[GNC] Removing old transactions

[John Layman]

Sorry to disagree, but this topic is becoming tiresome.  I'd suggest posing
the following search to Propensity to get a page full of explanations why a
deletion tinkertoy is out of place in bookkeeping software: "Negative
reasons against deleting accounting data from a program such as GnuCash,
QuickBooks, or Quicken".  

-----Original Message-----
From: gnucash-user <gnucash-user-bounces+john.layman=ieee.org at gnucash.org>
On Behalf Of Ken Pyzik
Sent: Friday, December 19, 2025 9:26 AM
To: adrien.monteleone at lusfiber.net; gnucash-user at lists.gnucash.org
Subject: Re: [GNC] Removing old transactions

Adrien -- sorry to disagree - but I do disagree.  Some people like a clean
record of one year's worth of financial data.  Plain and simple.

Think about this -- I know people who have their tax returns back to when
they first started working.  For what?? To reminisce about the old days??
What purpose does it serve to have eons of old data or paper records that
you will NEVER reference.

Now as for basis -- absolutely you need it!  I could not agree more.
Anything that can tell me what an asset cost 10-20 years ago -it always
helpful.  But to me - THAT is the one use-case for KEEPING old financial
records.  All the expenses and income records -- NEEDLESS CLUTTER  (unless
you are a business or have other regulatory requirements).

Everyone has a different objective and a different perspective.  I know many
people who are hoarders of records and I know many who are minimalists.
I've seen hundreds of people not even take a receipt when they buy a cup of
coffee, yet, have hundreds of file folders filled with useless information.
I on the other hand keep EVERY receipt I ever get -- but clean files out
almost monthly.   So not only do you have a difference of record keeping
between people -- you have a difference of record keeping within a single
person's style!  Neither is right or wrong.  They each have their
preference, which is, what it is.

Here's the bottom line.  I think it would be great addition to the software
to have a record archive routine that would allow you to either purge or
extract old records for whatever purpose you need.

--- Speaking of which, many do no realize that GNU keeps several backups -
SOOO........ inherit within that already existing routine IS a way to
segregate records.  You just have to know how to manipulate the backups to
do what you want -- and keep then in a separate folder so GNU does not erase
them.  That procedure combined with the either the above routine I mentioned
OR the delete transaction HOT key sequence I mentioned before, could be used
to cull records as needed.  So, technically where there is a will -- this is
a way.  You just need to be a little more creative.

Ken

------ Original Message ------
From "Adrien Monteleone" <adrien.monteleone at lusfiber.net> To
gnucash-user at lists.gnucash.org Date 12/18/2025 8:12:25 PM Subject Re: [GNC]
Removing old transactions

>I don't understand the desire to filter 'old' transactions.
>
>Why is their very existence some sort of 'stain' that needs to be hidden?
>
>Are they hurting anything? Do they somehow get in the way of something?
>
>Do folks regularly scroll through ancient transactions and get miff'd that
'old' stuff is there to scroll through?
>
>I guess I'm not seeing a use-case for getting rid of data.
>
>
>Regards,
>Adrien
>
>On 12/18/25 3:50 PM, Stan Brown (using GC 4.14) wrote:
>>For what it's worth, I would love to see a global filtering option, 
>>possibly in the preferences under Register Defaults. Then I could set 
>>the global filter to hide, say, everything older than 2024, and it 
>>would be done. That leaves me with the option to remove the filter on 
>>an individual account when I need to look at something older, or of 
>>course I could just run a transaction report.
>>
>>It's too tedious set the same filter on a couple of hundred individual 
>>accounts.
>
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