Messed up file names

Sat Jan 20 17:04:04 EST 2018

On 20 January 2018 at 21:36, Gerald Mathias <mathias at hawaii.edu> wrote:

> "
>>
>>
>>
> "If, by restore, you mean open a different file then use File > Open in
> GC.  Then once you are happy that you have the current file open use File >
> Save As to save it with an appropriate name and then it should re-open that
> one in future.  Keep an eye on the name in the title bar if ever you are
> concerned about which file you have open."
>
> Actually, I meant "restore the missing transactions," thinking that some
> of those single-dated files had info the newer ones don't, but that is
> probably not the case. All missing stuff is still on the Raspberry-Pi I had
> copied from, and I'll just have to redo them by hand, I guess. Something I
> read in either gnucash-help or the manual-with-tutorial seems to say I
> could just copy to switch to a new computer, but I don't think doing that
> now is really an option. So, thank you, I'm ready to "Save As."
>

If you can find the latest gnucash file on the pi (something.gnucash) then
all you have to do is copy that to a usb stick or similar, put it in the
new PC, open gnucash then use File > Open in the menus, browse to the file
on the stick and open it. Then assuming it looks ok use File > Save As to
save it where you want on the pc.

Colin

>
> On Fri, Jan 19, 2018 at 11:27 PM, Colin Law <clanlaw at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On 20 January 2018 at 02:24, Gerald Mathias <mathias at hawaii.edu> wrote:
>>
>>> My thanks to Derek Atkins for some good pointers (and thank you, too,
>>> Bert
>>> Riding). I'm not sure whether I will finally be able to digest the
>>> suggestions sufficiently.
>>>
>>> Derek said, "On November 15 at 16:19 you made some changes to the file,
>>> which generated the log file mygnucash.gnucash.20171115161913.log and a
>>> backup file mygnucash.gnucash.20171115161913.gnucash  (which does not
>>> appear in your listing, but must exist somewhere)."
>>>
>>> Maybe somewhere, but as of today, not in /Finances/mygnucash. I did a
>>> search and came up empty.
>>>
>>> I always open gnucash by clicking its icon in Applications > Office >. I
>>> use Ubuntu 16.04.) That icon has been there since I installed the
>>> program,
>>> and I don't know yet how to control what it opens. Maybe when I do the
>>> "Save to" bit, but you suggest I save that for after fixing everything
>>> else.
>>>
>>
>> When you open gnucash by clicking the icon it will open whatever file you
>> had open last. If you use Save As to save it as a new name then the file
>> that is open is the the one with the new name, so if you close GC and
>> reopen it later then it will open the saved as one, not the original.  Also
>> if you open GC by clicking on a gnucash file or if you open a file by using
>> File > Open inside GC then that file becomes the current one, so again if
>> you close GC and reopen it then it will open that file rather than any
>> other file you previously had open.  It displays the name of the file in
>> the title bar so you can always see which file you have open.
>>
>>
>>> I have dozens of normal-name .log and .gnucash files from 16 Oct to 15
>>> Nov,
>>> then nine double-dates from 31 Dec to 09 Jan. After that, loads of files
>>> "Date Modified" 14 Jan, single-dated from 20171229 to 20180111, but out
>>> of
>>> order. Includes one simple mygnucash.gnucash. The last three on 14 Jan
>>> are
>>> double-dates, and those 20171115s continue through 19 Jan (today,
>>> although
>>> I haven't actually make any gnucash entries today).
>>>
>>
>>> I've been reading how to restore, including the references you provided,
>>> but I won't try until I can see my way past a "warning" or two.
>>>
>>
>> If, by restore, you mean open a different file then use File > Open in
>> GC.  Then once you are happy that you have the current file open use File >
>> Save As to save it with an appropriate name and then it should re-open that
