[GNC] Recent changes regarding transactions

[Mark Bourne]

Having pressed Enter to complete the description, I can then press the 
down arrow to move into the notes and transaction details (I usually 
have the view set to double-line and transaction journal).  I'm not sure 
how to do it (if there is a way) with both single-line and basic ledger 
views set, but in that case I wouldn't have thought it that difficult to 
just type over the autocompleted values in the other fields - 
particularly as the content of each field is selected as you tab through 
them, so just typing will replace whatever is already there.

Mark.


Tom Route36 wrote:
> Hi Mark,
> 
> I find AutoComplete useful also -- but mainly for completing the 
> Description, not the whole transaction.  In my case, the Description 
> field gets repeated extensively.  But the actual transaction is usually 
> radically different each time.  That's why I'd like to see a user option 
> to AutoComplete the Description field ONLY.
> 
> But that leads me to a question about your suggestions here.  If you 
> select an item and press Enter to complete just the Description, you're 
> correct that the rest of the transaction remains unfilled -- at least 
> initially.  It's also correct that pressing Escape will cancel the 
> AutoComplete.  And that's great.  But then here's my question:  How do 
> you go about entering the rest of the transaction after you do that?
> 
> If I press Enter to complete just the Description (as you suggest), I 
> then typically hit Tab to enter an amount, or to select a Transfer 
> account.  But if what I just entered into the Description field (with 
> Enter or Escape) happens to match a previously entered transaction, 
> GnuCash still insists on AutoCompleting the transaction.  So how would 
> you stop that from happening -- and be able to enter the rest of the 
> transaction manually?
> 
> Tom
> 
> 
> On 2/20/2026 4:46 AM, Mark Bourne wrote:
>> Apologies for resurrecting a thread from a couple of weeks ago, but 
>> I've just noticed that in GnuCash 5.14, when I start typing in the 
>> description and a list of autocomplete suggestions comes up, I can 
>> either:
>>
>> - Select an item and press Tab to fill the whole transaction
>> - Select an item and press Enter to complete just the description 
>> (leaving the rest unfilled)
>> - Press Escape to cancel autocomplete and just keep what I've typed
>>
>> Not sure if that's something that's changed in recent versions, but 
>> thought it might help those who don't like the whole transaction being 
>> autocompleted.
>>
>> I'm using GnuCash 5.14 on Linux Mint 22, but installed from the 
>> GnuCash PPA since there's a bug in the version from the Ubuntu/Mint 
>> repositories that makes scheduled transactions unusable.
>>
>> Personally I find autocomplete quite useful for entering transactions 
>> similar to previous ones, but not on a fixed schedule (so not suitable 
>> for scheduled transactions).  Unlike "Duplicate Transaction", I don't 
>> need to find a previous example to copy, I just start typing the 
>> description and autocomplete it.
>>
>> Mark.
>>
>>
>> Tom Route36 wrote:
>>> I'm not a fan of AutoFill actually filling in the whole transaction. 
>>> But I kinda like having AutoFill fill in JUST the Description field 
>>> -- and leaving the rest of the transaction blank. The way I do that 
>>> is by entering something (anything at all) into the Notes field 
>>> BEFORE typing anything into the Description field. Then when I do 
>>> start typing into the Description field, AutoFill will fill in ONLY 
>>> the Description field, rather than the whole transaction.  It seems 
>>> kinda stupid to have to do things in that order; but it's the way I 
>>> work around the AutoFill issue.  Just FYI.
>>>
>>> Tom
>>>
>>>
>>> On 2/7/2026 4:01 PM, Stan Brown (using GC 4.14) wrote:
>>>> On 2026-02-07 14:11, Liz wrote:
>>>>> This autofill feature remains contentious. Suggestions on how to
>>>>> improve it would help overall.
>>>>>
>>>>> Personally I would turn it off if that option was available.
>>>> I agree wholeheartedly. If I want to duplicate a transaction, I can use
>>>> the Duplicate button.
>>>>
>>>> The annoyance of the mandatory autofill, when it's not actually wanted
>>>> the majority of the time, is enough to keep me, reluctantly, from
>>>> upgrading to 5.x.
>>>>
>>>> Stan Brown
>>>> Tehachapi, CA, USA
>>>> https://BrownMath.com/
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