[GNC] reports not working unless exported

[Michael or Penny Novack]

On 1/14/2023 4:49 PM, Phyllis Bruce wrote:
> Okay, I can't stand it anymore.  I don't know what ubuntu is, or flatpak,
> or a host of other terms you use.  I run windows and the latest version.
> Embarrassed that I've not looked to documentation, but would that help me
> or do I need to know?
>
> I will go to documentation to learn about the tax report.  There is
> obviously something I'm not seeing but I did notice that when I chose
> "Report Options" Start and end of accounting period, last year I got one
> expense category for 2022.  I have so far been unable to add other income
> or expense categories.  I know it's in the documentation and I will find it.

a) It might be slightly counterintuitive, but with gnucash you first run 
a report and THEN (once the report exists) get to edit the report 
(select desired options. What I suggest, if new to gnucash, for each 
report you plan to run, try it (tell gnucash to run the report) and then 
use edit => report options to set all the options you want (for example, 
the effective date(s) of the report.

    I strongly suggest (whenever dates are involved) that you use 
explicit dates instead of things like "current accounting period" 
because what THAT is will depend on the "real time" of when you are 
running the report. Thus if on New Year's Eve I ran a report for 
"current accounting period" I would get the report for 2022 but if I ran 
it tonight I would not. Since you mention the Tax Report, if I ran that, 
I would NEVER expect to be running it for the "current accounting period"

b) What do you mean by the term "category". Because some other popular 
software (not double entry bookkeeping) might use this term in a 
particular way does not mean that gnucash does.

Michael D Novack