cleaning out my category file (Q Mac)

monroeann
monroeann Member
I have many categories that have been misspelled or which I don't use anymore. How do I clean up the category file?

Answers

  • Jon
    Jon SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    edited May 2022
    You can open the Categories window from the Window menu (or by pressing Command-Shift-C). In that window you can rename & delete categories. It will also show you which ones are not being used.

    Quicken Mac subscription. Quicken user since 1990.

  • RickO
    RickO SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    One caution though: if you delete a category that is still used in older transactions, those transactions will become uncategorized. Therefore, you probably don't want to delete categories that are still in use even though you don't intend to use them going forward.

    To make those categories sort to the end of the list, out of your way, prepend a "z" or pretty much any greek letter to the the front of the category name. For example, Groceries becomes πGroceries or zGroceries.

    Also note that you can change the level of categories and you can merge categories in the Categories window. To change a category's level, just drag it up or down the list and drop it where you want. To merge two categories, select them both (use click, then command-click) and click the Merge button at the bottom. The categories must be at the same level to be merged.
    Quicken Mac Subscription; Quicken Mac user since the early 90s
  • jacobs
    jacobs SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    If you have misspelled categories, you can merge them with the properly spelled categories. So, Groceries and Froceries can be merged to Groceries, and any transactions which used the c misspelled category will be automatically changed to use the correct one. Merging is done in the same Windows > Categories window Jon mentioned above. Command-click on two or more categories, click the Merge button at the bottom, make sure the "Into" field is showing the category you want to remain, and click Okay.

    If you're doing a bunch of changes, it's always a good idea to save a backup before you start (in case you accidentally merge Groceries with Vacation, for instance), so you can go back and start over. 
    Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 1993
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