[GNC] Change Linked Document Path

Jim DeLaHunt list+gnucash at jdlh.com
Fri Sep 2 16:45:14 EDT 2022


Geoff:

On 2022-09-01 20:04, Geoff Storer wrote:
> Ok, thanks.
>
> This is my first post!!
>
> On Fri, Sep 2, 2022 at 8:16 AM Jim DeLaHunt <list+gnucash at jdlh.com> wrote:
>
>> Geoff:
>>
>> One tenet of GnuCash-user email list etiquette is to cc the gnucash-user
>> email list on all replies. We want this discussion to take place on the
>> list.
>>
>> Thus I am replying to you, and cc'ing the list, so that the thread stays
>> on the list.  I will reply to this message from the email that reaches me
>> via the list.
>>      —Jim DeLaHunt

Thank you for replying to the list. I will carry on the conversation via 
a reply to the list.

Back in your initial message, you said,

>> ...My problem now is that [GnuCash] looks for the attached document in
>> the windows document folder on the C Drive. ...

Let's dig into that a little bit.

Q: what exactly do you see that is not working for you? What do you see 
that makes you say, "[GnuCash] looks for the attached document in the 
windows document folder"?

Q: When you open your GnuCash accounts book, and find a transaction with 
an attached document, what GnuCash operations do you do, in order to 
open or find that document?

Q: In that transaction, what does GnuCash display as the location of the 
document? (This is important, because the exact spelling will show us if 
the document path is relative or absolute.)


>> I have tried editing the preferences in [GnuCash] to point to the correct location of the
>> documents on the alternate partition but this doesn't automatically link to the
>> document.
>>
>> ...I did try a feature as per the attached screenshot [of the Change Linked Document path head dialogue] without any success.

Q: What specifically did you try in GnuCash to point to the correct 
location of the documents? What do you mean by "editing the preferences"?

Q: What did the preferences say before you made this change?

Q: What do the preferences say now?

And, because I forgot the first time:

Q: What version of GnuCash are you using?  (I suspect it is not 4.9, 
because I have 4.9 and I do not see a UI like you posted in the 
screenshot of your earlier message.)


>> On 2022-09-01 03:57, Geoff Storer wrote:
>>
>> Hi Jim
>>
>> Thanks for coming back to me. Sorry I have taken so long to respond.
>>
>> In answer to your questions:
>>
>> Q: Are you familiar with the difference in behaviour between relative file
>> paths and absolute file paths?
>>
>> Ans; No this is not one of my strong points
>>
>> Q: Are you familiar with the difference in spelling (C:\ prefixes and
>> backslashes etc.) between relative file paths and absolute file paths?
>>
>> Ans:  No
>>
>> Q:  In your GnuCash Book (bookkeeping file), have you associated files to
>> transactions using relative path File Associations, absolute path File
>> Associations,  or Location Associations?
>>
>> Ans: I think the answer here is relative path. What I actually did in GNU
>> was:
>> Edit / preferences / General / Linked Files and with the drop down arrow
>> selected the folder location of my invoices
>> The reason I say "relative path" is because GNU program details on the
>> referenced edit field the comment
>> "Path head for Linked Files Relative Paths"
>> The location I selected is -  D:\PDF\GNU Invoices
>>
>> Q:  Were all your attached documents within a single directory on your old
>> computer? Do you know the absolute path to that directory?
>>
>> Ans: Yes all invoices are in the one folder   "D:\PDF\GNU Invoices"  (the
>> output here I copied directly from my explorer view so I should have that
>> correct)
>>
>> Q:  Are all your attached documents within a single directory on your new
>> computer? Do you know the absolute path to that directory?
>>
>> Ans: The invoices are in the exact location as on the initial install of
>> GNU.
>>          I only re-installed windows on the C:\ partition. The other
>> partitions remain exactly as they were
>>          The invoices are in "D:\PDF\GNU Invoices"
>>
>> I hope I have answered all your queries. Let me know if you need any
>> further clarification.
>>
>> Thanks again
>>
>> Regards
>>
>> John Murdoch
>>
>> On Tue, Aug 30, 2022 at 3:46 PM Jim DeLaHunt <list+gnucash at jdlh.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hello, John:
>>>
>>> Your question rings a bell! I did an overhaul on the file associations
>>> on my transactions a couple of years ago.
>>>
>>> On 2022-08-29 04:10, john murdoch wrote:
>>>> ...My problem now is that [GnuCash] looks for the attached document in
>>> the
>>>> windows document folder on the C Drive. I have tried editing the
>>>> preferences in [GnuCash] to point to the correct location of the
>>> documents
>>>> on the alternate partition but this doesn't automatically link to the
>>>> document.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I can then manually link each document by using  the "manage document
>>>> link" function on the right click menu in the account field of GNU
>>>> cash. That  of course will be quite tedious and I was enquiring if
>>>> there is a "global fix" so that all files could be re-linked in one
>>>> procedure? Perhaps editing settings or the system registry?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I did try a feature as per the attached screenshot [of the Change
>>> Linked Document path head dialogue] without any success.
>>>
>>> Well, the Change Linked Document path head dialogue, which your
>>> screenshot showed, is the best tool in GnuCash for this job. However,
>>> you have to know a few things to use it well. I'll bet the UI does not
>>> do a complete job of walking a person through it.
>>>
>>> To set some groundwork, some questions:
>>>
>>> Are you familiar with the difference in behaviour between relative file
>>> paths and absolute file paths?
>>>
>>> Are you familiar with the difference in spelling (C:\ prefixes and
>>> backslashes etc.) between relative file paths and absolute file paths?
>>>
>>> In your GnuCash Book (bookkeeping file), have you associated files to
>>> transactions using relative path File Associations, absolute path File
>>> Associations,  or Location Associations?
>>>
>>> Were all your attached documents within a single directory on your old
>>> computer? Do you know the absolute path to that directory?
>>>
>>> Are all your attached documents within a single directory on your new
>>> computer? Do you know the absolute path to that directory?
>>>
>>> Based on answers to those questions — and once I run GnuCash to refresh
>>> my memory about how the Change Linked Document path head dialogue works,
>>> and once I translate from macOS to Windows in my head — I can try to
>>> help you further.
>>>
>>> Best regards,
>>>        —Jim DeLaHunt
>>>
>>>
>>> Are all your attached documents within a single directory on your new
>>> computer?


Best regards,
      —Jim DeLaHunt



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