multi-currency transactions

[Derek Atkins]

Christian Stimming <stimming@tuhh.de> writes:

> Yes, maybe we should introduce this additional pop up dialog similar
> to the stock/currency accounts, to ask the user what should be
> changed: e.g. "What part of this txn should be recalculated:
> o Amount in this account (edited),
> o Exchange rate,
> o Amount in the other account,
> o Leave transaction unbalanced".

I'll try to work on this next weekend.

>  From what Jan Nielsen wrote in his message, I think he also prefers
> an exchange rate dialog where the amount can be changed too. However,
> since you said this is really a PITA to implement, we should give it a
> try with the additional pop up dialog. Maybe this is already enough to
> cover all use cases.

If that is what you want then we should just make all accounts have
(unhidden) columns for multi-currency (make all accounts look like
stock/currency accounts).

> >> I agree. The way the basic-cell view works is as expected. However,
> >> I'd be even more happy if the from-amount (i.e. split->amount) can
> >> be changed in the same "edit exchange rate" dialog as well.
> > You CAN change the from-amount -- but you have to change it from the
> > register.  As I said earlier, feeding changes back into the register
> > is a PitA.  The Edit Exchange Rate dialog is meant to do just that --
> > edit the exchange rate.  If the fact that it looks like the transfer
> > dialog is making you think that it can/should do more, I can go create
> > a new dialog with a much more limited UI.  I was hoping to be able to
> > re-use the UI and code, but I will happily change that if you are too
> > confused.
> 
> 
> I'm not confused/over-expecting by the way it looks. I was expecting
> the described "change both from-amount and to-amount in one dialog"
> behaviour, regardless of how the current dialog looks. Now since you
> say this is way too difficult to be done, well, I guess we might get
> along without (but with the additional pop up dialog mentioned
> above). I really know nothing about the internals of the register, so
> I guess I trust you on the PitA question. :)

Where was it described that you could "change both from-amount and
to-amount in one dialog"?  Would it have been any clearer to you if
there was one and only one entry, the exchange rate?  The _only_
reason the to-amount is there is as a user-convenience _FOR COMPUTING
THE EXCHANGE RATE_.  The end-goal is now, and has always been, to
compute the exchange rate.  The to amount is ignored.  The register
never even sees it!

The reason it works in the first place is that the exchange rate is a
computed value anyways.  The problem is that _BECAUSE_ the
exchange-rate is computed, when you are modifying it the register
needs to know which gnc_numeric is the constant, and which one needs
to be adjusted.  What the user clicks in the exchange-rate dialog has
no bearing on this choice.

> Thanks. We're not in a hurry right now, so I don't mind whether it's
> in 1.7.7 or only later in CVS. I guess I'll continue to use it for my
> everyday data, and I'll let you know whether this works fine.

FTR, I did get this change into 1.7.7...  It wasn't that hard to
change it to always change the txn value and leave the displayed
amount the same.

> Christian

-derek

-- 
       Derek Atkins, SB '93 MIT EE, SM '95 MIT Media Laboratory
       Member, MIT Student Information Processing Board  (SIPB)
       URL: http://web.mit.edu/warlord/    PP-ASEL-IA     N1NWH
       warlord@MIT.EDU                        PGP key available