Maybe I misunderstand what you are saying but MSFT also cuts off online
services after 2 years thereby forcing you to upgrade every 2 years. I have
been ranting about this horrendous rip-off for months.

Personally I refuse to upgrade from M2002 in part because of this 2 year
forced upgrade policy.

Another factor is that you might not be able to switch back to Quicken if
you use Money for a significant amount of time because Quicken may not have
a reasonable method of importing Money data into Quicken. I did check this
out a couple of years back and it was not reasonably possible to do the
import.


Regards,

Bill Wood


- quote -

- quote -

-------- Exactly.. I'd prefer a distinctive bar.. It's easier to target
with the mouse and grab to drag.. Also, if it's an identical color then
it's not really "visible" as a bar.. Only the control buttons are
visible.. I think it should be an option...

On Sat, 23 Sep 2006 16:19:54 GMT, Jake <Jaker00at[at]Yahoo.com> wrote:

- quote -

It has a visible Windows Titlebar. It's the lines at the top of the
window with the windows control buttons on the right and the name of
your money file on the left. You can click anywhere in that bar and
drag it around. It doesn't look like a title bar because the
background color of the menu bar and title bar are identical.

- quote -

Cal Learner-- MVP <via_newsgroup[at]please.tnx> wrote in
news:svoah2hjjfj04jkandf53pckdc526lpfic[at]4ax.com:

- quote -

----------- I've got that set for 30 min.. It doesn't seem to effect
performance very much at all..

- quote -

---- That's more complicated than clicking back and forth IMHO...

I'm not really looking for "workarounds" like that. I'm an experienced
Windows user with proficiency in user interfaces for software. I can
*usually* figure those out.. But I don't want to sound unappreciative of
the effort to help.. It IS much appreciated and I have learned a few
things with this thread which is why I use and support these forums to
begin with. I supported the Windows operating system for 10 years,
working for Microsoft. I would like to see more emphasis placed on
usability rather than designs to maximize service revenue as is today's
emphasis at Microsoft. It seems that the marketing department has more
influence in product design than is healthy for the company. Cheaper
design methods (ie reducing development costs by building it on the IE
platform) rather than considering users efficiency and productivity with
the products. I can't understand how all the bragging and promotions
about utilizing focus groups for product design and usability can result
in so many oversights and products that are harder to use - unless maybe
it's influenced by marketing to maximize revenue at the expense of
usability. Why bother with the user and focus groups then? I've long
felt that Microsoft has become a marketing company at the expense of
being a great software company. Thanks to the current CEO, his
predecessors (in other roles and not the previous CEO) and his cohorts
(direct reports)... It's no surprise that the company can't win in the
consumer space (mobile phone operating systems, set top boxes, media
players and services, multiple MSN (Live.com) portal redesigns, Windows
MCE, overall convergence attempts, etc).. They're simply not giving
consumers what they want and others are doing so (Apple, Google, Adobe,
etc.).. It's slowly chipping away at the bottom line and will continue
to do so until someone turns the company around and takes it back to
it's roots of being a software company.

That's just my personal opinion which isn't really relevent to this
discussion.. No response necessary..

In microsoft.public.money, Jake wrote:

- quote -

You may want to clear
Portfolio-> UpdatePrices-> UpdateAutomicallyEvery__Minutes for speed.
What reminded me of this is that you lose the LastUpdated value at
the bottom if you then go to a page momentarily and go back to the
Portfolio view.


- quote -

You can work around that by "printing" the report or register to a
file, and then viewing the file while you go elsewhere.

Try one of the links on http://money.mvps.org/wishes.aspx to submit
feedback.

--
Regards
Bob Peel,
Microsoft MVP - Money

For UK tips & fixes see
http://support.microsoft.com/default...d=fh;EN-GB;mny.


I do not respond to any emails that I have not specifically asked for.

"Jake" <Jaker00at[at]Yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:Xns98477B6F3E98FBryanbahotmailcom[at]66.26.32.7...
- quote -

Ron Rosenfeld <ronrosenfeld[at]nospam.org> wrote in
news:rf78h213o0b8ht63e0hsqtjsu3ci6v1qsb[at]4ax.com:

- quote -

That solved that prolbem.. Thanks Ron!! I knew that was there but
frequently looked over it.. I'm now practicing using it so I'll remember
it's there. Maybe it should be a bigger button that stands out a little
more.. No big deal though..

Thanks!

