[GNC] new to Gnucash - help with general information

[Adrien Monteleone]

Donna,

Others have sufficiently answered, but I'll add some points about backups:

There is the maxim, for least risk, that if your data does not exist in 
three places, on three different types of media, you can consider it 
'not existing at all.'

That might be extreme for some folks. As noted, your appetite for risk 
will determine your backup strategy and methods.

If you have your data on your computer, that's one location and one type 
of media. (the internal drive most likely)

If you make a copy on removable media like a USB drive, (larger drive, 
or thumb/key) that's another, but for better protection this should be 
stored at a different physical location. (or easily taken with you if 
you must leave the main location of your computer for some emergency) On 
this point, do not confound a laptop as a main computer with this second 
location because it is portable. You should have at least one other copy.

If you then also utilize a cloud (just someone else's computer) backup 
service, this gives you a third location. Cloud Backup services, due to 
the nature of their product, *also* backup their/your data, and use 
methods to avoid data loss due to failed drives. (data centers employ 
arrays of drives, they constantly test their drives, and the replace 
them regularly - far more than 99.9999% of regular users do)

As for *types* of media, consider that your computer and any 
external/removable drives will employ magnetic storage and contain 
electronics. These are susceptible to of course, strong magnets, 
electrical surges, water, & fire damage.

While not as common these days, optical media, such as CD, DVD, & 
BlueRay, while of course still susceptible to fire damage, have no 
issues with water or magnets. (or other electronic failure) Though the 
drive needed to read them will be vulnerable, it is of course more 
replaceable than your data. There are 'archival' quality discs available 
for long term storage. I probably wouldn't go to that expense for 
'current' financial data, but I certainly would consider it for things 
like photos and scanned legal documents. More transient backups, like my 
GnuCash data file, are fine on cheap CDs or DVDs. (the choice there is 
just a matter of storage capacity versus cost)



Regards,
Adrien

On 9/10/22 1:37 PM, grambo 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?
> 
> 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)
> 
> 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.
> 
> 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.
> 
> 5.	Back ups - I have read a lot about the back ups but still unsure
> what to do.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.