Delete categories without removing register entry

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liptak

12 Mar, 2011 02:40 PM

I suspect this is related to being able to "hide categories", but want to add this in case it isn't. I create categories that come and go. I would like to be able to use a category for a while then delete it. I cant because the register entry will also be deleted. Can they be decoupled?

Really like MD, its the only game in town for Mac users. Thanks.

  1. 1 Posted by Ben Spencer on 12 Mar, 2011 03:06 PM

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    Hi

    I am afraid it is not possible to delete a category with out deleting the transactions in that category.

    Since Moneydance is a double entry bookkeeping system all transactions are transfers. e.g. an expense is a transfer from checking to an expense account. As a result of this all transactions have to have another side in order to balance. The system would be in an invalid state if a transaction was not categorized in some way.

    A work around would be to create a category called "Uncategorised". You could then use the free extension called "Find and Replace" to batch change the category on the on the transactions to "Uncategorised". You could then safely delete the unwanted category.

    Sincerely
    Ben Spencer
    Moneydance Support

  2. 2 Posted by liptak on 12 Mar, 2011 03:14 PM

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    Thanks Ben.....so it sounds as if the best future option is to be able to "hide" the category in the category lists. I hope MD will develop that capability....Mark

  3. 3 Posted by Vicki Leavy on 30 Jun, 2011 06:25 PM

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    Thanks for asking and answering that question. I'm going to use "uncategorized" as the default category for all our accounts. Find and replace a great option. I love that transfers are inside the category list and require no extra steps. Moneydance is a really nice program. Stable and clean. The color option is nice for registers...toning down the bright white and making an obvious "today" placeholder by changing the color. Allowing larger or smaller fonts. The mobile companion app...making it for iPhone AND iPad. THANK YOU FOR THAT! Even Facebook hasn't done that! iBank doesn't have an iPad version or integrated bill pay. Three things to add to the "wish list"...it would be nice to be able to enter categories from within the register at the time of entry and would be nice to be able to re-reconcile in the event of error. Thank you for always getting back to us with answers to our questions and actually making changes. If you stay up and running with the roar of the Lion, you should have a VERY good year. You seem to be adhering to the simple principal...there is no such thing as a bad customer. Good for you!

  4. 4 Posted by Kit on 01 Jul, 2011 03:37 AM

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    Great ideas Vicki

  5. 5 Posted by Noname on 01 Jul, 2011 12:49 PM

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    Vicki & Kit, Here's a thread regarding creating new categories on the fly. If you "vote" for it (i.e. make a positive comment in the thread) it may help move the the suggestion to a higher priority.

  6. 6 Posted by Victoria Leavy on 01 Jul, 2011 03:42 PM

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    It would be great if you could add the ability to add new categories while in the register--entering "on the fly" THANKS!

  7. 7 Posted by Noname on 01 Jul, 2011 03:50 PM

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  8. 8 Posted by susan on 16 Jul, 2011 05:15 AM

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    Ben wrote:

    "Since Moneydance is a double entry bookkeeping system all transactions are transfers. e.g. an expense is a transfer from checking to an expense account. As a result of this all transactions have to have another side in order to balance. The system would be in an invalid state if a transaction was not categorized in some way."

    Huh? I have quite a few transactions without categories, nothing in that field. Did I misunderstand or did you say that is impossible?

    I too would like to remove categories I no longer use without deleting the transactions. Great suggestion, liptak. I have loads of categories that were used in past years that I no longer need, and it would be just great to get them out of that long categories list. So if it's not possible to delete them without deleting the Txns, I second the motion to hide them somehow.

    Thanks for a great program.

  9. 9 Posted by Ben Spencer on 16 Jul, 2011 11:00 AM

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    Susan

    I suspect you have a category that has a blank name. If you select Tools->Categories... and look at the top of the list do you see a category without a name?

    Ben Spencer

  10. 10 Posted by exigent on 18 Jul, 2011 12:57 PM

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    Oh wow, this find/replace plugin is awesome. Really helpful for cleaning up after import from Quicken. Thanks, Ben!

  11. 11 Posted by Ben Spencer on 19 Jul, 2011 05:49 AM

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    We recently introduced the option to make accounts or categories inactive which will remove them from the category selector.

    To mark a category as inactive select Tools->Categories... select the category and click the edit button. Check the inactive check box and click ok.

    Ben Spencer
    Moneydance Support

  12. System closed this discussion on 31 Mar, 2015 03:35 PM.

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