Transaction register question

[John Ralls]

On Aug 17, 2013, at 5:29 AM, Robert Kesterson <robertk at robertk.com> wrote:

> 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.)

First off, it's called "unstable" because there are a bunch of changes in it that are still "works in progress", not because it's updated more frequently.  It's not ready for use with production data. Bear in mind that it's our intent to remove the old register code entirely by the time we release 2.6; on the other hand, I don't think that anyone likes the double scrollbar (if someone does, s/he hasn't told us) and I don't think that's going to be around much longer.

GnuCash is unlikely ever to have a native look-and-feel on Windows or Mac. At some point in the very distant future it might have a less alien look if we change UI frameworks, but it's unlikely that it will ever be anything but a Linux program that happens to also run on Windows and Macs. For the near future, it's based on Gtk, and an obsolete version of it at that. 

Regards,
John Ralls