Transaction register question

[Robert Kesterson]

Geert Janssens wrote:
> Hi Robert,
>
> From your message I couldn't derive your motivation for downloading 
> and installing the beta version of GnuCash. If you didn't download it 
> to *experiment* with the new features or to do some beta testing, you 
> are probably better of reverting to the latest stable version, which 
> currently is 2.4.13.

Hi, Geert and thanks for the info.  I was able to find the menu option 
open the accounts in the old register format.  I wish it would "stick" 
so I didn't have to do that every time I want to open it (though I did 
discover by that jumping to a transaction in a register opens it in the 
same style interface as the account you currently have open, or at least 
it seems to, so that's good).

To answer your unstated question, the reason I run the beta version is 
twofold.  Number one, it is updated far more often than the stable 
version (yes, I know that's why they call it "stable").  And number two, 
I actually *am* looking for improvements in the user interface, among 
others.   As I mentioned, I run Gnucash on a Mac.  It doesn't really 
look right on a Mac.  For that matter, it doesn't really look right on 
Windows either.  The GUI looks OK on Linux because it matches the look 
and feel of other applications.  On Windows and Mac, it doesn't fit in 
with the rest of the platform.  (Bear in mind, I've used GnuCash for 
*years*, including at least a year on each of the three platforms I 
mention, so my opinion is not based on a cursory observation.  I don't 
use all the business or online features that are available, but I do use 
the general recording and reporting functions quite a lot.)

> Assuming you are testing the beta, here is some background on the 
> double scrollbar. It has been introduced to work around a performance 
> problem in the new register interface. It is still under discussion 
> whether the improvement in performance is enough to justify the added 
> complexity. It may be reverted to a single scrollbar interface again, 
> provided another solution can be found to fix the performance.
I guess I don't have large enough registers for the performance to be an 
issue.  But then I only have about three years worth of transactions in 
GnuCash at the moment.  But I do itemize and split every transaction, so 
it's a fair amount of data (a  bit over 6 MB in a SQLite database at the 
moment).  Previously, I had ten years worth of data in it, and still 
don't recall any performance issues.  I'm a developer myself, and I do 
tend to use machines with plenty of memory and processing power, so 
maybe I just don't notice?

If the bottleneck has anything to do with the amount of data loaded, I'd 
look at changing from loading the entire database into memory vs using a 
database back end.  I'm sure that has already been discussed to death 
and I know there are reasons for the current paradigm, so I'm fine with 
leaving it at that. But the new register interface still needs work to 
be as usable as the old one.

I know it's open source and I could actually contribute, but I simply 
have too many irons in the fire already.   In the interest of actually 
doing something useful, maybe I could offer some constructive 
observations about the new interface?  I would assume you're already 
aware of them, but just in case, here's what I've observed:

1.  I don't care for the dual scrollbars, but that may be just personal 
taste.  As others have said, GnuCash seems to be the only one doing 
that.  Maybe that makes it odd, maybe that makes it innovative.  I'm not 
sure.

2.  In the old interface, as I start typing a payee, autocomplete 
happens "in place", so I can hit tab and I'm ready to fill in the 
amount, with the complete payee and the target account already populated 
and the input focus already on the amount.   In the new register, 
autocomplete happens in a popup below the field, and hitting tab just 
moves my focus without selecting anything.  I have to first hit the down 
arrow to focus the list and select the item.  It would be nice if it 
would automatically keep the top match selected as I type so I could 
just hit tab and go on.

2a.  If I do hit the down arrow to select the first autocomplete and 
then hit tab, it fills in the most recent target account and amount, but 
doesn't move my input focus to the amount.  In fact, visibly, it doesn't 
indicate my input focus at all.  It's actually still in the payee field, 
but the whole row is highlighted and it's not at all obvious where the 
focus is.  If I hit tab a second time, I find myself in the target 
account column, then I have to tab two or three more times to get to the 
amount.   The added keystrokes and the uncertainty of where my focus is 
make it harder to use the new register.

2b.  Once I have entered the transaction in the new register, I hit 
return, expecting it to save the transaction and move to a new 
transaction line.  Instead, it just highlights the whole line and hides 
my input focus (which is actually still in the amount column).  To make 
it actually save the transaction, I have to use the arrow keys to move 
to another transaction, at which point it will pop up a dialog asking me 
if I want to save the transaction.  I know I could turn on the "remember 
and don't ask me again" option, but in the old register, I generally did 
not move off a transaction until I was done with it, so in the vast 
majority of cases, the answer to that dialog would have been either 
"cancel" or "discard changes".  Setting it to automatically save the 
changes without asking would likely cause more problems than it would 
solve, at least in my case.

Lest I be thought a complainer who might be better off with a "pretty 
face" accounting program, let me also say that I have tried a number of 
different personal finance programs over time, and there's a reason I've 
stuck with Gnucash.  Despite my quibbles, it is a very solid program and 
the double entry approach is really good, and will point out errors that 
more "simplified" accounting programs would just sweep under the rug.  I 
really like it and recommend it.  I may gripe about it needing 
improvement, but those gripes only exist because I'm actually using it, 
and think that a great program could be made even better.