The capture bar picked the wrong category

The capture bar picks a category from the words you type, in a fixed order: first your own category names, then common words and shops in six languages, then a choice you made before for the same note. It shows "No category" when nothing matches, and it can pick the wrong one when a word in your note matches a name you did not expect. You can change the category before you save or afterwards.

Why it happens

• Your own category names win. Any word of three or more letters in your note that equals a word of a category name picks that category. Words of four or more letters can match the start of a name word, so transp matches Transport and dining matches Food & Dining. Names are split at spaces, "&" and "/". Words are checked in the order you typed them, so a note like water taxi 12 follows the first word that matches.
• The common words point at what a category is for. Words and shops such as coffee, kaffee, rewe, taxi, loyer or pharmacy point at the starter categories Food & Dining, Groceries, Transport, Housing, Health and so on, in English, German, Spanish, French, Macedonian and Hindi. A starter category you renamed to a common name for it (Essen & Trinken, Comida, Courses, Храна, खाना) still gets its words; one you renamed to something else, or removed, does not. A word that is not on the list, such as a small local shop, finds nothing, and you get "No category".
• The chip shows a guess. A category in italics with an outline is a guess from a common word. It turns upright once it matches one of your own names or you pick it yourself.
• The type picks the list. Expense and Refund use your expense categories. Income uses your income categories. A leading +, or a word such as salary, income, received or payout, makes the entry Income. The word refund makes it a Refund, which keeps an expense category, unless the note also says tax. A note meant as an expense may be matched against the wrong list.
• Tavala remembers a choice on this device. After you save a capture with a category, Tavala uses that category the next time you type the same note, unless your own category names already match. A one-word note also counts inside a longer line: teach kiosk once, and kiosk station 2 follows it. If the first choice was a mistake, it repeats the mistake. The memory stays on this device and is cleared when you sign out.
• A removed category is never matched. A category you removed from the pickers is skipped by the capture bar and the form.

What to do

1. Before you save, tap the category chip above the field. The picker Category opens. Search with Search categories, pick one, or pick No category. If you also change the type chip (Expense, Income, Refund), do that first, because switching the type clears a category you picked.
2. To change an entry you already saved, open HomeActivity and tap the row. On a wide window, tap the row, then Edit. Tap another category tile, then Save changes. Tavala learns note-to-category choices from the capture bar, not from the form. See edit, delete or undo a transaction.
3. To fix a wrong repeat, pick the right category on the chip once, then save. Tavala remembers that choice for the same note. Choosing No category on purpose makes it forget the note.
4. To make a word land in the right place every time, name a category after it. Open SettingsMoneyCategoriesNew expense category, type the name (such as "Coffee"), and tap Create. Typing coffee 4.80 then matches your category by name. See create, rename and remove categories.
5. If you renamed a starter category, rename it back or use a word from its new name. Open it from SettingsMoneyCategories, change Name, and tap Save.
6. To bring back a category you removed, open SettingsMoneyCategories. It sits under "Removed". Tap it, then Add back.

For every word and format the bar reads, see everything the capture bar understands.

If that did not help

Write to us from SettingsAboutContact support (see contact support). Include the exact text you typed, the category you expected, the category you got (or "No category"), the names of your categories if you changed them, the type chip (Expense, Income or Refund) and the app version shown at the foot of Settings.