[GNC] Locked out of gnucash

[John Ralls]

Except that the file was closed immediately after completing the session load. GnuCash will rename it and write a new one if you have made changes to the book in memory and tell it to save those changes or let it auto-save, but you can certainly close the session and so delete the lock file without saving.

It really is about the lock file, not the data file.

Regards,
John Ralls


> On Nov 17, 2019, at 4:24 PM, David Carlson <david.carlson.417 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> A comment about Stan Brown's suggestion.
> 
> I think a better and more accurate wording would be "The data file has not
> been cleanly closed since it was last opened.  If you are sure that it was
> not opened by another user, click 'Open Anyway'.  Otherwise click one of
> the other options."
> 
> To me the important part is that the data file has not been cleanly closed,
> which is the real reason that the lock file exists.  There may be better
> words to use as long as this idea is incorporated.
> 
> David Carlson
> 
> On Sun, Nov 17, 2019 at 4:35 PM Frank H. Ellenberger <
> frank.h.ellenberger at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Hello Stan et al.
>> 
>> I like the idea. A short grep delivers 5 occurrences of likewise texts: 4
>> at
>> 
>> https://github.com/Gnucash/gnucash/blob/de09259f13e8e3d7f2e50f97a353bd22eb45a4b6/gnucash/gnome-utils/gnc-file.c#L276
>> and one further below:
>> 
>> https://github.com/Gnucash/gnucash/blob/de09259f13e8e3d7f2e50f97a353bd22eb45a4b6/gnucash/gnome-utils/gnc-file.c#L768
>> I am not totally sure if the change can be applied on aloof them.
>> 
>> BTW. Splitting the first 4 strings like the last would reduce the
>> burden for our translators.
>> 
>> Regards
>> Frank
>> 
>> Am So., 17. Nov. 2019 um 08:22 Uhr schrieb Stan Brown
>> <the_stan_brown at fastmail.fm>:
>>> 
>>> In the two years I've been reading this list, I think the single most
>>> common question has been about this "could not obtain the lock" message.
>>> Seems like someone asks about it at least once a week.
>>> 
>>> The text "that database may be in use by another user," while literally
>>> true, isn't helpful because it points to a less common case and gives no
>>> guidance for the more common case. It's like hearing hoofbeats and
>>> hypothesizing "zebra" instead of "horse".
>>> 
>>> I suggest that improving the message would be a huge boon to less
>>> experienced GC users, and very little effort for the developers.
>>> 
>>> Why not replace the present text
>>> 
>>>        That database may be in use by another user, in which case you
>>>        should not open the database. What would you like to do?
>>> 
>>> with this:
>>> 
>>>        If your previous session crashed, select Open Anyway. If this is
>>>        a shared database, wait for other users to finish using it or
>>>        select Open Read-Only. For more information, see (link to sec
>>>        2.5.3 of Tutorial).
>>> 
>>> "What would you like to do?" can be omitted, in my opinion. Seeing
>>> buttons, users will know that they need to pick one. What they _do_ need
>>> is text that is relevant to their situation.
>>> 
>>> (I question the tutorial's advice to delete the lock files manually.
>>> David Cousens reports:
>>>> My experience on Linux is that when you select Open
>>>> Anyway, the previous .LNK and .LCK files will be deleted and new ones
>>>> created which should then be deleted when GNucash is closed properly.
>>> The same happens for me in Windows. Is there any OS where this desirable
>>> behavior doesn't happen? If there is, the tutorial's advice should
>>> mention those specific systems, or at least it should say that in
>>> Windows and Linux GC will do this automatically when you reopen a data
>>> file after the "could not obtain the lock" message.)
>>> 
>>> --
>>> Regards,
>>> Stan Brown
>>> Tompkins County, New York, USA
>>> https://BrownMath.com
>>> http://OakRoadSystems.com
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On 2019-11-16 20:27, David Cousens wrote:
>>>> Kay
>>>> 
>>>> If GnuCash is not closed properly,e.g. a crash the .LNK and .LCK files
>>>> created in your data directory prevent you from opening GnuCash.
>> Section
>>>> 2.5.3 of the Tutorial guide covers them.
>>>> 
>>>> .LCK file extensions.  My experience on Linux is that when you select
>> Open
>>>> Anyway, the previous .LNK and .LCK files will be deleted and new ones
>>>> created which should then be deleted when GNucash is closed properly.
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> gnucash-user mailing list
>>> gnucash-user at gnucash.org
>>> To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe:
>>> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
>>> If you are using Nabble or Gmane, please see
>> https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Mailing_Lists for more information.
>>> -----
>>> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
>>> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
>> _______________________________________________
>> gnucash-user mailing list
>> gnucash-user at gnucash.org
>> To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe:
>> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
>> If you are using Nabble or Gmane, please see
>> https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Mailing_Lists for more information.
>> -----
>> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
>> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
>> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> David Carlson
> _______________________________________________
> gnucash-user mailing list
> gnucash-user at gnucash.org
> To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe:
> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
> If you are using Nabble or Gmane, please see https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Mailing_Lists for more information.
> -----
> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.