Using Gnucash from multiple computers?

[Sean Clarke]

Hi Buck,

Thanks for your comments.   I've replied further down.

On 15 October 2014 01:22, Buddha Buck <blaisepascal at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> On Tue, Oct 14, 2014 at 2:07 PM, Sean Clarke <seanchk at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I have a desktop box and 2 laptops all running Linux Mint.
>>
>> I do a fair amount of traveling often for long stretches of time,  so
>> would
>> like to have the data files on Dropbox or Google Drive so I can access my
>> accounts no matter where I am or which of my laptops I'm using.
>>
>> I don't want to be limited to only doing my accounts from one machine.  I
>> will however only be using Gnucash on one machine at a time.
>>
>
> I have a desktop box at home, a desktop box at work, a desktop box at my
> Makerspace, and a laptop, running a mix of Ubuntu, Debian, and Windows.
> Dropbox works great for using GnuCash on the same accounts on all of them.
>


That is good to know.


>
> Some caveats:
>
> 1) GnuCash trails behind log and backup files, which should be cleaned up
> periodically. I have a folder for each GnuCash file I use, so that the logs
> and backups are all in that folder, not mixed in with all my other files.
> These will get put on Dropbox/Google Drive as well, if that's an issue.
>
>
I'm guessing you mean't to say Gnucash leaves behind log and backup
files...    I don't understand why you'd have more than one Gnucash file
unless you are running multiple sets of accounts for different companies or
something, either way I plan to have only one Gnucash file.
Also storage space on Google and Dropbox is not an issue.


> 2) Your security of your financial records is limited to the security of
> Dropbox/Google Drive. If you are concerned about unauthorized people
> reading your books, you may wish to rethink that strategy. A more secure
> alternative would be a USB flash-drive on your keychain.
>
>
I couldn't care less who sees my detailed financial records.   Nothing
private about how much money I make or spend.


> 3) The multi-machine issue does not just affect multi-users. It also
> affects the "did I remember to quit GnuCash at home?" situation. Luckily,
> the lock-file helps catch that, but it will mean that you may have to go to
> the other machine that has it open to close it before you can open it on
> the machine you want.
>
> I work from home and travel a lot.  When I'm travelling I will only have
my Macbook Air with me.    When I am at home I split my time between the
desktop (on the desk) and one of the laptops whilst on the sofa.   Seeing
as I tend to have the larger laptop streaming TV shows, its most likely
I'll be 'working' on my MBA.    There won't be situations where I forget to
exit on one machine and if there are getting up to exit on one so I can
open it on another is no biggie.

4) The multi-machine issue is complicated by the Dropbox synching issue.
> Sometimes, especially in areas of limited net connectivity, you may end up
> with stale files in your local Dropbox folder, leading to Dropbox merge
> conflicts. This will lead to trying to untangle things. Luckily,
> transactions will not be lost, just spread between different files, so you
> won't have to remember details you thought were recorded.
>
>
>
I *should* always have excellent connectivity, so I'm less worried about
this.

I've got gnucash working using Google Drive and everything *seems* fine.
 I just want to be 100% sure this isn't suddenly going to spit the dummy
for some reason and munge my data files.

:-)

Cheers,

Sean