[GNC] GUID Register Codes

[Jim DeLaHunt]

Stephen:

I can't answer your question fully, but I can give you some insight.

"GUID" stands for "Globally Unique Identifier". Each GUID is a large 
number, which is generated in such a way that it is highly likely to be 
different than any other GUID generated on any computer at any time 
according to the same rules. On the other hand, the same GUID value 
might show up in multiple places. Sometimes software developers generate 
a GUID and embed it their code, so that everyone gets a copy of the same 
GUID value. Another name for GUID is UUID, meaning "Universally" instead 
of "Globally".

GUIDs are written to SQL databases, but they are not a creature of SQL. 
GnuCash also generates them when the book file is stored in XML form (as 
a ".gnucash" file).   And, because they are globally unique, it is 
likely that your book contains different GUIDs than anybody else's book. 
Each account has a GUID associated, but there is no reason to believe 
that anyone else will have the same GUIDs for their accounts as you have 
for yours.

I don't have an easy way to find out which GUID corresponds what account 
or other object. My way of doing that is to save my book as an XML file, 
open the file with a text editor, and search for the GUID value. 
Somewhere in the file will be data which defines the account, and it 
will include the GUID value and account name in close proximity. But 
that may or may not be the best way for you to proceed.

Best regards,
     —Jim DeLaHunt

On 2023-12-29 15:30, Stephen wrote:
> The previous postings about "Balance Column Lost" have led me to ask 
> about GUID register codes as I repaired some column width problems. By 
> trial and error I was able to modify the .GCM file to repair the width 
> of a couple of columns that I had narrowed (not to 0 or 1 but 5). 
> Adrien Monteleone's guidance worked very well although scrolling 
> looking for a small width was faster than a search after 0 and 1 
> produced no results. So Thanks!  I am still stumped by the registries 
> GUID codes. How can I find out which register is referenced by each of 
> the GUID codes, please? I have a feeling that it may have something to 
> do with SQL but that too has eluded me in past efforts open SQL files 
> and make any sense of it. Appreciate any guidance...the more simple 
> the better! Thank you.
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