[GNC] column width help

[Ken Pyzik]

Adrian — LOL!!  Would MS listen??

This is probably the best explanation I have had from anyone regarding the odd behavior of the column widths in the register.   Yes, I agree with you on all counts, except the description field behavior.  For me, I would prefer it do nothing and allow me to control how large or small I want it.

And, yes, making the software more QuickBooks-like is not for my liking either.  I prefer the register entry method.  My only beef is that the behavior should be a simple - I move the columns to the spacing I want and they stay just like that.  I don't want any auto-sizing - auto fitting or anything automated.  Not asking for much — just let me set the column widths to my liking and leave them be!   But as I said before — it's just an annoyance you get used to (or not!) and you live with because the software does everything else you want it to.  Again — just my two cents (and I think we would get a lot less questions regarding column width sizing).

Ken
________________________________
From: gnucash-user <gnucash-user-bounces+pyz01=outlook.com at gnucash.org> on behalf of Adrien Monteleone <adrien.monteleone at lusfiber.net>
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2025 7:28 AM
To: gnucash-user at lists.gnucash.org <gnucash-user at lists.gnucash.org>
Subject: Re: [GNC] column width help

I think the issue is one of expectation of habit from familiarity.

The registers are laid out in grids. Not all grids are 'spreadsheets'.

But because people are familiar with them and have developed a habit of
working a certain way with the most predominant of them, they are
confused when a different piece of software doesn't work the same way.
Even among spreadsheets this is an issue — LibreOffice doesn't work the
same way everywhere like Excel does, neither Lotus 1-2-3, or Quattro, or
even Excel for DOS vs. Excel for Windows. All software has learning
curves, and each take their own approach to similar functionality.

Alternatively, the devs could re-write GnuCash to make the register look
like something else entirely, such as what QuickBooks does. You don't
even really get to a use a 'register' regularly there, but have to enter
everything in special windows depending on the transaction type. The
'register' is more for simply viewing.

I don't know that many GnuCash users would be a fan of that approach,
but it would also solve the 'expectation of habit from familiarity' with
respect to sizing columns.

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I find the Balance column autofit to be quite intuitive and helpful. You
don't have to muck with dragging lines, the double-click will make sure
all digits are visible. Modern spreadsheets also have this function,
though it may not always be via double-clicking the header.

I also think the choice of Description being the 'odd-ball' is the best
one of the column choices available. It is the only one I wouldn't
terribly mind if it was truncated a bit due to window width if I didn't
want to scroll. Of all the other columns, I always want to see 100% of
their data.

Providing at least one column to auto-fill out the width and also not
trigger a scroll bar, without me having to tediously re-size columns
precisely, is a neat feature.

Excel doesn't have it. Maybe I should file a bug with MS? Oh wait...



Regards,
Adrien

On 11/15/25 11:01 PM, R Losey wrote:
> I often use double-clicking in Excel to auto-adjust width, and that's
> exactly what GnuCash does -- except that GnuCash allows one to double-click
> the header for the final column, and the special handling of the
> "Description" column.  Whether or not the Description field should be they
> way it is could be discussed.
>
> But aside from that quirk, I find it very Excel-like.

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