r19885 - gnucash-docs/trunk - bug #635361 Update the new account screen description and minor changes to account basics chapter in help.

Cristian Marchi cmarchi at code.gnucash.org
Fri Nov 26 16:14:41 EST 2010


Author: cmarchi
Date: 2010-11-26 16:14:40 -0500 (Fri, 26 Nov 2010)
New Revision: 19885
Trac: http://svn.gnucash.org/trac/changeset/19885

Modified:
   gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/accts_CreateAssetsAccount.png
   gnucash-docs/trunk/help/C/Help_ch_Account-Actions.xml
Log:
bug #635361 Update the new account screen description and minor changes to account basics chapter in help.

Modified: gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/accts_CreateAssetsAccount.png
===================================================================
(Binary files differ)

Modified: gnucash-docs/trunk/help/C/Help_ch_Account-Actions.xml
===================================================================
--- gnucash-docs/trunk/help/C/Help_ch_Account-Actions.xml	2010-11-25 21:34:36 UTC (rev 19884)
+++ gnucash-docs/trunk/help/C/Help_ch_Account-Actions.xml	2010-11-26 21:14:40 UTC (rev 19885)
@@ -210,63 +210,60 @@
         <title>Creating a Chart of Accounts</title>
 
         <para>The Chart of Accounts is like a table of contents for your finances. The best
-         way to conceptualize a chart of accounts is as a tree. The main branches represent
-         entire categories or groups, while the leaves of the tree denote individual bank
-         accounts or expense categories. When a summary report is requested, typically only
-         the main branches are shown in the report, rather than the individual accounts. For
-         example, a chart of accounts might look like the following:
+        way to conceptualize a chart of accounts is as a tree. The main branches represent
+        entire categories or groups, while the leaves of the tree denote individual bank
+        accounts or expense categories. When a summary report is requested, typically only
+        the main branches are shown in the report, rather than the individual accounts. For
+        example, a chart of accounts might look like the following:</para>
 
-	&chartacctseg;
+         &chartacctseg;
 
-	</para>
+        <note id="accts-code">
+        <title>Accounts codes</title>
+          <para>Note that accounts not only have names; they may have codes, to order the accounts.
+          When a report is generated, the sort order is determined by the numbering. It&rsquo;s
+          customary to have the leaf accounts end in non-zero digits, while parent nodes have
+          increasing numbers of zeros.</para>
+        </note>
 
-        <para>Note that accounts not only have names; they may have codes, to order the accounts.
-         When a report is generated, the sort order is determined by the numbering. It's
-         customary to have the leaf accounts end in non-zero digits, while parent nodes have
-         increasing numbers of zeros. </para>
+        <warning>
+          <para><application>&app;</application> does not prevent duplicate numbering, although we would encourage you
+          to avoid this. Account codes are treated as numbers in base-36, thus, if you run out
+          of numbers, you can use the letters, a through z.</para>
+        </warning>
 
-        <para><application>&app;</application> does not prevent duplicate numbering, although we would encourage you
-         to avoid this. Account codes are treated as numbers in base-36, thus, if you run out
-         of numbers, you can use the letters, a through z.</para>
-
-        <para>A sample chart of accounts is shown below. Each account is of a given account
-         type. This example is a combination of some typical business and personal accounts.
-
-	&chartofaccts;
-
-	</para>
-
       </sect1>
 
       <sect1 id="chart-edit">
         <title>Editing a Chart of Accounts</title>
 
-        <para>Editing the Chart of Accounts is done within the Parent Account pane of the Edit
-         Account dialog. It is possible to move an account to any part of the Chart of Account.
-         It is recommended to keep accounts generally under the related types of accounts as
-         described in the Types of <application>&app;</application> Accounts section. This helps to preserve the Chart
-         of Accounts structure.</para>
+        <para>Editing the Chart of Accounts is done within the <guilabel>Parent Account</guilabel> 
+        pane of the <guilabel>Edit Account</guilabel> dialog. It is possible to move an account to any 
+        part of the Chart of Account.  It is recommended to keep accounts generally under the related 
+        types of accounts as described in <xref linkend="acct-types" />. This helps to preserve the Chart
+        of Accounts structure.</para>
 
