Installation

[Mike or Penny Novack]

On 2/11/2018 10:04 PM, Jonathan Ames wrote:
> Thanks, all, for advice. Just not happening, though. I can see the latest
> file in a directory, but get "file not found" when clicking on it. By now,
> a lot of lost work. Am I correct in assuming that unlike commercial
> software, gnucash doesn't save itself back to the application
> automatically, even if you "save" automatically? In other words, what
> you're paying for is not to deal with the log files, but to save and then
> later click on the icon and have it be where and as you left it?
>
No, "commercial products" are equally unlikely to save the data "in the 
application". Another application MIGHT have some default DATA location 
where it does its saves (I will give examples in a moment) but note that 
this is practical/possible ONLY if able to make the assumption that 
there will be only ONE "data file".

Take something like FireFox (I am intentionally choosing a 
non-commercial app to show you that "commercial" has nothing to do with 
this). When you install the program (well first time run as opposed to 
install) it creates a data directory in the "application data" directory 
and that is where it will store things. It is "first time run" because 
almost all modern operating systems support multiple users. So when 
opened (by a user) it looks in the expected place, if found, it uses 
that data, if not found decides "ah, first time for this user" and 
creates it << that process allowing the user to choose various 
preferences which will be saved there >>

Gnucash cannot do this because it supports MULTIPLE BOOKS. Only some of 
its data can be saved in a common location.

So the first time you save a set of books you have to tell gnucash 
"where to put THIS one" (what to call it, what directory will it live 
in, etc.) Perhaps you are also thinking about the "did not create an 
shortcut icon on my desktop" at the same time. That again is behavior 
more useful IF can assume that there would be only one. If you want 
icons on your desktop acting as shortcuts to your files, create them.

Michael D Novack