Parallel system

[Geert Janssens]

On zondag 30 oktober 2011, GOODSYSTEMS wrote:
> I have used gnucash for some time, very happily. Now, I am trying to load a
> second copy to a different O/S on the same computer, and use existing data
> from the first install. This would be a great convenience, as it would
> allow simple access without having to reboot (I do development work, and
> having both O/S's is a necessity for testing).
> 
> My older gnucash install is v2.0*, running on Windows XP. The newer install
> is v2.4.8, running on Vista. Both O/S's are up to date.
> 
> I was able to install v2.4.8 successfully on the Vista side, but I cannot
> figure out where to point to connect to the existing data. Can you tell me
> the nominal path of the older (XP) data, and/or the appropriate file name,
> and/or the setup file that contains a path pointer for the data? Or, if it
> isn't possible, just that it isn't possible?
> 
Well, your data file is just a file like a word document is just a file. It is 
stored where you originally chose to save it with the name you gave it at that 
time. This is not something GnuCash decides in your place.

If you didn't explicitly change directories during the first Save As 
operation, the chances are it was saved somewhere under c:\Documents and 
Settings\<your username>. To spare you a false positive: you will certainly 
find a directory called .gnucash there, with a subdirectory books. Your data 
file is NOT in there. This directory holds configuration files associated to 
your data file. You can get a clue to the actual name of your data file from 
the file(s) in this directory though. It will resemble it somewhat, with 
spaces replaced by underscores.

If you don't remember where you saved your file, you could go low-level and 
peek in the file
c:\Documents and Settings\<username>\.gconf\apps\gnucash\history\%gconf.xml
This file holds the list of recently used files you find in the GnuCash File 
menu. The first entry should refer to your data file.

Geert