         <para>To move the selected account to a different parent account just select the
-         account in the Parent Account pane. If New top level account is selected then the
-         account will be move to the top level.</para>
+        account in the <guilabel>Parent Account</guilabel> pane. If <guilabel>New top level account</guilabel>
+        is selected then the account will be moved to the top level.</para>
       </sect1>
 
       <sect1 id="acct-create">
         <title>Creating a New Account</title>
 
-        <para>The <guilabel>New Account</guilabel> properties dialog consists of two tabs, the <guilabel>General
-         Information</guilabel> tab and the <guilabel>Opening Balance</guilabel> tab. This dialog can be accessed by
-         going to <menuchoice><guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>New Account...</guimenuitem></menuchoice> 
-         or by clicking the <guilabel>New</guilabel> toolbar icon in the Account Tree Window.
-        </para>
+        <para>To create a new account go to <menuchoice><guimenu>Actions</guimenu><guimenuitem>New Account...</guimenuitem></menuchoice> 
+        or click the <guibutton>New</guibutton> toolbar icon in the Account Tree Window. The <guilabel>New Account</guilabel>
+        dialog will be opened.</para>
+        
+        <para>The <guilabel>New Account</guilabel> properties dialog consists of two tabs, the 
+        <guilabel>General</guilabel> tab and the <guilabel>Opening Balance</guilabel> tab.</para>
 
         <para>Creating a New Account involves planning in advance several details that are
-         used in the New Account dialog. </para>
+         used in the <guilabel>New Account</guilabel> dialog. </para>
 
          <itemizedlist>
           <listitem>
-            <para>What type of account is needed .</para>
+            <para>What type of account is needed.</para>
           </listitem>
 
           <listitem>
@@ -278,7 +275,7 @@
           </listitem>
 
           <listitem>
-            <para>If there is a Commodity(security/currency) needed for the account.</para>
+            <para>If there is a Commodity (security/currency) needed for the account.</para>
           </listitem>
 
           <listitem>
@@ -291,91 +288,102 @@
         <sect2 id="gen-info">
           <title>General Information Tab</title>
 
-          <para>The General Information tab is used to access the basic information about the
+          <para>The <guilabel>General</guilabel> tab is used to access the basic information about the
            account. It provides a way of connecting the account to stock information if it is
            one of the currency, mutual fund or stock account types. It can also be flagged as
-           a Placeholder account. It displays if it is flagged as a Tax Related account (which
+           a <link linkend="accts-placeholder">Placeholder</link> account. 
+           It displays if it is flagged as a <guilabel>Tax Related</guilabel> account (which
            is set through the <menuchoice><guimenu>Edit</guimenu><guimenuitem>Tax Report
            Options</guimenuitem></menuchoice> dialog).</para>
 
-          <para>There are six panes in the Identification section of this tab.</para>
+          <para>There are seven fields in the <guilabel>Identification</guilabel> section of this tab.</para>
 
-          <para>The top pane contains the Account Information.</para>
-
           <orderedlist>
             <listitem>
-              <para><guilabel>Account Name:</guilabel> Enter a name for the account such as First Bank
+              <para><guilabel>Account Name:</guilabel> The name for the account such as First Bank
                Checking.</para>
             </listitem>
 
             <listitem>
-              <para><guilabel>Account Code:</guilabel> Enter an optional number code as described in the To Create
-               a Chart of Accounts section.</para>
+              <para><guilabel>Account Code:</guilabel> The optional number code as described in <xref linkend="accts-code" />.</para>
             </listitem>
 
             <listitem>
-              <para><guilabel>Description:</guilabel> This is an optional description for the account.</para>
+              <para><guilabel>Description:</guilabel> Optional description for the account.</para>
             </listitem>
 
