Backups Policy Explanation requested

David T. sunfish62 at yahoo.com
Wed Jan 5 20:03:45 EST 2011


I am using 2.4.0 on Mac OS X 10.5.8, and I am trying to understand the files that are created by various invocation methods. Due to problems with running Gnucash with the --add-price-quotes command (to update stock prices from a command line), I ended up renaming my data file from "My Accounts" to "MyAccounts". At some point, this file got renamed as "MyAccounts.gnucash". 

Unfortunately, my Automator script that ran the add-price-quotes named the data file outright, and instead of the MyAccounts.gnucash getting updated, it was the MyAccounts (bare) file. 

Examining the folder with my data file(s), I find some chaos.

There are:
* AllAccounts - which I was keeping for safety's sake
* Multiple AllAccounts.{timestamp}.log files, which I assume result from the erroneous add-price-quotes invocations
* Numerous AllAccounts.{timestamp}.gnucash files, which I cannot understand
* AllAccounts.gnucash - which contains the current data
* Multiple AllAccounts.gnucash.{timestamp} - as expected
* Multiple AllAccounts.gnucash.{timestamp}.gnucash files - which I cannot again understand

Can someone please explain to me what process is creating the additional classes of data file copies (those with the {file}.{timestamp}.gnucash form? I can assure you that it is NOT a result of my opening the timestamped data file, as I only invoke Gnucash from an icon on my Dock. 

These extra files are clogging up the disk partition, but I am wary of deleting them without understanding a) what they are, b) where they are getting created, and c) what exactly they contain.

TIA,
David


      


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