>> one in future.  Keep an eye on the name in the title bar if ever you are
>> concerned about which file you have open.
>>
>> Colin
>>
>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Jan 18, 2018 at 4:19 PM, Derek Atkins <derek at ihtfp.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> > Hi,
>>> >
>>> > On Thu, January 18, 2018 8:30 pm, Gerald Mathias wrote:
>>> > > I guess I did something dumb. I wanted to move my GnuCash to a new
>>> > > computer, so I copied over the mygnucash folder. Now the new files
>>> come
>>> > > out
>>> > > with these weird names:
>>> > >
>>> > > mygnucash.gnucash.20171115161912.gnucash.20180115171928.gnucash
>>> > > mygnucash.gnucash.20171115161912.gnucash.20180115171929.log
>>> > > mygnucash.gnucash.20171115161912.gnucash.20180116114841.log
>>> > > mygnucash.gnucash.20171115161912.gnucash.20180116115105.gnucash
>>> > > mygnucash.gnucash.20171115161912.gnucash.20180116115105.log
>>> > > mygnucash.gnucash.20171115161912.gnucash.LCK
>>> > > mygnucash.gnucash.20171115161913.log
>>> > > mygnucash.gnucash.20171229114235.log
>>> > >
>>> > > I guess November 15 is the date I did the copy. Is there any way to
>>> get
>>> > > rid
>>> > > of that part of the naming process?
>>> >
>>> > STOP RIGHT NOW.  YOU HAVE A PROBLEM.
>>> >
>>> > Basically, you started with a file named mygnucash.gnucash -- your main
>>> > data file.
>>> >
>>> > On November 15 at 16:19 you made some changes to the file, which
>>> generated
>>> > the log file mygnucash.gnucash.20171115161913.log and a backup file
>>> > mygnucash.gnucash.20171115161913.gnucash  (which does not appear in
>>> your
>>> > listing, but must exist somewhere).
>>> >
>>> > Then on December 29 you made another change, which resulted in the log
>>> > file mygnucash.gnucash.20171229114235.log.  There should have also
>>> been an
>>> > equivalent backup file.
>>> >
>>> > THEN, on January 15 at 17:19, you made a mistake.  Instead of opening
>>> your
>>> > main data file, mygnucash.gnucash, you opened the BACKUP FILE from
>>> > November 15.  This resulted in the log file
>>> > mygnucash.gnucash.20171115161912.gnucash.20180115171929.log and backup
>>> > file mygnucash.gnucash.20171115161912.gnucash.20180115171928.gnucash.
>>> The
>>> > backup was clearly saved one second before the log.
>>> >
>>> > Then you used the SAME file again on Jan 16 at 11:51.
>>> >
>>> > This means you effectively forked your data.  Anything you entered
>>> between
>>> > November 15 and January 15 was "lost" in the fork.  It's still out
>>> there,
>>> > like the December 29 log file.
>>> >
>>> > But this all happened because you opened the wrong file -- you opened
>>> up a
>>> > backup file instead of your main data file.
>>> >
>>> > > I had also considered starting over, from 2018-01-01 on the new
>>> computer.
>>> > > Maybe that is the better option? Would simply erasing all the current
>>> > > accounts and setting them up anew do the trick?
>>> >
>>> > While that is an option, there is no need to do that.
>>> > First, you need to understand how gnucash stores logs and backup files.
>>> > See
>>> > https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/FAQ#Q:_What_are_all_these_.
>>> > gnucash_and_.log_files_filling_up_my_directory.3F
>>> > and
>>> > https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/FAQ#Q:_Why_is_my_file_name_
>>> > getting_longer_and_longer.3F
>>> >
>>> > Once you fix your data loss problem (most likely you could do this by
>>> > replaying the log files) then you can just rename your file back to
>>> your
>>> > main data file.  I recommend you just File -> Save As from within
>>> GnuCash.
>>> >
>>> > Good Luck!
>>> >
>>> > > 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                 617-623-3745
>>> >        derek at ihtfp.com             www.ihtfp.com
>>> >        Computer and Internet Security Consultant
>>> >
>>> >
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>>>
>>
>>
>