Importing business objects in 2.6 -- documentation?

[Mike Evans]

On Fri, 21 Feb 2014 11:45:45 -0500
Buddha Buck <blaisepascal at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Fri, Feb 21, 2014 at 4:28 AM, Mike Evans <mikee at saxicola.idps.co.uk>wrote:
> 
> >
> > Try chapter 18, Importing Business Data.  You just need to get the import
> > file into the correct format, that's what the python notes describe.
> >  Perhaps I should rewrite it if it's causing confusion.
> >
> 
> My guess is that the 2.6 documentation does not show up in a Google search
> yet.
> 
> An oddity related to the main GnuCash page's link to the documentation: If
> you click on the link to the online English version of the 2.6 Help Manual,
> you get a warning that the selected language is unavailable, so the English
> version will be shown instead. The same happens with the online English
> version of the 2.6 Concepts Guide. The links to those two versions specify
> "lang=C", not us_EN (or gb_EN, or whatever English is meant).
> 
> A couple of comments:
> 
> In section 18.1, the required format for invoices or bills is described as
> a "fixed field length, comma separated line format." This appears to be
> incorrect; it appears to allow comma-separated fields of variable length,
> although later portions of that page say that a trailing comma is
> necessary. I'm not entirely certain how to interpret "fixed field length,
> comma separated line format", because in my experience fixed field lengths
> and comma separated are different methods of formatting a data file.
> 
> I find the orderering of 18.1 somewhat confusing, since it seemingly
> describes the python script to convert to the import format, and the source
> format the python script converts from before describing the import format
> GnuCash actually wants. If I were to redesign the section, I'd move the
> discussion of converting from a vendor-supplied CSV to the GnuCash import
> CSV to the bottom, or at least, really generalize it at the top. I would
> also have the example sample vendor CSV match the sample import file
> 
> 18.2 is much shorter, but lacks the field-by-field description of the
> fields. It looks like it's just the fields from the customer input screen,
> though.

Having reviewed it today, I agree with everything you say.  

I have started to rewrite it.

Mike E

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