[GNC] How to get debug to work (saying "uncle")

[Steve Conley]

I have been trying for 5 days now to chunk Quicken and start using gnucash.
ANY CLUES will be sincerely appreciated.

The immediate problem I am trying to solve:
Quicken export to qif of accounts/categories "seems" to complete - but
nothing visible in gnucash.
Quicken export to qif of tranactions seems to work also.  (large).

*But gnucash import of even a limited qif data to 2001, gets to the final
import stage and gnucash dies with no error.  Sometime in late QIF import -
before matching step.*

Naturally I try to get a debug log but the ONLY way I was able to make
anything happen was

(I pulled the startup command from the .desktop entry):
/usr/bin/flatpak run --branch=stable --arch=x86_64 --command=gnucash
--file-forwarding org.gnucash.GnuCash --debug
(and added --debug)

This does not put a trace/debug file anywhere I can find. Definitely not in
/tmp.

I next tried specifying the logto option with /tmp/gnucash.trace or
~/gnucash.trace
The trace goes neither place.

Running this:
/usr/bin/flatpak run --command=gnucash --file-forwarding
org.gnucash.GnuCash --debug gcashdata_3.gnucash

(I had to remove the branch and arch options that are in the desktop entry
(which I copied from above) to even get his outputof warnings)

and then doing the qif import, results in about 40 lines of:
(gnucash:2): Gtk-WARNING **: timestamp: Negative content width -2147483648
.... while allocating gadget (node progress, owner GtkProgressBar)
and
(gnucash:2): Gtk-WARNING **: timestamp: Drawing a gadget with negative
dimensions. did you forget to allocate a size? (node progress, owner
GtkProgressBar)

Whether this results in the actual crash, I have no idea.

OTHER BACKGROUND ON WAY TO HERE ...

Whenever gnucash is started, I get the Gtk messages as follows:
Gtk-Message: timestamp" Failed to load module "appmenu-gtk-module"
Gtk-Message: timestamp" Failed to load module "canberra-gtk-module"
Gtk-Message: timestamp" Failed to load module "canberra-gtk-module"

I tried all manner of suggestions of loading appmenu-gtk/2/3 and
libcanberra-gtk/2/3 etcand reinstalling each. all said they were installed
and all re-installs also completed without error.
But did not get rid of the messge.

The machine is a core-i3 with 4GB of RAM and a large drive - so space
should not be an issue.
But it is an Inspiron 13 - set at 1080p resoultion.

Why GNCash ...
I like what I see and have read the pdfs of documentation and played around
with examples.
(BTW, I am a 49 year - before retiring veteran of computer science with a
PhD in Comp Sci and Electronics.  I have 6 Xubuntu Linux machines at  home
in addition to a couple of hated Win10 achines.)

So I have 23 years of history in my Quicken data.
I have run the Quicken Repair options, and they say all is well.

Quicken (latest) export to qxf crashes.    So I can't try gnucash import of
qxf.

First I am running for this machine Pop!_OS versus Xubuntu as it will be my
wife's and she is better with GUI.
AND I have ordered a System76 Pop!_OS laptop to replace my failing (screen)
Dell Inspiron 15.