[Feature] Autofill "last used value" in Notes, Category and Amount #1118

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opened 2026-02-28 19:32:36 -06:00 by GiteaMirror · 6 comments
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Originally created by @brtwrst on GitHub (May 26, 2024).

Verified feature request does not already exist?

  • I have searched and found no existing issue

💻

  • Would you like to implement this feature?

Pitch: what problem are you trying to solve?

I'm still using good old YNAB4 and have follwed the Actual development for a while now.
There is basically only one feature I can't reproduce.
In YNAB4 when you enter a Transaction and put in the payee, it will autofill Notes, Category and Amount with the data of the last transaction that was entered for that payee (not the most recent transaction by date, the one that was entered most recently)

See here (YNAB4):
YNAB

Describe your ideal solution to this problem

It would probably be best to have a global option somewhere that says something like "If no rule can be found for a payee, autofill Category, Notes and Amount fields with most recently used values" which can be toggled on or off by the user.

I have already asked on discord and was told that actual does not keep track of the date a transaction was entered, but the most recently entered transaction (for a specific payee) should have the highest ID of all transactions for this payee, and that would make this feasible.

Teaching and learning

This feature works pretty intuitively as you can see from the demo video. It could even be turned on by default, it does not really "hurt anything". Worst case would be that a user has to press delete or backspace once or twice while tabbing through the fields. Best case they want to enter a repeat transaction on a different day and it saves several seconds each time because they only enter the payee and press return.

Originally created by @brtwrst on GitHub (May 26, 2024). ### Verified feature request does not already exist? - [X] I have searched and found no existing issue ### 💻 - [ ] Would you like to implement this feature? ### Pitch: what problem are you trying to solve? I'm still using good old YNAB4 and have follwed the Actual development for a while now. There is basically only one feature I can't reproduce. In YNAB4 when you enter a Transaction and put in the payee, it will autofill Notes, Category and Amount with the data of the last transaction that was entered for that payee (not the most recent transaction by date, the one that was entered most recently) See here (YNAB4): ![YNAB](https://github.com/actualbudget/actual/assets/6873862/bac1c1a7-faa3-486f-a645-4f726e9491a0) ### Describe your ideal solution to this problem It would probably be best to have a global option somewhere that says something like "**If no rule can be found for a payee, autofill Category, Notes and Amount fields with most recently used values**" which can be toggled on or off by the user. I have already asked on discord and was told that actual does not keep track of the date a transaction was entered, but the most recently entered transaction (for a specific payee) should have the highest ID of all transactions for this payee, and that would make this feasible. ### Teaching and learning This feature works pretty intuitively as you can see from the demo video. It could even be turned on by default, it does not really "hurt anything". Worst case would be that a user has to press delete or backspace once or twice while tabbing through the fields. Best case they want to enter a repeat transaction on a different day and it saves several seconds each time because they only enter the payee and press return.
GiteaMirror added the needs votesfeature labels 2026-02-28 19:32:36 -06:00
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@github-actions[bot] commented on GitHub (May 26, 2024):

Thanks for sharing your idea!

This repository uses lodash style issue management for enhancements. That means enhancement issues are automatically closed. This doesn’t mean we don’t accept feature requests, though! We will consider implementing ones that receive many upvotes, and we welcome contributions for any feature requests marked as needing votes (just post a comment first so we can help you make a successful contribution).

The enhancement backlog can be found here: https://github.com/actualbudget/actual/issues?q=label%3A%22needs+votes%22+sort%3Areactions-%2B1-desc+

Don’t forget to upvote the top comment with 👍!

@github-actions[bot] commented on GitHub (May 26, 2024): :sparkles: Thanks for sharing your idea! :sparkles: This repository uses lodash style issue management for enhancements. That means enhancement issues are automatically closed. This doesn’t mean we don’t accept feature requests, though! We will consider implementing ones that receive many upvotes, and we welcome contributions for any feature requests marked as needing votes (just post a comment first so we can help you make a successful contribution). The enhancement backlog can be found here: https://github.com/actualbudget/actual/issues?q=label%3A%22needs+votes%22+sort%3Areactions-%2B1-desc+ Don’t forget to upvote the top comment with 👍! <!-- feature-auto-close-comment -->
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@Rick-Thomas commented on GitHub (Jun 15, 2024):

This is a fantastic time-saver feature... I've used YNAB4 since it was launched and when you go to the Edit Payees it has a setting where you choose for it to autocomplete Category or Memo or Amount or any combination of them... This is very useful when entering repetitive payments and by just entering the payee it fills all other fields selected, so you accept the transaction or you change totally or partially the particular data...

@Rick-Thomas commented on GitHub (Jun 15, 2024): This is a fantastic time-saver feature... I've used YNAB4 since it was launched and when you go to the Edit Payees it has a setting where you choose for it to autocomplete **Category** or **Memo** or **Amount** or any combination of them... This is very useful when entering repetitive payments and by just entering the payee it fills all other fields selected, so you accept the transaction or you change totally or partially the particular data...
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@niceguy4 commented on GitHub (Jun 16, 2024):

I forgot how convenient that feature was in NYAB4!

@niceguy4 commented on GitHub (Jun 16, 2024): I forgot how convenient that feature was in NYAB4!
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@brtwrst commented on GitHub (Jun 16, 2024):

Spread the word and lets get it implemented 🤘

@brtwrst commented on GitHub (Jun 16, 2024): Spread the word and lets get it implemented 🤘
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@shall0pass commented on GitHub (Jun 16, 2024):

Can't you already do this with a rule?

@shall0pass commented on GitHub (Jun 16, 2024): Can't you already do this with a rule?
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@brtwrst commented on GitHub (Jun 16, 2024):

Can you do what is shown in my video with Rules?
No

@brtwrst commented on GitHub (Jun 16, 2024): Can you do what is shown in my video with Rules? No
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Reference: github-starred/actual#1118