Add a Renaming Rule

I don't know about the last part of the statement "it just doesn't work", but that is the normal behavior of the Renaming Rule dialog, which I admit is a bit "awkward", but it does work (I would certainly vote to change how it works, and certainly a "hidden default".

The "Quicken will rename the downloaded payee:" is what Quicken is to look for in the downloaded payee or memo.

So, if I type in "Safeway".

The "Change payee to:" becomes valid. And what I would put in there is again Safeway.

This is saying if any word in the downloaded payee or memo is Safeway then change that payee to Safeway.

So, downloaded payees like "Safeway Store#343" become "Safeway".

I think that given that you enter what the match to the download is first, it should be the first entry, not the second.

The other problem with this dialog is that there is an option that you can't set from here, and you should be able to change it here (and there isn't a preference to state what the default should be):

The "If Quicken name is":

When you download new transactions, Quicken searches its own database of common merchant names for the text you enter (in the next step). A match occurs, and the downloaded payee is renamed, if the text you enter exactly matches a merchant in the database. The search is performed after all other renaming rules have been run. Examples: Parker Supplies matches Parker Supplies; Parker does not match Parker Supplies, or any other variant such as Supplies by Parker.

I want it to match what I put in, not some database of names that may or may not be correct.

I tried it with an existing one, and as long as I got the name it should be renamed to exactly the same it worked for me (when I got it wrong it created a new entry). So, I'm not sure why it isn't working for you.