[GNC] Column widths again

Mon Aug 20 14:20:15 EDT 2018

Of course, that all makes sense.

The other improvements, specifically how to resize columns, particularly the Description column I think should be documented. There are enough questions on the list about it to address the topic.

Regards,
Adrien

> On Aug 20, 2018, at 1:01 PM, Derek Atkins <derek at ihtfp.com> wrote:
> 
> IMHO, the column does not need to be documented becuase it is a
> non-servicible part.  It exists the way it does because that was the
> easiest way to get the register to store the meta-information about a
> rate.  It exists as a 1-pixel column because that's the narrowest you can
> make it.  There's no way to hide it absolutely completely, and duplicating
> the functionality in a different way didn't make sense when this way was
> available.
> 
> I see no reason to document it, because it should not be editable by a user.
> I see no reason to document it, because in 99.9% of use cases, a user will
> not even be aware that it's there.
> I see no reason to document it, becuase if someone DOES see it in the
> documentation and does try to look for it and does find it and does try to
> meddle with it, they can do some pretty strange damage to their data.
> 
> Anyways, that's my $0.02.
> 
> Don't bother to even mention it; it's not worth your time to document
> something that users wont (and shouldn't) see or touch.
> 
> -derek
> 
> On Mon, August 20, 2018 1:04 pm, David Carlson wrote:
>> Adrien,
>> 
>> Thank you for your research and detailed response. 🙂
>> I fully agree with your conclusions.
>> 
>> 
>> I got the reference to section 4.2 directly from
>> https://www.gnucash.org/docs/v3/C/gnucash-guide/txns-register-oview.html#txns-regstyle1
>> which I arrived at when I followed the link called " Tutorial and Concepts
>> Guide, Choosing a Register Style
>> <https://www.gnucash.org/docs/v3/C/gnucash-guide/txns-register-oview.html#txns-regstyle1>).
>> " in https://www.gnucash.org/viewdoc.phtml?doc=help.  Naturally, I thought
>> I was in the Tutorial...
>> 
>> David C
>> 
>> On Mon, Aug 20, 2018 at 11:45 AM, Adrien Monteleone <
>> adrien.monteleone at lusfiber.net> wrote:
>> 
>>> I’ve never seen any documentation on it. I only confirmed it’s there
>>> after
>>> I read Derek’s comment and expanded the column myself to see it.
>>> 
>>> I just did a search of the GnuCash site, wiki and html docs and I don’t
>>> see anything on the column, other than a pair of IRC logs from 2009
>>> where
>>> someone asked what it was for, and a couple of hits (appears duplicated)
>>> documenting commits from 2017-09-4. I didn’t read the commit itself, but
>>> it
>>> was summarized by Robert Fewell as “Add a heading for the Rate column.”
>>> 
>>> Concerning where to put the info, I’m not sure the Tutorial is the right
>>> place. (there is no 4.2, for example)
>>> 
>>> However, the help guide has 4.3.5 List of Transactions which documents
>>> the
>>> column headings. I think if that section were more detailed with
>>> screenshots, lots of questions could be answered or even avoided.
>>> 
>>> Some things to add here:
>>> 
>>> The ability to resize columns and an explanation of how the Description
>>> column is special and how resizing works.
>>> 
>>> An explanation with screenshots of the different types of registers
>>> showing the respective columns. (unless they are all the same, save
>>> terminology choices, then you’d only need one screenshot)
>>> 
>>> An explanation of the formal vs. non-formal labels for each account
>>> type.
>>> (a full listing of what the non-formal labels are for each type)
>>> 
>>> Screenshots depicting each of the modes: single-line, double-line,
>>> transaction journal.
>>> 
>>> An explanation of what each cell in the transaction is for. (many don’t
>>> know the utilit(ies) of NUM or Action for example.) Not everything is
>>> self-evident. Perhaps here include a link to a special wiki page or to
>>> Using GnuCash where the different ’tricks’ for using those and other
>>> fields
>>> to accomplish user specific goals are (or should be) documented.
>>> 
>>> I would be happy to get set up for editing and start on this unless you
>>> already planned on running with it.
>>> 
>>> Finally, “Tutorial & Concepts Guide” is a bit winded. Could it simply be
>>> “Tutorial” or “Using GnuCash”? (and then incorporate any ‘official’
>>> methods
>>> from that wiki page into the document, with a link to that page for the
>>> non-standard methods)
>>> 
>>> Regards,
>>> Adrien
>>> 
>>>> On Aug 20, 2018, at 10:57 AM, David Carlson
>>> <david.carlson.417 at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> I just tried to find reference to the rate field in the Tutorial and I
>>> found nothing.
>>>> 
>>>> I think it should probably be mentioned in chapter 4 section 4.2.
>>> That
>>> section even fails to explain single line vs two line view or dragging
>>> around field widths, so it has a long way to go before it could describe
>>> the presence of the rate field and how to access it.
>>>> 
>>>> Is this information posted elsewhere?
>>>> 
>>>> David C
>>>> 
>>>> On Mon, Aug 20, 2018, 9:44 AM Adrien Monteleone <
>>> adrien.monteleone at lusfiber.net> wrote:
>>>> It’s still there as of 3.2.
>>>> 
>>>> Regards,
>>>> Adrien
>>>> 
>>>>> On Aug 20, 2018, at 9:17 AM, Derek Atkins <warlord at MIT.EDU> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> John Ralls <jralls at ceridwen.us> writes:
>>>>> 
>>>>>> Graham,
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> "Transfer" is short for "Transfer Account" and is the field where
>>> the
>>>>>> "other" account--other than the one in the current register--is
>>>>>> set. It's often called the "account" field in casual use.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> I think GTI made a translation error, the "rate" field is probably
>>>>>> "price" on a stock/mutual fund register, which has two more columns
>>>>>> than the other registers.
>>>>> 
>>>>> No, there is (unless it was removed) a "RATE" field to the right of
>>> the
>>>>> balance column.  It's a "hidden" column, with a default width of one
>>>>> pixel, which is (was?) used for the exchange-rate handling of
>>>>> multi-currency transactions/splits.
>>>>> 
>>>>>> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
>>>>>> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
>>>>> 
>>>>> -derek
>>>>> 
>>>>> --
>>>>>      Derek Atkins, SB '93 MIT EE, SM '95 MIT Media Laboratory
>>>>>      Member, MIT Student Information Processing Board  (SIPB)
>>>>>      URL: http://web.mit.edu/warlord/    PP-ASEL-IA     N1NWH
>>>>>      warlord at MIT.EDU                        PGP key available
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>>>> 
>>>> 
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> 
> -- 
>       Derek Atkins                 617-623-3745
>       derek at ihtfp.com             www.ihtfp.com
>       Computer and Internet Security Consultant