             <listitem>
               <para><guilabel>Security/Currency:</guilabel> </para>
 
-                 <note><para>The Type field in the <guilabel>Select Security</guilabel> is determined by the selection
+                 <note><para>The <guilabel>Type</guilabel> field in the <guilabel>Select Security</guilabel> is determined by the selection
                  of <guilabel>Account Type</guilabel> panel in the <guilabel>New Account</guilabel> screen.</para></note>
 
           <itemizedlist>
-            <listitem><para>For accounts other than Stock or Mutual Fund this should be the
-               default currency, USD (US Dollar) or your local currency symbol. If this account is for a foreign
-               currency then use the <guilabel>Select...</guilabel> button to choose a different currency from the
-               currencies pull-down list.</para>
+            <listitem>
+              <para>For accounts other than <emphasis>Stock</emphasis> or <emphasis>Mutual Fund</emphasis> this should be the
+              default currency, USD (US Dollar) or your local currency symbol. If this account is for a foreign
+              currency then use the <guibutton>Select...</guibutton> button to choose a different currency from the
+              currencies pull-down list.</para>
             </listitem>
 
-            <listitem><para>For Accounts containing a Stock and Mutual Fund; first select "stock" or "mutual fund" in
-               the <guilabel>Account Type</guilabel> panel, then the <guilabel>Parent Account</guilabel>, then use
-               the <guilabel>Select...</guilabel> button, to choose the Type (usually the exchange the security
-                is traded on) and security from the Select Security window.</para>
+            <listitem>
+              <para>For Accounts containing a <emphasis>Stock</emphasis> and <emphasis>Mutual Fund</emphasis>; 
+              first select <guilabel>stock</guilabel> or <guilabel>mutual fund</guilabel> in
+              the <guilabel>Account Type</guilabel> panel, then the <guilabel>Parent Account</guilabel>, then use
+              the <guibutton>Select...</guibutton> button, to choose the <guilabel>Type</guilabel> (usually the exchange 
+              the security is traded on) and security from the <guilabel>Select Security</guilabel> window.</para>
 
-              <para>If the required security/fund is not on the list, and you have the correct Type you will need
-               to create the security/fund.  To create a commodity for mutual fund and stock accounts select the
-               <guilabel>New...</guilabel> button in the Select Security screen, to bring up the
-               <guilabel>New Security:</guilabel> screen. The options are described in detail in the Security Editor
-               <xref linkend="tool-security-edit"></xref> section.
-               Fill in a name, symbol and type and <guilabel>Close</guilabel> to create the security.
-               After the security is created select the <guilabel>Type:</guilabel> (usually the exchange the security
-               is traded on) and the name in the <guilabel>Currency/security:</guilabel> drop down list and
-               <guilabel>Close</guilabel> the screen.</para>
-
+              <para>If the required security/fund is not on the list, and you have the correct <guilabel>Type</guilabel> you will need
+              to create the security/fund.  To create a commodity for mutual fund and stock accounts select the
+              <guibutton>New...</guibutton> button in the <guilabel>Select Security</guilabel> screen, to bring up the
+              <guilabel>New Security:</guilabel> screen. The options are described in detail in the Security Editor
+              <xref linkend="tool-security-edit"></xref> section.
+              Fill in a <guilabel>name</guilabel>, <guilabel>symbol</guilabel> and <guilabel>type</guilabel> and <guilabel>Close</guilabel>
+              to create the security.
+              After the security is created select the <guilabel>Type:</guilabel> (usually the exchange the security
+              is traded on) and the name in the <guilabel>Currency/security:</guilabel> drop down list and
+              <guilabel>Close</guilabel> the screen.</para>
             </listitem>
+            
            </itemizedlist>
 
           </listitem>
 
           <listitem>
-              <para><guilabel>Smallest Fraction:</guilabel> Choose the smallest fraction that will be tracked.</para>
+              <para><guilabel>Smallest Fraction:</guilabel> The smallest fraction that will be tracked.</para>
           </listitem>
 
