[GNC] New PC

Wed Dec 14 21:23:17 EST 2022

Hi Deborah,

I thought I saw a comment recently that someone had updated an old version
of Gnucash to version 4.12 by just running the downloaded installer file
and everything was ok.  If you already have a prior version of Gnucash
installed it will uninstall the old version for you anyway if you click yes
(or maybe it's OK?) when prompted, but you can uninstall manually, I never
do though.

So since you've already got the latest version installed on your new pc you
could just try COPYING your existing gnucash file across to the new pc and
opening it in version 4.12 and see if it looks ok.  Put it somewhere
meaningful - I always have mine in my Documents / Gnucash / Data folder as
there will be log files and backups created there also and you don't want
them all cluttering up your Desktop.

Going from 2.6.3 to version 4.12 there have been changes to the Gnucash
data file format (I assume you just save it as the default xml format file
here) so when you first open your old file in version 4.12 it may take a
few minutes to look as though it's doing anything - don't panic just let it
do it's thing :-).  As Adrien mentions in his posting, once it's opened do
the Actions >> Check and Repair >> Repair All just for safety's sake.  I
would then go through all you txns, accounts, etc to make sure your happy
that it all looks good.  If you have any issues with going directly from
2.6.3 to 4.12 I would suggest you refer back to Adriens post and do it that
way on your old pc thenonce you have your version 4.12 data file copy that
across to the new pc and "File >> Open" it there.?

Also I think the data file suffix may have changed from .gnc to .gnucash so
your old file might be called <filename>.gnc instead of <filename>.gnucash ?
Be careful when choosing your data file to make sure you have the right
file as there are backup files in your Gnucash file location folder with
the date and time embedded in the name - these are backup files - see below
my data file is the first and only .gnucash file whereas the
.gnucash.CCYYMMDDHHMMSS.gnucash files are all backups Gnucash has created
at those points in time.  Not sure this is relevant for 2.6.3 as I can't
remember back 8 years :-)

A point to note - your Gnucash data file is just like a Word doc or an
Excel file, i.e. it can be copied around and simply opened in Gnucash so no
export or import required, just use "File >> Open" in the new Gnucash and
navigate to your Gnucash file location.

Hope this helps.

Regards David H.

[image: image.png]

On Thu, 15 Dec 2022 at 07:53, Deborah Millington <djm8445 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello David
>
> Thanks for your reply, and for the advice which is much appreciated.
>
> Apologies for not providing the right information upfront.  I'm afraid I
> don't tend to use this kind of mailing list format and it all feels a bit
> unfamiliar, so I'm probably not thinking through what I need to say (as
> well as ask) as well as I should do.
>
> Both my machines are Windows 10.
>
> I am on GnuCash version 2.6.3 on my old machine ... and to be honest had
> no idea that there were any other versions available.  I'm guessing that
> that will be likely to have been the version available when I first used
> the old laptop.
>
> I installed the new version of GnuCash on my new(er) laptop OK, but that
> was a 'fresh install'.  What do I need to do on the old machine ... do I do
> the same thing & then import the data files using the new version (i.e. do
> I end up with 2 versions of GnuCash or does it upgrade the version I am
> currently using to the latest version?).
>
> Also, are you able to advise whether the standard save process saves the
> preferences and saved reports as well as the data file, or whether I need
> to do something extra to save/export them please?
>
>
> Regards
>
>
> Deborah
>
> On Wed, 14 Dec 2022 at 20:46, David H <hellvee at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi Deborah and welcome to Gnucash.
>>
>> When posting, always include your OS and current version of Gnucash as it
>> matters and we don't want to be making too many assumptions and also what
>> your new pc OS is.
>> For config file Locations - read (and bookmark) the wiki -
>> https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Configuration_Locations
>> For Backup details - https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Backup
>> For update notifications make sure you subscribe to this mailing list
>> (gnucash-user).
>>
>> Assuming you are on Windows, I get by by saving my Gnucash data file
>> (Documents >> Gnucash >> <filename>.gnucash),
>>    my preferences (xxxxx.gnucash.scm) and
>>    if you have customised and saved any reports your saved reports file
>> (<user name> >> AppData >> Roaming >> GnuCash >> saved-reports-2.8 -
>> depending on how old your Gnucash is it might be called saved-reports-2.4)
>>
>> As far as upgrading to version 4.12 I would save my data file on the old
>> machine and upgrade to the latest version on the old machine and then
>> transfer the updated Gnucash data file across to the new pc.
>>
>> What version of Gnucash are you running - depending on how old it is
>> there is a series of steps you need to go through to upgrade to the latest
>> version ?
>>
>> Hope this helps,
>>
>> Regards David H
>>
>> On Thu, 15 Dec 2022 at 05:52, Deborah Millington <djm8445 at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hello, I'm looking for a bit of help please.  I've used GnuCash for many
>>> years on a laptop which is now struggling to keep going.  I've got a
>>> newer
>>> (second hand) laptop and need to do a one off transfer of my GnuCash
>>> files
>>> to it so I can use it instead in future.  I'm familiar with backing up my
>>> files, so I know I can locate them on my old laptop.  I've also installed
>>> GnuCash on my new laptop.  Here are the things I need help with:
>>> (a) I should be able to copy my data files to my new laptop and open them
>>> using GnuCash.  However, I'm sure I've seen something saying that there
>>> are
>>> lots of other settings/config which aren't transferred this way.  Can you
>>> tell me what these are & how I update them on the new laptop to match
>>> what
>>> is one the old one please?
>>> (b) In doing the installation, I've discovered that I have been using an
>>> old version of GnuCash.  Is it worth me backing up my current data file
>>> on
>>> the old version, then installing the new version on the old laptop &
>>> updating the data file before transferring it, or if I just put the data
>>> in
>>> its existing format onto the new computer will it open the old version
>>> data
>>> in the new version of software OK & allow me to save the data against the
>>> new software version?
>>> (c) What do I need to do to ensure I get notifications of future updates?
>>>
>>> I have checked the help as much as I can before posting this.  I've seen
>>> a
>>> few related posts, but nothing which has specifically addressed all
>>> aspects
>>> of my query.  All help appreciated.  Thank you.
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> gnucash-user at gnucash.org
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>>>
>>
>
> --
> *Debbie Millington*
>
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