Cal Learner-- MVP <via_newsgroup[at]please.tnx> wrote in
news:j0h8h21sgrg6ol5f49lkufean80bdbshdc[at]4ax.com:

- quote -

---- Me either.. The key word being "additional". I'd like to see a
left nav bar REPLACE the one that's there.. It seems that only the top
1/3 of it is actually useful in any page since the rest of it are links
to other services..

- quote -


------ True, and I use that but that takes more effort and I like to
*quickly* manuever around the interface and that's just one more element
that slows me down (requring 2 or more clicks where if I had a nav bar I
could just click once and be there).

I'm sure I'll get used to the product and my post was to point out that
the product is a little awkward to use because of it's page-oriented
design (only one page at at time can be viewed, back and forward buttons
are sequential in nature and less efficient than a single click to go
where you need to go). Also the inability to have two windows open
simultaneously, as Quicken allows for some functions - reports mainly,
forces me to click back and forth to get info then back again to a
report (starting over from scratch).. It's overall less information at
my fingertips than Quicken facilitates.

Thanks

Cal Learner-- MVP <via_newsgroup[at]please.tnx> wrote in
news:lud8h21r9ioa56auasgaec7sg1pjue3535[at]4ax.com:

- quote -

--------- Thanks.. it was well-intentioned..

- quote -

--------- A matter of personal preference.. I like beign able to
glance at account balances without having to find a page with them .. It
forces me to exit some tasks to get a balance then go back to the task
starting over..

- quote -

-------------- Nope. I don't like the Windows Classic Theme.. I'm using
the standard XP themes.. I'd still prefer to have the option to "Turn
on" a visible title bar..

- quote -

-------- Haven't explored the two-monitor option. I'm deficient on
desk space at the moment for that one..

Cal Learner-- MVP <via_newsgroup[at]please.tnx> wrote in
news:cda8h21bjir1mgvnacp9dagcht9nbds0l4[at]4ax.com:

- quote -

------- That works.. Thanks! For some reason I found myself needing to
click both.. I'll keep an eye on this for different behavior.. I'm sure
it behaved differently at times... Maybe not though..

- quote -


------ I prefer the register to be my start page..


- quote -


----- That's a work-around. My point is that that is it should be a one
click operation from anywhere in the product. You may have addressed
that in the above solution though..


Thanks

Steve, Thanks for your feedback.. I stated in my initial post, and maybe
you missed it, I'm an alumni member so I get MS Money at employee prices
and that's why I switched.. Quicken is $80 now for the version I need and
they cut off online services after 2 years so you're forced to upgrade.

Also, My post was feeback intended for Microsoft, as I also stated, I have
been unable to locate a formal feeback venue, therefore the public post ..
Maybe an MVP can direct me to a more formal venue for feedback and I'll
copy-n-paste to that venue.

Lastly, I've used both products on and off over the years. I'm very
familiar with them both. It took me one evening to learn my way around MS
Money 2007 after having used Quicken for 5+ years THIS time around. I've
sued MS Money in the past for an equal amount of time. I simply find some
things easier to do in Quicken and I'm sure MS would appreciate my
feedback.. I think the page-oriented design is awkward which requires more
steps to accomplish the same tasks as in Quicken. Something I'm sure MS
would appreciate knowing as well.

I'm sticking with MS Money due to the aformentioned reason.. Price and not
being forced to upgrade every 2 years.

Thanks for your response anyway.

In microsoft.public.money, Cal Learner-- MVP wrote:

- quote -

Let me re-phrase that. I would not like an additional left nav bar
to select a particular account register.

Incidentally, at the top of each register is a drop-down list to
select a different account register. Designating an account a
"Favorite" puts it in the initial drop-down.

Jake, I read your well written report on Money and I had to laugh as to
WHY you switched to Money in the first place. I'm sure you know Quicken
from your years of working with it. You probably are used to what you
get with it. When you make a change to Money you need to realize that
the two products are different and things that you had become
accustomed to in Quicken might not be in Money. Therefore you find
disappointment. It is also a big learning curve to find all the nice
things that Money offers. I've used Money for 11 years and it just
doesn't make sense for me to switch. I update yearly and find the $20
to $30 cost peanuts for what the program does for helping me manage my
personal finance. Quicken may be a fine product but I know it would be
a big learning curve and I probably wouldn't like it for the same
reasons you don't like Money. I say, go back to enjoying Quicken. You
will be much happier. JMHO. Steve.

Incidentally, that was a well-considered and presented commentary.

I would not like to a left nav bar tho.

