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== [[GnuCash]] on Microsoft Windows ==
+
= [[GnuCash]] on Microsoft Windows =
  
−
This page collects various notes about compiling [[GnuCash]] on Microsoft Windows. See [[Windows/Old_Notes]] for old, solved issues.
+
This page collects various notes about running [[GnuCash]] on Microsoft Windows.
 +
 
 +
=== Q: Which Windows versions are supported? ===
 +
;Answer: The [{{URL:www}}/download.phtml download page] shows, which Windows version is officially supported by which GnuCash version.
 +
:;Note: ''Windows 3/95/98/Me'' and ''Windows NT3.5/4.0'' have never been supported.
  
 
=== Q: Where is the binary installer? ===
 
=== Q: Where is the binary installer? ===
−
'''A:''' Here: https://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=192 This is the '''stable version''' and should be used by anyone who cares about their data.
+
'''A:''' The latest versions can be downloaded from the [{{{{URL:www}}}}/download.phtml download] page on the GnuCash website. Anyone who cares about their data should use the '''released version''' found there.
−
* As it is not so easy to build GnuCash under Windows, there is additionaly a weekly build of the ''stable branch'' at [http://code.gnucash.org/builds/win32/2.4/ http://code.gnucash.org/builds/win32/2.4/] for the '''testing''' of bugfixes.
+
:People looking to test new features - at the risk of running into extra bugs - could try a '''test version''':
−
* For the ''unstable branch'', which contains new features - and bugs - there is currently no recent installer at sourceforge, but there are the [[#Q:_Are_there_nightly_builds.3F|nightly builds]].
+
:* As it is not so easy to build GnuCash under Windows, a daily build of the [{{URL:Build:Win}} stable branch] is made available as well to '''test''' bugfixes.
 +
:* To closely follow development on the ''future branch'', which contains new features - and bugs - there are the [[#Q:_Are_there_nightly_builds.3F|nightly builds]]. Expect data loss if you try these though!
 +
 
 +
=== Q: Is it possible to compile GnuCash on Windows? ===
 +
'''A:''' Yes. It's cumbersome, but possible. See the instructions in [[Building_on_Windows| Building on Windows]].
  
 
=== Q: Are there nightly builds? ===
 
=== Q: Are there nightly builds? ===
−
'''A:''' Yes! For the unstable branch which contains new features (and potentially new bugs) there is an installer from nightly builds at http://code.gnucash.org/builds/win32/trunk/
+
'''A:''' We run nightly builds for the '''stable''' (former <q>maint</q>) and after implmenting its first feature the '''future''' (former <q>master</q>) branch, but it's configured so that it runs only if changes have been pushed since the last build and only if the build is successful; they do fail from time to time. You can find the last 6-12 month's worth of builds at  
−
 
+
{{BuildURL}}/builds/win32/
−
=== Q: Which Windows versions are supported? ===
+
or, more specifically, for [{{URL:Build:Win}}?C=M;O=D stable], on demand for [{{URL:Build:Win|future}}?C=M;O=D future], and [{{URL:Build:Win|build-logs}}?C=M;O=D logs for all builds].
−
'''A:''' All versions starting with Windows XP are supported. Windows Vista and Windows 7 are supported as well. If you encounter any errors on Windows 7, please report them through [[Bugzilla]]. Not supported is Windows 98 and Windows 2000 (anymore, since 2.3.10). Sorry for that.
 
  
−
=== Q: Is it possible to compile GnuCash on Windows? ===
+
The product of the nightly builds is a Windows installer that will ''replace your existing GnuCash installation''. The future branch ''really is unstable'': Be sure to have suitable backups and don't use it for your "production" books.
−
'''A:''' It is possible, certainly, since you can run GnuCash on Windows.  However, at this point it is essentially not practical to compile GnuCash on Windows.  The instructions below are out of date and at best misleading.  Perhaps whoever considers removing this dour assessment will take the time to actually try these instructions and update them.
 
  
 
=== Q: Anything else? ===
 
=== Q: Anything else? ===
−
To avoid making the binary even bigger, some functionality is not available without further downloads and installations of software.
+
To avoid making the installer file even bigger, some functionality is not available without further downloads and installations of software.
  
−
==== Finance::Quote ====
+
==== Preferences in GnuCash 2.6 and more recent ====
−
For online retrieval of price quotes, you will need to install Perl and Finance::Quote.  Download and install [http://www.activestate.com/store/activeperl ActivePerl 5.8 or 5.10]. Use 32-bit version, even on 64-bit Windows. If prompted, you don't have to provide contact details, just choose the MSI installer for your system. Then, use the start menu item  "Install Online Price Retrieval" from the GnuCash group to install the necessary Perl modules and verify the setup.
+
gconf has been replaced with another preferences system. On Windows you  
 +
will find the preferences directly in the Windows Registry under the
 +
registry key
 +
  HKEY_CURRENT_USER/software/GSettings/org/gnucash/
  
−
On versions 2.2.6 and before, you will have to use ActivePerl 5.8.  The menu item on older versions is "Install Finance-Quote."
+
==== Pdf name for invoices ====
  
−
==== 2.2.0 only: Online Banking Setup Druid (needs Qt) ====
+
This name is controlled by two hidden preferences:
 +
* pdf-export/filename-format
 +
* pdf-export/filename-date-format
  