+           <listitem>
+              <para><guilabel>Account Color:</guilabel> The color to assign to the account&rsquo;s register tab.
+              Click on the color button to open the <guilabel>Pick a Color</guilabel> screen. To reset the account color
+              click the <guibutton>Default</guibutton> button.</para>
+           </listitem>
+
           <listitem>
               <para><guilabel>Notes:</guilabel> Free form text box. This is used for any additional notes about
                the account.</para>
           </listitem>
          </orderedlist>
 
-           <para> Below the panes are check-boxes: one to show if the account is <guilabel>Tax
+           <para>Below the panes are check-boxes: one to show if the account is <guilabel>Tax
            Related</guilabel> (which is set through the <menuchoice><guimenu>Edit</guimenu><guimenuitem>Tax Report
            Options</guimenuitem></menuchoice> dialog), and
            two to mark the account as a <guilabel>Placeholder</guilabel>, and/or a
-           <guilabel>Hidden</guilabel> account.
-           </para>
+           <guilabel>Hidden</guilabel> account.</para>
 
            <para>The <guilabel>Tax Related</guilabel> check-box means that this account has been
-           flagged to be included in the Tax Schedule Report. This flag is only displayed on the Edit
-           Account dialog and is set in the Income Tax Information dialog (<menuchoice><guimenu>Edit</guimenu><guimenuitem>Tax Report
-           Options</guimenuitem></menuchoice>). See the Tax Schedule Report and TXF Export section in Reports Chapter (<xref linkend="report-general"></xref>).</para>
-
+           flagged to be included in the Tax Schedule Report. This flag is only displayed on the <guilabel>Edit
+           Account</guilabel> dialog and is set in the <guilabel>Income Tax Information</guilabel> dialog 
+           (<menuchoice><guimenu>Edit</guimenu><guimenuitem>Tax Report Options</guimenuitem></menuchoice>). 
+           See the Tax Schedule Report and TXF Export section in Reports Chapter (<xref linkend="report-general"></xref>).</para>
            <para>The check-box <guilabel>Placeholder</guilabel> marks this account as solely a placeholder in the
-           hierarchy, it is used to enable a hierarchy or chart of accounts to be setup. A Placeholder means this
-           account is not used for transaction data. Transactions may not be posted to this account, only to
-           sub-accounts of this account.</para>
+           hierarchy, it is used to enable a hierarchy or chart of accounts to be setup.</para>
+           
+           <note id="accts-placeholder">
+             <para>A <guilabel>Placeholder</guilabel> means this
+             account is not used for transaction data. Transactions may not be posted to this account, only to
+             sub-accounts of this account not marked themselves as <guilabel>Placeholder</guilabel>.</para>
+           </note>
 
            <para>The check box <guilabel>Hidden</guilabel> marks this account (and any sub-accounts) to be hidden in
            the account tree and not appear in the pop-up account list in the register.  To reset this option, you will
@@ -384,17 +392,21 @@
            Doing so will allow you to select the account and reopen this dialog.</para>
 
           <para>The next pane contains a list of <guilabel>Account Types</guilabel>. Select a type from the
-           descriptions in the Types of <application>&app;</application> Accounts section.</para>
+          descriptions in <xref linkend="acct-types" />.</para>
 
-          <para>The next pane contains an account tree to choose a <guilabel>Parent Account</guilabel>. To create a
-           new account tree select New top level account. If the parent account is a certain
-           type, then several of the choices in Account Type become grayed out. For example if the
-           Parent Account is Assets then Equity, Expense and Income become grayed.  This is to help
-           maintain a proper account structure for the Chart of Accounts.</para>
+           <para>The next pane contains an account tree to choose a <guilabel>Parent Account</guilabel>. To create a
+           new account tree select <guilabel>New top level account</guilabel>.
 
