[GNC] Gnucash 5.13 not saving Chart of Account preferences

[Stan Brown (using GC 4.14)]

On 2025-10-14 08:57, aeg via gnucash-user wrote:
> I have just installed Gnucash version 5.13 (Build ID: 5.13+(2025-09-27) on a new PC running Windows 11 Professional, and have brought my data files over from my old Windows 10 laptop.
> The data file opens without any problems, and I've been through the process of setting up the Preferences as I normally have them, including the CoA columns I prefer to use, but when I save the file and exit, the column selection and layout is lost, so when I next open the file, the columns have reset to default, whereas the other settings I selected in "Preferences" are saved as expected.
> Am I missing something?

Alan, I suspect a permissions issue.

The Account panel setup is stored in your GCM file, in a subfolder under
Appdata. (Preferences are stored in your system registry, which is why a
permissions issue in Appdata would not affect saving preferences.)

Make sure you have write access to your GCM file. Here's how:

1. Make sure GnuCash is not running. Open File Explorer, and in the
address bar at the top enter
	%APPDATA%\GnuCash
including the percent signs as shown.

2. In that folder, right-click the books folder and select properties.
Look at the box to the left of "Read only" and verify that it does _not_
contain a check mark. If it does, click in the box to remove the check
mark, then click OK. (A black square in the box is probably not an
issue. I have one, as it happens.)

3. Double-left-click the books folder. In the panel that opens, look for
the same name as your data file, possibly followed by ".gcm".
Right-click on that file and select Properties. Verify that the "Read
only" is empty. If there's a check mark, un-check it and click OK.

4. If neither the folder or the file was read only, please post back to
the list with an update. On the other hand, if one or both was, and you
made them not read only, try again GnuCash again and see if now your
changes to the Accounts pane are saved. Please let us know in the
mailing list.


Stan Brown
Tehachapi, CA, USA
https://BrownMath.com