In Special Expenditures, I want to add descriptive text or somehow annotate my Home Improvements, such as "Home-Replace Windows"; "Home-Stucco Exterior; and "Home-Repair Driveway."
Is this possible with ESPlanner Plus 2.15.2? How?
The ability to add some detail is pretty important for being able to figure out the best time to take a particular consumption action.
Rose
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RSS
Yes. Just enter a new expense name in the pull down menu and add your expense.
Best,
Dick Munroe
Dick,
I posted my original comment because I was unable to create a new expense. There is no "New Description" in my pull-down list. Also, as best I can tell, neither the Help or the Guide has any info on how to enter a custom description (I searched for "special expenditure," "pull-down," and "pull down."
Am I missing something in my understanding, or is ESPlanner missing something in its menu and/or Help and/or Tutorial?
I can send you a screenshot if you like.
Rose
No, there isn't, just type the new description into the exposed entry of the pull down menu and is should get added to the list. The entry you overwrite shouldn't be replaced.
Best,
Dick Munroe
I checked and the new entry doesn't get added to the pull down list, but it does get used when you make an entry in your special receipts/expenditures, e.g.,
1. Change the text in the menu pull down to "Test".
2. Add a special expense.
and you should see that the name of the special expense is "Test" but you won't see a new category of special expense "Test" added to the list in the pull down menu.
I'll see if we can't do something about that.
Best,
Dick Munroe
Typing entries doesn't go into the list. The list is "static." We'd have to add a table to the database (or elsewhere) for extended special expenses/receipt "types."
Ok, I understand (a) how to add a new entry, and (b)that new entries must be created each time; they are not added to the list.
I also understand the extra development effort to create persistent "roll-your own lists."
But I don't understand these two quirks:
- Why I can't modify an entry? Instead, I have to create a new entry and then delete the one I don't want. This is definitely a user burden.
I searched the Guide in the browser and the Tutorial pdf but could not found anything. To search, I used the keywords "special expenditures" and "modify."
- Why can't I see more than 14-15 rows at time? I can re-size the overall window, but not the ESPlanner screen in general (and therefore not the Special Expenditures screen).
I presume that the answers to both questions are because that's how you developed the interface. But why in the world were these particular constraints (can't modify a field; can't re-size the data entry window) imposed?
And very(!) importantly, which version will sport a friendlier interface?
Thank you,
Rose
Why I can't modify an entry? Instead, I have to create a new entry and then delete the one I don't want. This is definitely a user burden.
You can, just double click the description and type away. Make sure the row you want is highlighted and it should work. Be careful not to change the tax status (that's a bug)
Why can't I see more than 14-15 rows at time? I can re-size the overall window, but not the ESPlanner screen in general (and therefore not the Special Expenditures screen).
I don't think we originally ever expected special ex/rcp's to be more than a few entries originally. Some people have hundreds. Also, the original UI was designed for 800x600 resolution. Perhaps it's time to revisit that.
Many people who use ESPlanner are not especially computer literate, which drives some of the UI choices we made. At the same time, it can be frustrating for others.