (...) icon at the bottom left
    3. Select Add Default Categories
    This will add all the default categories to your file. 

    If you just want to see the list of default categories without adding all of them to your file (perhaps because there may only be a couple you want to add), then I'd suggest creating a brand new file (menu File > New). You can review the list in that file, then switch back to your regular file (menu File > Open Recent) and manually add any that you need.

    Quicken Mac Subscription; Quicken Mac user since the early 90s
  • Dorothy H
    Dorothy H Member ✭✭✭
    Thanks. Just to be sure...the "Add default categories" method will only add default categories that are currently not there, correct?
  • RickO
    RickO SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    Correct. I will not affect your existing user-defined categories.
    Quicken Mac Subscription; Quicken Mac user since the early 90s
  • Dorothy H
    Dorothy H Member ✭✭✭
    Thanks. Worked perfectly. Added back approx 53 categories that I had previously deleted. Is it possible to look at my list and determine which categories are default Quicken categories and which are the custom ones I added?
  • RickO
    RickO SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    Answer ✓
    Sorry, I don't know of any way to easily distinguish between a default category and one you created. You can click the popup menu at the top and choose to display only unused categories. That may help.

    The only other suggestion I have is to create a new file and open the Categories window in it. In this new file, you will have only the default categories. I would say to print out this list, but you can't. So you'll have to take screenshots of the category window in the new file. 

    Then go back to your regular file's Categories window. Open the screenshots in Preview and place the windows side by side. Then you can go down the list and compare and contrast the lists.

    Also, be aware that if you, for example, want to use a default category instead of one you have created, but want to keep the old category's transactions categorized, you can Merge categories using the Merge button at the bottom of the Categories window.
    Quicken Mac Subscription; Quicken Mac user since the early 90s
  • Dorothy H
    Dorothy H Member ✭✭✭
    Thanks for all your help this morning. I'm getting ready to post another question regarding budgeting so if you answer budgeting questions, you'll see one from me.
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