Some minor UI and Investment Security suggestions
Hello! Longtime user here and big fan of the product. I recently got such awesome support on the forum (thanks Maddy) that I am emboldened and thought I'd write in with a few minor suggestions I've wanted to see over the years. Hopefully it's ok to do so in one post; I have been saving some of these up since the late 1990's, when I started using Moneydance.
1) UI: Allow type-ahead filtering of accounts in popup accounts. Like the Search bar, or like entering categories on a transaction, but for the account list that appears under the File menu. I have preferences set to "Show all accounts in popup," and scrolling through all the categories (especially a lengthy list of securities) is cumbersome. I'm hoping for this to quickly look at the transaction history for a particular category.
2) UI: When entering transactions in an investment account using the keyboard, a pop-up window appears with a list of investments. When I use the cursor keys to select an investment and hit Enter, the selection sticks. When I use the cursor keys to select an investment and then hit Tab, the selection sometimes, but not always, changes to the first security in the list. It would be great if the behavior when using Tab mimicked the behavior when using the mouse to select a security, to reduce data entry errors.
3) UI: Allow collapsing main accounts with subaccounts in the sidebar. (Previous versions of Moneydance did allow this, but at some point it was removed.) If I have a Bank account with several subaccounts, it would be awesome if I could just collapse the subaccount listing, similar to how you can collapse the main categories, "Bank" "Investments" etc. I use the subaccount feature extensively for budgeting and savings goals and it would really help me work with the product if I could collapse those. (If there's a better way to do savings goals and/or or envelope budgeting, I'm open to changing my methods.)
4) Please make a way where I can edit the security properties once and they apply to all accounts they have been added to. I have to edit the properties for each account individually if I need to change the "Type" or "Subtype." A way to view and edit the properties of all securities in an account in a grid would be a welcome addition also. I admit I do not understand the use case where the Type or Subtype would vary based on the account.
5) Provide a way to export preferences. Every time I switch to a new computer I have to go through a checklist of the preferences I've customized. Saved graphs and reports do transfer over from Export Backup, but it appears things like "Single-line mode" and most things in File, Preferences do not transfer.
I am currently using Moneydance 2020. But if any of these are implemented in Moneydance 2023 or coming soon, please let me know so I can upgrade!
Thank you for a great product.
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1 Posted by dwg on 08 Jun, 2023 12:17 AM
I'm a fellow user.
I'll try to cover off a couple of your points
4. Use of subtype at the account level
An example for this is say you have a share investment that is defined as Domestic shared discretionary spending at its lowest level.
If you have an account that you manage on the basis on investment type, this one may be domestic shares because of it is split since the investment account split works like Local shares, foreign shares, local property, foreign property, local fixed interest, foreign fixed interest.
This investment is also held in another account that is for domestic shares only and is managed on the basis of the segment, so you have segments like Discretionary, health, financial, utilities etc
5. Not needed the files are all available as is. A Moneydance backup is all about the data that is in the data set along with associated reports not about anything that is considered global.
To copy everything between machines just copy the data tree from the .moneydance folder down between systems.
Preferences are spread across a number of files and folders. The main file is config.dict there is also a file for your colour preference, but your preferences also include any extensions you have installed and they are in the fmodules folder. It can get a little tricky if you are syncing if copying whole folder trees but it can be worked around.
2 Posted by derekkent23 on 08 Jun, 2023 07:56 AM
I am not support staff, just a user.
Hi elitchfield
4. “I admit I do not understand the use case where the Type or Subtype would vary based on the account.”
For me, one example were a Type or Subtype for a given security needs to be different in different investment accounts is where one account covers tax free investments the other where I pay tax.
In this case the ability to set Type or Subtype per account make it possible to separate the same security into groups taxed and tax free in reports, Net Worth, Asset allocation, etc.
For user like me the ability to set Type or Subtype for a given security differently in different accounts is vital.
Have Fun, Stay safe.
3 Posted by elitchfield on 08 Jun, 2023 08:26 PM
Thank you dwg and derekkent23, I definitely learned something! Now if I ever have a need for that feature, I will know how to go about it.
I didn't see anything about copying the whole folder tree in the tip sheet on switching to a new computer so that's good to know. Usually I export a backup and then re-import that on the new computer. As my entire life is in Moneydance I'm afraid to do too much monkeying with it.
Appreciate the responses, cheers
4 Posted by dwg on 08 Jun, 2023 10:04 PM
The articles tend to concentrate on jut the data and using methodologies that will work in all instances (or at least should). With experience and practice with some thins yo can take other approaches provided you understand the implications and any catches.
So for example if syncing was involved and I needed to break the relationship. I could combine copying the whole data tree along with a backup and restore of just the data portions in order to break the relationship.
System closed this discussion on 07 Sep, 2023 10:10 PM.