-       </sect2>
+           <note>
+             <para>The available choices in the <guilabel>Account Type</guilabel> pane depends on the selected account in the 
+             <guilabel>Parent Account</guilabel> pane. For example if the
+             <guilabel>Parent Account</guilabel> is <emphasis>Assets</emphasis> you will see only <emphasis>Equity</emphasis> 
+             in the <guilabel>Account Type</guilabel> pane. 
+             This is to help maintain a proper account structure for the Chart of Accounts.</para>
+           </note>
+           </para>
 
-       <sect2 id="Online-price-setup"><title>Steps to enable On-line price updating</title>
+       <sect3 id="Online-price-setup"><title>Steps to enable On-line price updating</title>
 
            <itemizedlist>
             <listitem><para><application>&app;</application> relies on an external tool to retrieve online quotes. This
@@ -417,10 +429,10 @@
               repositories for the Finance::Quote perl module. So in most cases, you can
               simply use your preferred package manager (yum, apt, rpm, synaptics, yast,...)
               to install the module. The name of the package may vary from one distribution to
-              another. It's called often something like <quote>perl-Finance-Quote</quote>.</para></listitem>
+              another. It&rsquo;s called often something like <quote>perl-Finance-Quote</quote>.</para></listitem>
 
              <listitem><para><guilabel>Windows:</guilabel>Finance::Quote on Windows requires perl
-              to be installed already. If you haven't done so, you should first install ActivePerl.</para>
+              to be installed already. If you haven&rsquo;t done so, you should first install ActivePerl.</para>
 
               <para>The Windows installer from the <application>&app;</application> home page comes with a small helper program to
               install Finance::Quote for you. You can find it in the Start Menu under de <application>&app;</application>
@@ -553,14 +565,16 @@
 
           <para>Remember that Mutual Fund <quote>prices</quote> are really <quote>Net Asset Value</quote>
           and require several hours after the exchange closes before being available. If NAVs are downloaded before
-          the current days NAVs are determined, yesterday's NAVs are retrieved.</para>
+          the current days NAVs are determined, yesterday&rsquo;s NAVs are retrieved.</para>
 
+        </sect3>
+
         </sect2>
 
         <sect2 id="open-balance">
-          <title>Opening Balance</title>
+          <title>Opening Balance tab</title>
 
-          <para>The Opening Balance tab is visible only when creating a new account. It is
+          <para>The <guilabel>Opening Balance</guilabel> tab is visible only when creating a new account. It is
            used to record the beginning balance for an account. This allows it to be used for
            two different scenarios. If using <application>&app;</application> for the first time to record transactions,
            it can be used as a beginning balance. If the accounts in use are closed at the end
@@ -572,11 +586,11 @@
 
           <itemizedlist>
             <listitem>
-              <para><guilabel>Balance:</guilabel> Enter the balance to start the account with.</para>
+              <para><guilabel>Balance:</guilabel> The balance to start the account with.</para>
             </listitem>
 
             <listitem>
-              <para><guilabel>Date:</guilabel> Choose here the date the opening balance should be recorded.</para>
+              <para><guilabel>Date:</guilabel> The date the opening balance should be recorded.</para>
             </listitem>
           </itemizedlist>
 
@@ -601,12 +615,12 @@
 
       <sect1 id="acct-edit">
        <title>Editing an Account</title>
-        <para></para>
-        <para>The Edit Account dialog consists of just the General Information tab. This tab
-         has the same information that was described in To Create a New Account <xref linkend="acct-create"></xref>.
-         To access the Edit Account dialog go to <menuchoice><guimenu>Edit</guimenu><guimenuitem>Edit Account</guimenuitem>
-         </menuchoice> (menu shortcut <keycombo><keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>E</keycap></keycombo>) or
-         click the <guilabel>Edit</guilabel> toolbar icon in the Account Tree Window.</para>
+        <para>The <guilabel>Edit Account</guilabel> dialog consists of just the <guilabel>General</guilabel> tab. This tab
+        has the same information that was described in <xref linkend="acct-create"></xref>.
+        To access the <guilabel>Edit Account</guilabel> dialog go to <menuchoice><guimenu>Edit</guimenu>
+        <guimenuitem>Edit Account</guimenuitem></menuchoice> 
+        (menu shortcut <keycombo><keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>E</keycap></keycombo>) or
+        click the <guilabel>Edit</guilabel> toolbar icon in the Account Tree Window.</para>
       </sect1>
 
       <sect1 id="chart-renumber">



More information about the gnucash-changes mailing list