[GNC] Migrating to iMac from PC

Thu Nov 29 15:04:59 EST 2018

Richard,

Just to be clear, it is that easy as long as you didn’t intentionally setup a MySQL or PostgreSQL db for GnuCash on the Win10 machine. If you just installed the program and went with the default (or chose to save as SQLite) then it is just a matter of copying the data file.

Regards,
Adrien

> On Nov 29, 2018, at 2:56 AM, Richard Jones <richardtrevorjones at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Adrien,
> Thanks for that reassuring advice.
> Before I retired, I worked for an IT company, Unisys, and worked on many migrations between different mainframe systems. Always there were issues caused by different operating systems and data formats etc. We would need the full database schema of the old and new systems and work out where each data item would go and deal with redundancies and exceptions.
> This case appears much simpler. There is no database, such as db2, oracle or DMS; just a data file, GNU Financial Data which, it appears, is exactly the same on a PC and on a Mac and completely transportable between the systems without modification.
> When I do this, I will finalise this conversation by reporting on the result.
> Regards
> Richard
> 
> On Wed, 28 Nov 2018 at 20:06, Adrien Monteleone <adrien.monteleone at lusfiber.net> wrote:
> Richard,
> 
> It’s not as difficult as it might appear.
> 
> 1. Copy over your data file.
> 2. Start GnuCash
> 3. File > Open and select your data file.
> 4. GnuCash > Preferences - and set them the same as on the Win10 machine. (no need to try to convert registry keys, just make the changes manually, should take about 3-5 minutes)
> 5. File > Properties - make these match as well.
> 6. IF you have custom reports, copy those to the proper location on the Mac. The wiki has this info as I noted.
> 7. IF you have a custom css file (or an .ini file) - again, copy these to the relevant location. (I don’t think Mac’s use .ini, but you can likely enter that content in the css file, or a plist file - check the wiki)
> 8. ...
> 9. Profit
> 
> Worst case after the above steps is that any dialog warning boxes you may have dismissed in the past, will once again start alerting you. Just dismiss them again if desired.
> 
> Of course, ALWAYS make a backup first.
> 
> To help with #4 and #5, if for some reason you won’t have the two side by side, either write them down, or print/save a screen shot of the various settings.
> 
> I think that’s about it unless John or someone else knows of something I forgot or am not aware of.
> 
> Regards,
> Adrien
> 
> > On Nov 28, 2018, at 4:45 AM, Richard Jones <richardtrevorjones at gmail.com> wrote:
> > 
> > Thank you Robert, Michael, Adrien and John for taking the time and trouble
> > to answer and explain.
> > This migration would require very careful planning, testing and a backup
> > plan if things go wrong. I will have to think hard as to whether it is
> > worth risking.
> > Thanks again
> > Richard
> > 
> > On Tue, 27 Nov 2018 at 23:39, John Ralls <jralls at ceridwen.fremont.ca.us>
> > wrote:
> > 
> >> Unfortunately on Windows preferences live in the registry. On Macs they
> >> live in a Plist in ~/Library/Preferences. There are probably programs out
> >> there that will extract from the registry and write the Plist, but I don’t
> >> know about them.
> >> 
> >> Other user metadata like book state files (what windows and tabs are open,
> >> window positions, etc.) and saved report configurations are stored in the
> >> user’s configuration directory, see
> >> https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Configuration_Locations <
> >> https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Configuration_Locations> for where that is
> >> on each OS.
> >> 
> >> Regards,
> >> John Ralls
> >> 
> >> 
> >>> On Nov 28, 2018, at 5:17 AM, Adrien Monteleone <
> >> adrien.monteleone at lusfiber.net> wrote:
> >>> 
> >>> Richard,
> >>> 
> >>> As Robert noted, your data file should open just fine. (caveat on
> >> double-clicking assumed)
> >>> 
> >>> For the preferences issue he brought up, take a look at the wiki where
> >> preference and config file locations are stored on each operating system.
> >>> 
> >>> Be sure to find them on your Win10 system and copy them to the relevant
> >> locations on your Mac.
> >>> 
> >>> Then launch GnuCash, use File > Open and find your data file.
> >>> 
> >>> 
> >>> Regards,
> >>> Adrien
> >>> 
> >>>> On Nov 27, 2018, at 7:47 AM, Richard Jones <
> >> richardtrevorjones at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>>> 
> >>>> I know gnucash runs on both Macs and PCs but I cannot find anything
> >> about
> >>>> the migration procedure.
> >>>> I have gnucash 3.3 on Windows 10. I am considering buying an Apple iMac.
> >>>> Can my files from the PC be used on the iMac easily?
> >>>> Thanks
> >>>> Richard
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