How do I use categories?

categories Categories help you track where your money actually comes from and goes to, and enable you to use charts and budgets to manage your finances more effectively. Once you have created accounts and added transactions, the real strength of iBank comes in assigning categories to those transactions. To do so, simply type or selecting it in the transaction's category field.

iBank comes with default sets of "Home" and "Business" categories which you may have added when you set up your data file using the Setup Assistant, but you can customize iBank's categories to your heart's content.

To view the category list:

Click "Categories" in the source list. Two options are available for viewing your categories: list view and thumbnail view.

List view

Click the category list view button button in the bottom-right corner of the main window to display your categories in list view:

category list view

In this view, you can quickly see all of your categories organized by Name, Description, or other criteria - just click the header at the top of any column to sort the list according to the information in that column. Click a second time to reverse the direction of the sort. Categories that contain sub-categories will display small disclosure triangles next to their names in list view. Click one of these triangles to view that item's sub-categories. For more information about working with categories, see Adding & Deleting Categories.

Thumbnail view

Click the category thumbnail view button button in the bottom-right corner of the main window to display your categories in thumbnail view:

category thumbnail view

In this view, you can easily view and edit the images assigned to each category. Categories are displayed in alphabetical order from left to right, with each sub-category displayed in its own box following the main category to which it belongs. For more information about working with categories, see Adding & Deleting Categories.

You can quickly jump to a category associated with a transaction in any transaction view by selecting it and choosing Transaction>Go To Category.

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