It's true, my note to Santa

[Anton Kratz]

Hi Steve,

just wanted to share my thoughts on the GnuCash Android app, because I
recently played around with it, in the hope of using it in conjuction with
GnuCash on the desktop. The idea is great, you could use GnuCash on the
desktop and on the go, and synchronize both ways. The interface
implementation is also surprisingly good and easy to use. I wouldn't even
mind the "download, upload dance" - if it would always work. But the
problem I have with the Android app, I simply feel I cannot rely on it. I
tried to import data and sometimes it works, sometimes in doesn't. Moving a
file back and forth between desktop and mobile is just too unreliable. I
contacted the developer and he told me that they are aware of the issue.
That's great but the fact remains that in my opinion, the mobile and
desktop GnuCashes can not be used together reliably. For some users it
might work, for me it doesn't. I have a feeling the GnuCash Android app is
meant mainly as a separate application to be used more or less exclusively,
it's not meant to be actually used in parallel to the desktop app on a
daily basis, copying data back and forth every day. Also the support
options suck, I can ask for help but only if I have a Google+ profile which
I don't want. So yeah it would be great if there was a *real* GnuCash on
Android, with an interface similar to the Android app but with the full,
true functionality of GnuCash. Especially with the ability to read and
write GnuCash files reliably. I don't expect this to happen though.

Regarding GnuCash on the desktop, if I had a wish to Santa, it would be
easier export options for the accounts as tab-separated ASCII. I find this
very difficult. I can do expense reports or "export", but it's so much work
to arrive at a representation where each transaction is one line and which
mirrors the way transactions are displayed in the account windows. It would
be so convenient to just export  as tab- or comma-separated ASCII, just
with the same fields, in the same order, and the same number of lines as in
the account window. (And no I cannot program this myself.)

bw,
Anton


On Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 8:52 AM, Steve <butterandsalt at gmail.com> wrote:

> Santa hasn't gotten back to me, hoping that he and his elves are working on
> it.
>
> As we approach 2016, I wish someone out there, publicly or secretly, is
> working toward a functional mobile app running GnuCash.  The current
> unofficial GnuCash app just doesn't deliver the true functional experience
> to allow GnuCash to be incorporated as part of the daily moment to moment
> routine.
>
> I understand the difficulty, the challenge, the nature of open source, but
> boy, I sure would like to use my phone and post charges, see credits, and
> see balances real time, without waiting till I get home and doing the
> download, upload dance...and the transition to mobile is noticeable, as my
> desktop GnuCash application languishes but continues to beckon me...
>
> Just wishin', Santa... I'll be back next year (and the year after!)...
>
>
>
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