[GNC] Understanding Transaction Report options

[ornd25 at tutanota.com]

Oct 12, 2019, 17:09 by mailbox0600 at yahoo.com:

>
> OK, I'll take a shot  at this since I've been using  the  Transaction Report a lot  over the last two weeks.
>
> If you run a Transaction Report on Checking and select...
>
> Filter Type: Transactions To/From Filter Accounts...
>
> Filter By: Expenses > Utilities
>
> Then Click Apply...
>
> then gnuCash will show you all transactions that hit the checking account that were charged to the Utilities Expense Account
>
> ALSO... If you want more than one account you can Ctl Click to add accounts...
>
> For instance if you want the Transaction Report to include both Checking and Savings then you can Click Checking and Ctl Click Savings in "Accounts" section at the top sections of the Accounts Tab in the Options popup window.
>
> And, you can also add additional "Filter By: accounts in the same way... for example you can "Filter By"...
>  Expenses > Insurance > Health Insurance
> and then Ctl  Click Medical Expenses and then Apply
>
> Then the Transaction Report will show you what hit your Checking and Savings Accounts that were charged to either Health Insurance or Medical Insurance.
>
> I suggest you copy your gnuCash file and rename the copy test.gnucash and then open that and do some experiments... shouldn't take long to get the general idea.
>
> Regarding Regular Expressions... That is a really complicated way to search used mainly by programmers and I would suggest you avoid it unless you really... really need a special type of search. If so there are plenty of YouTube Tutorials on how to search using Regular Expressions.
>
> Didn't cover all your questions but this should get you started.
>
> And finally, I must say, the Transaction Report is a great feature of gnuCash... so thanks to the development team for that!
>
> Hope this helps.
>
>
>
> On Saturday, October 12, 2019, 11:37:33 AM EDT, ornd25 at tutanota.com <ornd25 at tutanota.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> I’m having some trouble understanding the meaning of the Accounts and Filter tabs options and I find the Help and the Tutorial and Concepts Guide needs a bit more explanation.
>
> 1. Account tab:  What does the “Include transactions to/from Filter Accounts” (and “Exclude”) mean? The documentation uses those same words to describe their function.
>
> 2. Account tab:  I understand the Account tree selection under “Accounts” (top block), but what is the account tree under “Filter By” used for? How can you “filter by” something you’ve already chosen?
>
> 3. Filter tab: How is the “Account Name Filter” used? Am I to change it each time for a selection or is this invoking a previously-named “Account Name Filter?”
>
> 4. Filter tab: The “Transaction Filter” appears to be used to specify the words I want to report and link them to the specific transaction in which they appear, but sometimes the Transaction Report indicates “No transactions were found,” so perhaps I’m mistaken.
>
> 5. Filter tab: When would I select “Use regular expressions for transaction filter?”
>
> 6. Filter tab: What is POSIX and how and why should I invoke it?
>
> 7. Filter tab: How can I invoke a boolean “OR” to report either of two or more transaction filters? (in this case I want to report a transaction that has either one person’s name or another in the Description.)
>
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Fran_3,

Yes, it does help with context.

1. Account tab:  What does the “Include transactions to/from Filter Accounts” (and “Exclude”) mean? The documentation uses those same words to describe their function.

2. Account tab:  I understand the Account tree selection under “Accounts” (top block), but what is the account tree under “Filter By” used for? How can you “filter by” something you’ve already chosen?

Update: Choosing two different accounts (or sets of accounts) in the two account trees means you’re looking for the intersection of the two sets. I must have tried it previously only with “Exclude” (see Number 1, above) and that didn’t work at all.

With “Include” selected it mostly worked, except long splits with two possibilities would show both possibilities (same date), with one that wasn’t really the expected result, unless the Transaction filter (number 4, below, also limited it further. Okay, I understand this now.

3. Filter tab: How is the “Account Name Filter” used? Am I to use it each time for a selection or is this invoking a previously-named “Account Name Filter?”

4. Filter tab: The “Transaction Filter” appears to be used to specify the words I want to report and link them to the specific transaction in which they appear, but sometimes the Transaction Report indicates “No transactions were found,” so perhaps I’m mistaken.

Update: This appears to be best used (for me) in further limiting the Account tab filter. I believe I begin to understand this now.

5. Filter tab: When would I select “Use regular expressions for transaction filter?”
Update: Best avoided, I understand.

6. Filter tab: What is POSIX and how and why should I invoke it?

7. Filter tab: How can I invoke a boolean “OR” to report either of two or more transaction filters? (in this case I want to report a transaction that has either one person’s name or another in the Description.)

Thanks, Fran.

If anyone would like to take a swing at Numbers 1, 3, 6, and 7, I’d appreciate it.