multiple display of the same transaction

[Stuart McGraw]

On 04/02/2012 07:32 AM, Derek Atkins wrote:
> Stuart McGraw <smcg4191 at frii.com> writes:
> [snip]
>> Would there be any way, when this case occurs, of 
>> displaying the transaction only once in the register?
>> One would want the displayed value of the consolidated
>> transaction to be the sum of the split values, so I 
>> guess so you can't just pick one of the multiple views 
>> to display and hide the rest. 
> 
> Yes, set your view mode to Journal mode and it will collapse all splits
> into their respective transactions.

I know. :-)  I am taking about the multiple entries 
that are shown in Basic Ledger (Journal?) view when 
there is a transaction has more than one split in the 
register's account, NOT the split's shown for a transaction
in Auto-split or Transaction Journal views).

>From what you write below, I realize you understand the 
situation I am talking about but as a specific example, 
I'll repeat the same example [*1] I just used in my 
response to David Carlson:

  Assets:Receipts         $150.00 
  Assets:Receipts         $200.00
  Assets:Bank:Checking              $350

In the Assets:Receipts register in Basic Ledger view, the 
transaction will be shown twice. 

>> I am just wondering if doing something like this would 
>> be a reasonable enhancement request (perhaps it already
>> is?), or if there is some architecture issue that makes 
>> this impractical.
> 
> Perhaps.  The issue is a misconception that the register is actually
> displaying transactions.  It is not.  The register is displaying splits.
> This is why you see multiple entries from a transaction with multiple
> splits into the same account.

But is it really a misconception?  When I look an entry 
in a register in Basic Ledger view, I see the *transaction* 
date, number and description, and when I view it in 
Transaction View I see *all* of the transaction's splits, 
not just one.  The only split-specific info shown (in Basic 
Ledger view) seems to be the reconcile flag and the value.

Most tellingly, when I delete one of these split/transaction
things, the entire transaction goes away, not just one of 
its splits.

I can conceptualize what's happening: Gnucash retrieves 
all splits associated with the current register and for
each of those, gets and displays the associated transaction
with a few items that are unique to this split.

But regardless of what one calls what is displayed, I think 
it useful to ask if what is currently displayed is more or 
less useful than what I propose be displayed.  It seems to 
me that for most users, most of the time, showing a single 
transaction entry when for cases when multiple ones are now 
displayed, is more useful and less confusing.

----
[*1] The reason for the two Assets:Receipts splits rather
than one Asset:Receipts split for $350 is to identify exactly
which checks are being sent to the bank.  In my OP I gave
some other cases when one might want a transaction having 
multiple splits with the same account.