[GNC] two instances on different books

[John Layman]

There is no problem with having multiple instances of GnuCash running at the
same time.  I do so rather frequently for personal and business books.  My
wife and I are self-employed and transactions such as capital contributions
and draws or guaranteed distributions have related entries in both books.
Note, too, that it is a simple matter in Windows to create "shortcuts" that
launch GnuCash and specify the book to be opened.  And BTW, I don't believe
GnuCash restricts you to keeping all data files in one directory.  I happen
to do so, but frankly find all the complaining about clutter to be
ludicrous.  GnuCash names logs and backup files such that it is simple
matter to distinguish the wheat from the chaff (so to speak).  The amount of
backup to be retained is configurable, and DIY solutions to ostensible
clutter are trivial.

-----Original Message-----
From: gnucash-user <gnucash-user-bounces+john.layman=ieee.org at gnucash.org>
On Behalf Of Brook Milligan via gnucash-user
Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2024 11:36 AM
To: Ken Pyzik <pyz01 at outlook.com>
Cc: gnucash-user at gnucash.org
Subject: Re: [GNC] two instances on different books


> On Aug 14, 2024, at 9:29 AM, Ken Pyzik <pyz01 at outlook.com> wrote:
>
> Just out of curiosity, what is the difference between what you are wanting
to do and just doing a FILE - OPEN - BOOK2 from a single instance?
>
> Seems to me that the only real difference is that when GnuCash opens, it
automatically opens the last book it was working from.  So, that being the
case, what you are suggesting is to make sure then when you open any
specific instance of GnuCash - that it is opening the specific book you want
(e.g., instance 1 opens Book 1 and Instance 2 opens Book 2).  Other than
that, I cannot see what purpose having two instances does.

Fair question.

I have a situation in which I have to manage a pair of books, one from the
perspective of each side of some of the transactions.  An example would be
if I am managing books for both a company and a customer, but in my case the
two entities are much more closely coupled than suggested by that example.
Because some (many) of the transactions must be entered in both books yet
refer to the same activity, I was thinking that having both open at once
would allow immediate checking that transactions match, simply by looking
from one window to the other.

If I cannot see (and work with) both at once, then the data entry/validation
process would be much more cumbersome.  (And yes, I fully understand the
need to know which window is which.)

Other solutions are welcome, of course, but this one seemed pretty
straightforward, at least barring any technical blocks.

Cheers,
Brook

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