In microsoft.public.money, Jake wrote:

- quote -

I suspect that you use Windows Classic "Theme". I got used to
staying in the top 1/4 inch of the Money window after a bit.

I wish there were a way to move a window higher than the top of the
screen. I wish there was an easy way to make the logical window
bigger than the screen so that the part I care about (payload)
occupies more of the physical screen. That is one advantage of dual
monitor... Maybe I'll start using that again.

In microsoft.public.money, Jake wrote:

<snip> I can't get to the "Account list" unless I first click "Banking" then
- quote -

What happens if you just click "Banking" and stop?

I make the Account List my starting page.
Tools-> Settings-> ProgramSettings-> (DisplayStartMoneyWithThisPageOpen:AccountList

It's still a single click to get to the "home page".

<snip
- quote -

I have room on my page for the Account List button with room to
spare. Isn't there one that you have that would be less important
than AccountList?

On Fri, 22 Sep 2006 17:11:43 GMT, Jake <Jaker00at[at]Yahoo.com> wrote:

- quote -

Look at the fourth line down from the top. The line that has tabs for Home,
Banking, Bills, Reports, etc.

At the right end of that line there is a "?" for help. Just to the left of the
"?" is a button with a pair of arrows facing each other.

Float your cursor over this button and just to the right you will see a down
facing arrow "Online Updates". Click on that down pointing arrow and you will
bring up the "Update Now" dialog box.

So three clicks instead of five.


--ron

One more thing.. When I want to connect to online services.. I dislike
that I have to:

1) Click on Banking
2) Click on Account list,
3) Click on an online activated account
4) Choose connect to bank,
5) and then click "Update Now"..

That's 5 clicks (steps) compared to Quicken's one.

This should be easier...

There should be a one-click button to connect and download transactions for
all online activated accounts..

I can't find an easier (fewer steps) way to do this. A "Download
transactions" button on the "Manage Online Services" page would be
appropriate...

I don't know if anyone from Microsoft is monitoring this group but I've
got some feedback about the product and can't locate a formal method to
do so either within the product or on microsoft.com's various money
sites..

I just switched from Quicken and BTW congratulations on the quicken file
import. It wasn't perfect but very impressive compared to the last time
I tried it which was an utter and complete failure..

Next.. Microsoft Money is.... well... pretty.. but I find the design
cumbersome and difficult to use. The page-oriented design, obviously a
result of being built on the IE platform, has me clicking and clicking
and clicking to get to pages that there are apparently no direct links
to.. It takes LONGER to find information in the product... and
therefore is harder to use than Quicken.

I switched because I am an alumni member and can get Money much cheaper
than Quicken.. Were it not for that I'd go back to Quicken.

I can't get to the "Account list" unless I first click "Banking" then
"Account list" .. I've already pouplated the toolbar with icons so
adding one for that won't fit..

I dont' like that there's no TITLE BAR on the inferface.. I freqently
attempt to grab the window to move it and discover I didnt' click just
exactly in the right place..

I can't change the register background colors which would help me be
visually aware of which account I'm working in.

Some of the items on the left have nothing whatsoever to do with the
page I'm viewing. For isntance in portfolio manager page, why would I
want a "Find the right loan" link?

The little address bar at top is absolutely useless.. It doesn't work..
I can enter a page and click go and it does nothing. Why have it?

I can't seem to create a simple "register report" ... The reporting
feature is much harder to use than Quicken..

I'd like to see a static bar to the left with accounts and balances..
like Quicken.. It's very handy.. Money's way is to click click click
until you find the account list.. then it's gone when you click on
something else..

I DO like the home page.. Congrats.! it's the first home page I've
ever actually used and it is customizable so that it can present useful
info to me.. Quicken's home is mostly about promoting their other
products and services.. I never used it as a result.

For some reason I can't get create an online bill payment from the
register. It always fails when I choose epay.. I have to go to the bills
page and select it there.. This just adds extra steps to my task at
hand.. Quicken's "Send" transaction worked like I work and was therefore
useful.

I would like to have some pages present themselves in a separate
window.. I find myself having to back out and review info before
proceeding. The page-oriented design again contributes to being less
productive with the product.

I would also like a summary of downloaded transactions. I find it
cumbersome to have to go to the Account list to see which accounts
actually downloaded transactions..

Lastly .. I would like Microsoft to build a feedback feature in the
product that is dynamic to the page I'm viewing.

Summarily, the decision to build it on IE platform might have made it
easier to develop but it makes the product harder for your customers to
use.