[GNC] "Save Report Configuration" Crashes GnuCash and Truncates saved-reports-2.8

[David Carlson]

David T,

I am a little bit behind, as I am still using release 2.6.x where x ranges
between 16 and 19 depending on which machine I have fired up, so I am still
looking at a file named saved-reports-2..4, but I think that it is not too
different from your file.

I think you are aware that the file is is a text file which can be opened
by any text editor, tho some may format the output more read-ably on your
screen.  I just looked at one of mine with gedit in Ubuntu and found it to
be quite readable, though the content appears to be computer code in the
language used to generate the reports.  In the 2.4 version the accounts are
coded by reference numbers, so it may be possible that mis-matches would
cause issues if applied to a different data file, but I would expect
GnuCash to react docilely to most common problems in this file.

It does seem odd that, in your case, whatever error is present can actually
crash GnuCash.


I suspect that you are actually asking the developers to create a testing
tool to validate the file contents in the user environment and, if
possible, correct errors or isolate them to prevent further damage.
Probably such a tool is needed to prevent the damage that you are seeing in
your case from happening in production use.  When to apply the tool and
whether to make it available separately to the user would be best decided
by the developers.

Also, a description of the format of the contents in some help file would
be useful to help in identifying problems with the file.

>From Geert's reply just before mine, I infer that the file is processed
sequentially report-by-report so his suggestion should succeed in isolating
the error in this particular case, although the program behavior is far
from ideal upon encountering the error.

David C

On Sat, Dec 29, 2018 at 9:20 AM David T. via gnucash-user <
gnucash-user at gnucash.org> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> As the subject line notes, I am again encountering a crasher in GnuCash
> 3.3 on MacOS Mojave when I try to save a report configuration for a report
> whose settings have changed. Upon restart, I find that the saved reports
> have been trashed, and the saved-reports-2.8 file is truncated at a
> fraction of its prior size.
>
> Further specifics: I am opening a saved report which is intended to
> document a small subset of expense accounts. I have added a new subaccount
> to this set of expenses, and I wish to add this new subaccount to the
> existing saved report. I open the report (Reports->Saved Report
> Configurations) and then select the options for the report. I click to the
> Accounts tab, add the new account (CMD-Click) and click save. The new
> version of the report now displays. I click on the “Save Report
> Configuration” button, and GnuCash disappears. There is no further
> information displayed (i.e., I do not receive an Apple message about the
> program ending unexpectedly, etc.). Neither does it appear that there is a
> crash report; the only crash I can find regarding GnuCash dates from 12/18,
> and today is not 12/18.
>
> More disturbingly, when I reopen GnuCash, I find that my Saved Report
> Configurations file has been truncated, resulting in a loss of most of my
> reports. (Because I’ve had similar troubles with GnuCash trashing my
> reports file, I have copies of saved-reports-2.8 stored in safe spots.) The
> saved-reports-2.8 file goes from 182 kb to 34 kb. Upon restart, I have only
> 7 saved reports.
>
> I reported this problem originally back in May 2018, and thought it had
> gone away, but am again seeing it. I can consistently cause the crash now
> whenever I try to save a report configuration using the original reports
> file. If I use the new truncated form of the reports file, the error (and
> associated crash) goes away.
>
> Back in May, I asked whether anyone could suggest a way for me to examine
> the saved-reports-2.8 file and determine what could possible be causing
> this crash. It is untenable for me to keep having to restore my saved
> reports file, and is annoying that I am unable to alter existing reports or
> add new ones.
>
> If there are no solid suggestions to be made, I hope someone does have
> some way for me to move forward; otherwise I will have to bite the bullet,
> write down every single report I have saved, and recreate them in a new
> saved-reports file. This is a colossal waste of time, but if it’s the only
> way I can move forward, then it’s the only way to move forward.
>
> With ‘bated breath,
> David
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