[GNC] Saving Gnucash data and back ups

Tue Aug 16 21:17:09 EDT 2022

Re:
 >> 5.    Back ups - I have read a lot about the back ups but still unsure
 >> what to do.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 >
 > The wiki has plenty of info about file and configuration locations and
 > making backups.
 >
 > https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/FAQ#Questions_about_Backups
 >
 > Backup strategies are usually something handled at the Operating System
 > level for the whole system, not just GnuCash. Windows has a backup app,
 > and there are plenty of (much better) apps you can use, even free apps.
 > A web search will easily turn them up.
 >
 > One feature you might want to strongly consider is the ability to
 > restore individual files from a backup similar to 'Back In Time' from
 > Linux, or 'Time Machine' from Mac. (unless Microsoft has finally tiptoed
 > into the 21st century, I'm not certain their backup app included by
 > default allows you to restore individual files. I think you have to
 > 'roll back' the entire system to the backup state, but I could be
 > mistaken.)

Both Microsoft Windows 10 & 11 have a comprehensive automated file based 
backup and restore utility built in.  Read this article for an overview:
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3658132/how-to-use-file-history-windows-10-windows-11.html

Regards

Geoff
=====

On 17/08/2022 11:00 am, Adrien Monteleone wrote:
> On 8/16/22 1:33 PM, dsamoluk at shaw.ca wrote:
>> I am new to Gnucash and have a few questions regarding saving data.  I 
>> use
>> Windows 10 and Gnucash Version: 4.11 Build ID: 4.11+(2022-06-25)
>>
>> 1.    I would like to save everything in one folder named Gnucash.  I
>> think I will use the xml format.  Currently it seems there are files in
>> three different folders.
>>         How do I make sure to save everything to one folder?
> 
> What other folders are you referring to? Where your preferences & custom 
> report configurations are saved? If so, those can't be changed short of 
> re-writing that part of the code and compiling a custom version as they 
> are hard coded. But your data file can be saved wherever you please.
>>
>> 2.    Can I move everything I have (which is in 3 different folders) to a
>> folder named Gnucash without harm to the data I have entered.  (I 
>> previously
>> had entered data for 2021, then deleted a bunch of files and most of the
>> data disappeared.  The file types were text and gnucash financial data)
> 
> See above. I'm not sure what 'other' files or folders you are referring 
> to. GnuCash doesn't use txt files as far as I'm aware. Your data file 
> (and backups) have a .gnucash extension. Backups also have a date/time 
> stamp in the file name.
> 
> If you have a backup handled by Windows, I'd try to restore those files 
> and then be more careful in the future.
> 
>>
>> 3.    How long do you need to keep the different files?
>>         Are there certain files needed to keep the data in the
>> Gnucash system?  I have looked at the FAQ but still not clear.
> 
> I'm going to hazard a guess you're asking about backup and log files 
> which are stored in the same folder as your main data file. How long you 
> keep them is up to you. There is a preference to set a number of days 
> and GnuCash will automatically clean up after itself. Or you can do so 
> manually.
> 
> Of course, you likely don't want to delete your main .gnucash data 
> file(s) and you'd likely not want to delete any files in the 
> configuration locations without some good reason.
> 
> See the Wiki FAQ about file locations for more info:
> 
> https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/FAQ#Basics:_Filenames.2C_Directories.2C_...
>>
>> 4.    When you click the save button when entering transactions, how do
>> you know where it is being saved to?  I'd like it to be saved in Gnucash
>> folder, as indicated above.
> 
> It gets saved wherever you last saved it and most recently opened it from.
> 
> So if you saved your file in a folder called 'gnucash' then that's where 
> it is saving to every time you manually save with the button.
> 
> If you want to move the file, the best thing to do is File > Save As and 
> store it in your new location, then in Windows Explorer, delete the 
> original location.
> 
> GnuCash will remember where the file is and the last one used, so then 
> you don't need to navigate to your data folder first, just start GnuCash 
> and your last data file (possibly your only one) will be loaded by default.
> 
>> 5.    Back ups - I have read a lot about the back ups but still unsure
>> what to do.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.
> 
> The wiki has plenty of info about file and configuration locations and 
> making backups.
> 
> https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/FAQ#Questions_about_Backups
> 
> Backup strategies are usually something handled at the Operating System 
> level for the whole system, not just GnuCash. Windows has a backup app, 
> and there are plenty of (much better) apps you can use, even free apps. 
> A web search will easily turn them up.
> 
> One feature you might want to strongly consider is the ability to 
> restore individual files from a backup similar to 'Back In Time' from 
> Linux, or 'Time Machine' from Mac. (unless Microsoft has finally tiptoed 
> into the 21st century, I'm not certain their backup app included by 
> default allows you to restore individual files. I think you have to 
> 'roll back' the entire system to the backup state, but I could be 
> mistaken.)
> 
> Regards,
> Adrien
> 
> 
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