Getting Started:
================


Adding Transactions:
====================
To add a transaction click on the "New Transaction" 
the main window.  This will enable the edit fields so that you can enter
the transaction information.  Clicking on the "Record" button will add
the transaction to the account, clicking on the "Cancel" button will cancel
the creation of the new transaction.


Editing Transactions:
=====================
Moneydance has several features to speed up the input of transactions.
With new transactions the date defaults to the current date.  To change
the date, you can either type in the date, or press the '+' or '-' keys
to "spin" the date backward or forward.  Try it, it's fun..

Moneydance eases the entry of common transactions with the "auto-
completion" feature.  When entering the description for a new transaction,
Moneydance fills in the rest of the description as you type based on previous
transactions with similar descriptions.  If you hit 'tab' to move to the next
field on an auto-completed entry the rest of the transaction is automatically
filled in for you.

When editing transactions, you will probably want to create some
categories for your transactions.  These can be used later to
provide reports and graphs for your spending and income.  If the
predefined categories aren't enough for you, select the "Tools"->
"Edit Categories" menu item.  This will show a window that allows
you to modify existing categories as well as create new ones.


Saving Your Work:
=================
All of your open accounts are automatically saved when you close
Moneydance.  However, for good measure you can also select the
Account->Save menu item to save the current account. 


Balancing Your Accounts:
========================
When you get your bank or credit card statement you can easily balance
your account against it with the Reconciler tool.  To start the tool
first open the account you wish to balance, then select the 
Account->Reconcile menu item.  This will bring up a window with your
current cleared balance and a field where you can enter your ending
statement balance.  Entering the information and clicking the "OK" 
button will bring up the main reconciliation window.

In the reconcilation window you can systematically mark transactions
as cleared as you identify them in your statement.  To mark or unmark a
transaction, just click on it in the list of transactions.  Debit
transactions are in a list on the left side, and credit transactions
are in a list on the right side.  Below the credits list are the current
cleared balance, target balance, and difference between the target and
current cleared balance.  As you select transactions in the reconciliation
window, they are marked as having "semi-cleared" (or "Reconciling")
status.  This just means that they are in the process of being reconciled.
Your account is reconciled properly when the current balance indicator is
equals to the target balance indicator.  When you are finished, click the
"Done" button to make all the "semi-cleared" transactions change to 
"cleared" transactions.  To abort the reconcilation session, press
the "Cancel" button.


Graphing an Account:
====================
In order to get a visual representation of your accounts, you can use the
custom account graphing tool.  This tool allows you to graph your financial
data in many different ways.  To open the graphing tool you must first have
open the account that you want to graph.  Once you have an account open,
click on the "Account"->"Graph..." menu item.  This will bring up a
window with a mostly blank background as well as a settings box in the
bottom right hand corner.  You can use this box to select the data to
graph.  There are several steps you need to take to create a graph.

 1) Select what type of values that you want to "Graph By":
  Category
    Selecting this value in the "Graph By" popup box allows you to graph
    your transactions by category.  Choosing this item will populate the
    "Items to graph" list with all of the different categories available
    in the currently open register.
  Recipient
    Selecting this value will allow you to view your data by recipient
    (or the value of the description field).  When this item is selected,
    the "Items to graph" box will contain a list of all of the different
    recipients/descriptions in the currently open register.
  Transaction type/Check number
    Selecting this value will allow you to view your data by the values
    entered in the "Check#" field for each transaction.  Selecting this
    item causes the "Items to graph" box to be populated with all of
    the possible values for the check number field in your transactions.
  Cleared status
    Selecting this value allows you to view your transactions by their
    cleared/uncleared/reconciling status.  All of the possible states
    of a transaction will be listed in the "Items to graph" box.

 2) Now you must select the data sets to graph from the "Items to graph"
    list.  Each selected item will be shown as a different color in the
    final graph.  The values in the "Items to graph" list may be 
    different depending on the selected value of the "Graph by" item.
 
 3) Now select the "Value to graph" item.  This specifies what value
    of the chosen data sets is to be graphed.  This can be "Amount", 
    "Amount per transaction", or "Number of transactions".  Selecting
    "Amount" will cause the absolute value of the amounts of the 
    transactions to be graphed.  Selecting "Number of transactions"
    will cause the number of transactions per grouping to be graphed.
    Selecting "Amount per transaction" will cause the average amount
    per transaction to be displayed for the specified grouping.

 4) Now select how you want to group the data sets with the "Group
    by" popup.  The options are "None", "Day", "Week",
    "Month", and "Year".  Choosing "None" will graph the 
    value of each transaction in the data set.  Choosing any other
    value will accumulate the transactions into one value for each 
    day, week, month, or year.

 5) Select the date range for the transactions that you want to graph
    using the "Begin date" or "End date" fields.  Using the + or - 
    keys in this field will "spin" the dates forward or backward.

 6) Select the type of graph that you want to view.  The currently 
    available types of graph are "Line" and "Pie"

 7) Lastly, click on the "Update Graph" button to draw the graph
    with the given values on the graph canvas.

