[GNC] What does OFX Direct Connect do?

[GWB]

OFX as a format does several things CSV does not.  It can give a
unique transaction ID, which the software can then "remember" if there
are a number of repeated transactions of the same amount and similar
dates.  With OFX, you know they are unique transactions because of the
unique identifier.

When GnuCash imports OFX transactions, it can tell (almost always?
most of the time?) if that particular transaction has already been
recorded in the ledger.  I find that helpful.  The most time consuming
part of the process for me is assigning categories, transfer accounts,
and determining if it is a split transaction (that I usually do in
another step after importing).

If there is no other option, CSV can work, and QFX is very close to
OFX (but it adds that hint of evil John mentioned).  I dislike the way
most banks implement Direct Connect, but others think it works fine
for them, and is secure enough.  I connect to the institution using a
VPN and then download the data in all the formats they allow (if they
don't allow downloads, then I'm forced to use Direct Connect).  I then
have an OFX, QFX, CSV and ocassionally QIF files (usually separate
files by month).  That's obviously overkill, but if the OFX download
is missing some data, or gets corrupted, I have the other one as a
check.

And, of course, I do this wearing a tin foil hat (just kidding! I use
Velostat for all my alien mind control prevention).

You would probably be fine just download the OFX file and then
importing the transaction like John describes (File>Import>Import
OFX/QFX).  Use a relatively updated web browser (like brave, but
chrome, firefox, work) and your bank will encrypt the connection with
https.  If you don't see "https" or a locking icon in the browser bar,
then ask your bank about that (you won't get a person on the phone, so
better to google "Is my browser connection encrypted?").  Most people
are fine with that, but assess your own risk.

Gordon

On Mon, May 18, 2020 at 10:09 PM John Ralls <jralls at ceridwen.us> wrote:
>
> No, OFX is a file format. Many financial/bank websites offer OFX or QFX downloads of your transaction data; more in fact than offer OFX Direct Connect. Since OFX (and it's slightly altered evil twin QFX, for Quicken Financial eXchange) are formats expressly designed for transferring consumer transaction information it's a more efficient and less error prone way to import transactions into programs like GnuCash.
>
> If your bank offers OFX Direct Connect then GnuCash can connect to your bank and get that OFX download. If not but allows downloading OFX-formatted files then you go to the bank website, log in, and get the download, then use File>Import>Import OFX/QFX to import it.
>
> Regards,
> John Ralls
>
> > On May 18, 2020, at 2:20 PM, Fran_3 <mailbox0600 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> > Woops! No ill intent. I've seen the same response on other SIG's when someone started a new thread that a groups member or admin thought should have been included in a recent thread on that some related topic. Oh well.
> >
> > Back to the topic... so OFX just saves you the steps of downloading the transactions as CSV and then having to do a bit of formatting before you import them into GC... right?
> >
> >
> >
> > On Monday, May 18, 2020, 1:48:19 PM EDT, John Ralls <jralls at ceridwen.us> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Don't hijack threads, it's rude. Start a new one when you have a new question.
> >
> > OFX Direct Connect is just like importing an OFX or QFX file downloaded from your bank's website except that it will connect to the bank and get the OFX file for you.
> >
> > Regards,
> > John Ralls
> >
> >
> > > On May 18, 2020, at 10:27 AM, Fran_3 <mailbox0600 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > If I can jump in here I would like to learn more about OFX Direct Connect with GnuCash.
> > >
> > > Does such automatically determine what transactions occur at the bank that are not in GC...
> > > And then automatically update GnuCash?
> > >
> > > Or what?
> > >
> > > Thanks.
> > >
> > >
> > > On Monday, May 18, 2020, 12:35:10 PM EDT, John Ralls <jralls at ceridwen.us> wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > > On May 17, 2020, at 12:06 PM, Hershey <Hershey at triad.rr.com> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > I'm new to Gnu and am having issues setting up online downloads.
> > > > My first attempt is Wells Fargo and I get a 2000 error message.
> > > > The Tutorial show Wells Fargo in its example but I've also seen this
> > > > statement on the web: Wells Fargo has switched to OFX Web Connect. GnuCash
> > > > doesn't support this authentication.
> > >
> > > That last sentence is your answer, but perhaps you need some more detail. There are two ways of connecting to a bank for OFX online communication, OFX Direct Connect and OFX Web Connect. The former collects your user name and password as part of the online session and the latter has you log in to the bank's website and launch the OFX session from there. The way that the bank's website connects to the financial software is proprietary to Intuit, the makers of Quicken, so that it works only with their products. GnuCash is able to work only with OFX Direct Connect.
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > > John Ralls
> > >
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