Getting started

Adrien Monteleone adrien.monteleone at gmail.com
Sun Apr 1 00:22:53 EDT 2018


I’ll also chime in with the following tips:

The TL;DR is that unlike most other software, you are likely to only use ONE file with GnuCash. And so, you don’t need to open the file directly as you would with other software. Instead, open GnuCash and it will load your data file wherever it may reside, and short of including that file location in a backup software preference for reliability’s sake, you probably don’t even need to care where it actually is.(as long as it is somewhere other than the desktop)

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You can tweak how many log files are retained by checking in the preferences > general tab, option for Retain Log Files. You can choose ’never’, ‘forever’, or ‘x # of days’, with the default being 30.

Certainly, you should NOT set your DESKTOP to be the default storage location of your GnuCash file (or likely any other file, but that’s another topic, wholly unrelated to GnuCash)

You CAN do so of course, but as you noticed, one should be prepared for a plethora of log files in the same place.

Probably, it would be nice if the software suggested some other alternative, or clearly discouraged the user from using the desktop as a default storage location with clear and understandable warnings. This has been a mailing list topic enough times that such an approach might be a time saver.

Most people in my experience choose the desktop to store things because they simply can’t, or are scare, to navigate a single layer of folders. (but somehow magically manage to do so FROM THE DESKTOP) But anyway, GnuCash is polite and thoughtful enough to not make you need to open the file directly. You don’t NEED to store it’s data file on the desktop. It lets you open the software first, and it will dutifully open the last used file by default, which for probably the super-majority of users, is a pretty sane choice. (the rest of us know how to open other files instead, or at the same time)

Regards,
Adrien

> On Mar 31, 2018, at 6:27 PM, Kevin Reid <kpreid at switchb.org> wrote:
> 
> On Sat, Mar 31, 2018 at 1:40 PM, Jonathan Ames <jnthn.ames at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> I have asked these questions previously, but haven’t understood the
>> answers. I have basically no experience with non-commercial software,
>> and/or may be otherwise unworthy to use Gnucash.
>> 
>> - I want to use Gnucash for both personal and business purposes. I am
>> typing now on Mac/Sierra; I am wondering if I can access the same Gnucash
>> accounts from my Windows 10 computer at my office, assuming program is
>> placed in cloud (e.g., iCloud, Google Drive). Not simultaneously, though
>> perhaps several times/day from each. To date, the windows computer comes
>> back with 'file not found’, though I’ve installed on both.
>> 
> 
> It doesn't matter where the program is installed. GnuCash's data is treated
> as a document — you get to choose where to save it. Save it to a folder
> that's synced with your cloud storage, then on the other computer open it
> from that location.
> 
> 
> - I started setting up on the Mac — and generated a huge number of log
>> files; … They are covering my (Mac) desktop, and/or spreading like wildfire
>> in ‘All My Files’. Is this the price one pays for free software — i.e.,
>> having to constantly clean up?
> 
> 
> The log files are there as part of GnuCash's backups in case the main file
> is damaged or the program crashes. GnuCash will automatically delete old
> ones so they won't accumulate forever. But you should, when you save your
> file, *save it in a folder you create just for GnuCash*, so that you don't
> have to look at them on your desktop or anywhere.
> 
> (To get them out of All My Files, you'll have to go to your *System
> Preferences → Spotlight → Privacy* and add that folder to the list of
> exclusions. I think that should work, anyway — I haven't tried that.)
> 
> What you should do to clean up now is: quit GnuCash, find the main file
> (the one with the shortest name) on your desktop (or just select all of
> them), move it into a *new empty folder for the purpose* in your
> cloud-synced folder, then launch GnuCash (it will not find the file because
> you moved it), and select *File → Open* and open the file from the new
> location you moved it to.
> 
> 
> 
>> Also, are these files important to save, or can they be deleted?
> 
> 
> They can be deleted, but if something else goes wrong at the same time you
> have fewer options for recovery. GnuCash will delete older files
> automatically.
> 
> 
> Samples below.
>> 
> 
> Be warned that by sending these files you have shared some of your
> financial information — the log files contain transactions you have entered.
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