QuickBooks 2005: The Missing Manual

General

You might find it odd that the most common preferences appear in the middle of the preferences list. Even stranger that QuickBooks selects the General preferences section, the very first time you open the Preferences dialog box. What gives? The answer is simply that preference sections appear in alphabetical order. Don't bypass the General settings; they can affect whether your QuickBooks sessions breeze by or cause you unending annoyance. Most of the General preferences appear on the My Preferences tab, but a few apply to everyone who logs into QuickBooks.

Tuning QuickBooks to Your Liking

The following settings on the My Preferences tab can help you fine-tune QuickBooks' behavior.

• Pressing Enter moves between fields. In the Windows world, pressing the Enter key usually activates the default button in a dialog box, while the Tab key advances the pointer to the next field. If you press Enter in QuickBooks and find that your dialog box closes unexpectedly, this QuickBooks checkbox can provide some relief. When you turn on this checkbox, pressing Enter moves the pointer between fields in a dialog box rather than closing it. However, because Enter no longer closes a dialog box, you must click a button such as OK, Record, Save & Close, or Save & New (depending on the dialog box). You can also press Ctrl+Enter to close a dialog box.

• Beep when recording a transaction. If you like auditory assurance that your software is working along with you, turn on this checkbox to have QuickBooks ...