[moneytalks] Re: Beta: suggestion for enhancing value of status line features

  • From: "ROB MEREDITH" <rmeredith@xxxxxxx>
  • To: <moneytalks@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 14:35:26 -0400

Steve:

The bong sound for Ctrl+E has not been eliminated. You get a bong if
there are no transactions with todays date. If there are transactions
with todays date, the program moves to the first one and plays no sound.
We don't plan to change this.

Your ideas are good; expect to see them implemented in the next beta.
We'll let you use F6 to expand and compress the splits however.

Rob Meredith

>>> steveziel@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 08/15/06 08:21PM >>>
Hello Rob and MT staff,

Nice job with the recurring transactions feature, and I noticed that
the bong sound when using ctrl-e has been eliminated.

I have an idea for enhancing the status column useage, based on the use
of the R key in the status column.  The R key when pressed while the
focus is on the status column, causes the program to restrict the view
to only those transactions that are set for recurring.  This is an easy
and useful way to quickly examine which transactions are recurring.

How about making another useful feature available in a similar
user-friendly way.  Like so, the user can go to the status column, press
the letter S, and immediately all the transactions that have splits
applied to them would be restricted for quick viewing.  The user than
can press the F6 key to expand the splits, still restricting the view
only to these splits.  Pressing the F6 key again turns off the splits,
keeps the restricted view on, and finally pressing the escape key
removes the restricted view.  

Pressing the escape key at any time would remove the restricted view
and close down any expanded splits at the same time if they were
expanded before the escape is pressed.  

If a person simply restricts the view in other ways other than the one
described above, then pressing escape will act like it does now,
regardless of whether or not expanded view of splits is showing.

Here's a slight enhancement of the use of the S key.  That is the D
key, while pressed in the status column.  In this example, the view
would immediately be restricted to split transactions, but the program
would automatically open the splits, in other words it would do the F6
key press itself.  The user can then press F6 again to close the split
view, or escape to have the program close the splits and unrestrict the
view to the normal register.

I thought of this because when I bought MT from APH, I also bought
another program.  I split the transaction but one of the programs was
shipped something like three weeks later, it wasn't currently available.
 I couldn't clear that total transaction until both transactions
cleared.  I found myself having to locate that transaction using normal
restricting features.  

Over time, I've increased the number of transactions with splits in
them, and have found the only quick way to look at them, is to use the
shift 3 search combo, and search for the term x-s, (that is the letter
X, followed by the dash key, followed by the s key).  Then I had to
press F6 to open the view of that particular split transaction.  Then
repeat the search again with F3.  Alternatively, I could open the splits
with F6 before doing the F3 searching, using the appropriate search
string.  In any way, it's continual key strokes.

An S or D key in the status column would make things much quicker and
easier.

Sometimes I've had items in split transactions clearing at different
times, and have had to look at the actual splits to make sure all have
cleared before I could clear the original full transaction.

Furthermore, logically, the use of an X key in the status column would
show cleared transactions.  But that is already available with alt-v
plus c.

Just an idea.  What do you think?

TIA
Steve

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