Custom Reports and Backup

[David T.]

I think Colin raises a very valid point: that customized reports ought to be stored with the data file they are customized for. Once one has put in the energy to configure and save a custom report, it should be available to any valid user of the data. It doesn't really apply to any other data set.

Unfortunately, I can imagine that this would be difficult to manage, given how Gnucash handles stored reports (that is, as separate scheme files). I wonder whether it would be possible to store the report/file name in the data file, and load reports based on such a list. Not being a programmer, I can only imagine how difficult this would be.

David

--- On Thu, 5/28/09, Mike or Penny Novack <stepbystepfarm at mtdata.com> wrote:

> From: Mike or Penny Novack <stepbystepfarm at mtdata.com>
> Subject: Re: Custom Reports and Backup
> To: gnucash at double-bars.net
> Cc: warlord at MIT.EDU, gnucash-user at gnucash.org
> Date: Thursday, May 28, 2009, 8:16 AM
> Colin Scott wrote:
> 
> >Thanks for that - including the timely reminder about
> backup!
> >
> >However, my issue doesn't relate to where *I* store my
> user data, but
> >where Gnucash does!  To explain: in my view,
> custom reports are
> >functionally not part of the system installation, they
> are a part of the
> >user data.  This is because a report customised
> for one set of books is
> >unlikely to be right for another (and indeed contains a
> title that is
> >probably books-specific).  Moreover, as
> implemented the custom report
> >definition stores a list of the accounts included in
> the report which is
> >necessarily specific to one individual set of
> books.  So, functionally
> >and practically, custom reports belong with the
> accounts data, not the
> >installation data, and the (relevant) definitions
> should be read in
> >whenever a new set of accounts is opened, not just when
> gnucash is
> >started.
> >
> >This is not about backup, by the way, but
> distribution.  As Treasurer of
> >my Rotary Club I need to be able to pass the books over
> to my deputy (or
> >other substitute) if ever I am not going to be
> available.  Ideally, I
> >should be able to put everything required in a single
> directory, because
> >otherwise my substitute is going to have to understand
> far more about
> >this system than would otherwise be necessary.
> >  
> >
> It's actually a fairly difficult problem. In GENERAL might
> have several 
> sets of books which each might or might not be sharing
> report 
> definitions with the others. So a global solution wouldn't
> really help 
> (an option to tell GnuCash to store elsewhere) and even
> including this 
> specification with each set of books might not help (as you
> might want a 
> change in a report definition stored in multiple places.
> 
> The problem of (special -- user modified) reports all
> stored in the same 
> place but applicable to different sets of books isn't hard
> to solve. Use 
> a naming convention.  But as things stand now, yes,
> you'd have to 
> remember to copy a second directory to the thumb drive.
> 
> But since you have further defined the situation, I am no
> longer quite 
> as clear about the exact problem. I am in very much the
> same situation. 
> As Treasurer of a 501c3 I might not be able to make a
> quarterly board 
> meeting and so somebody else would be presenting the
> reports. Well I do 
> save the REPORTS themselves in the same directory. I don't
> expect 
> whoever is taking over the presentation to have to know how
> to RUN 
> GnuCash. I would have already have run the reports (revenue
> statement 
> for the time period and balance sheet for the end of the
> time period and 
> "exported" them to the directory where the books themselves
> were. Nor 
> would I be physically transferring the device on which they
> were saved.
> 
> Michael
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