−
In the gnucash-2.2.0 package, you have to install an extra package for the online banking setup. In newer packages (2.2.1 and higher) this is no longer necessary and you should ignore the rest of this section.
+
Both of them will reside in the registry under
 +
HKEY_CURRENT_USER/software/GSettings/org/gnucash/dialogs/general/report
  
−
In the 2.2.0 package: For the Online Banking Setup Druid (AqBanking), you have to download the library "Qt" from [http://www.trolltech.com/developer/downloads/qt/windows Trolltech].  Download the latest package <tt>qt-win-opensource-4.x.y-mingw.exe</tt> (where x.y is some version number) and install it. '''Don't do this for gnucash-2.2.1 or higher, as this ships with its own version of the Qt libraries in the gnucash/bin directory!'''
+
These won't be there by default (only values that deviate from the default
 +
value will be effectively in the registry). To change it you will first
 +
have to create a sub key named '''pdf-export''.
  
−
After the installation completed, additionally you need to add the "bin" subdirectory of the newly installed Qt library (e.g. <tt>C:\Qt\4.2.3\bin</tt>) to your "PATH" environment variable. How to do this on Windows XP is described [http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310519 here].
+
Under this key you can create two string type keys named '''filename-format'''
 +
and '''filename-date-format'''.
  
−
=== Instructions for an (almost) automated build ===
+
This is the definition of these two string keys:
−
These instructions explain how you can compile and run GnuCash on MS Windows by yourself. This is achieved by using the
+
;filename-format
−
mingw32/gcc compiler environment. (If you want to use the Visual Studio compiler, see the sub-project [[Cutecash]], but the instructions below must be followed first as well.)
+
:This setting chooses the file name for PDF export. This is a sprintf(3) string with three arguments: "%1$s" is the report name such as "Invoice". "%2$s" is the number of the report, which for an invoice report is the invoice number. "%3$s" is the date of the report, formatted according to the filename-date-format setting. (Note: Any characters that are not allowed in filenames, such as '/', will be replaced with underscores '_' in the resulting file name.)<br/>The default value is %1$s-%2$s-%3$s
  
−
We've created a shell script that will download, compile, and install
+
;filename-date-format
−
all requirements of GnuCash on Windows and eventually GnuCash itself. It will even retrieve the most up-to-date gnucash source codedirectly from SVN. Running this script will probably download ~200MB of data (but all downloaded data will be cached) and will take anything
+
:This setting chooses the way dates are used in the filename of PDF export. Possible values for this setting are "locale" to use the system locale setting, "ce" for Continental Europe style dates, "iso" for ISO 8601 standard dates , "uk" for United Kingdom style dates, and "us" for United States style dates.
−
between 0.5 through 5 hours of time. That shell script is located in
 
−
packaging/win32/install.sh of the gnucash [[SVN]] sources.  
 
  
−
Windows XP or Windows Vista is strongly recommended for building Gnucash using install.sh (see below). Windows 2000 support is dropped starting from GnuCash 2.3.10, older versions of Windows are not supported.
+
==== Finance::Quote ====
 +
For the retrieval of [[Online Quotes]], you will need to install [{{URL:wp}}Perl Perl] and Finance::Quote (F::Q). See [[Online_Quotes#Installing_Perl_on_Windows|Installing Perl on Windows]].
  
−
In the following discussion, the c:\soft root folder should be replaced by whatever GLOBAL_DIR value you specified in your custom.sh (see below for custom.sh).  Replacing the drive letter in GLOBAL_DIR works fine with minor complaints, but replacing "soft" may lead to problems.
+
== GnuCash via Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 ==
  
−
When installing packages in the script, it is strongly recommended that the expected locations are specified. Example: msys in c:\soft\msys.
+
For the adventurous user, it is also possible to install and use GnuCash via the Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2 in short). The following notes were taken from a message to the gnucash-devel mailing list by user Sherlock:
  
−
Before you can execute this shell script (which will do everything else automatically), you have to complete these steps manually:
+
=== Install WSL as Administrator ===
  
−
* Get the contents of the packaging/win32/ directory of gnucash [[SVN]], most up-to-date [http://svn.gnucash.org/repo/gnucash/trunk/packaging/win32/ from SVN], and copy it to some directory on your Windows machine. Do not use a directory that is one of the parent directories of the path you intend to use for the repository in the next step (c:\soft\gnucash\repos by default). A strongly recommended location is c:\soft\packaging.
+
<syntaxhighlight lang="sh">
 +
wsl —install
 +
</syntaxhighlight>
  
−
* Take a look at the comments at the top of <tt>defaults.sh</tt> and optionally create a file <tt>custom.sh</tt> to specify directories according to your preferences; the defaults would install everything in subdirectories below c:\soft. (Note that due to shell syntax, every windows-style backslash has to be specified as two backslashes.) Do not modify defaults.sh; make a custom.sh.
 
  
−
* Download the "MSYS" package from https://sourceforge.net/downloads/mingw  -> MSYS -> Base -> msys-core -> msys-1.0.11 -> MSYS-1.0.11.exe [http://sourceforge.net/projects/mingw/files/MSYS/Base/msys-core/msys-1.0.11/MSYS-1.0.11.exe/download Direct Download link]
+
=== Option 1 - Install distributed GnuCash ===
−
* Execute this downloaded package to install it into the chosen directory, say, C:\soft\msys (which is the $MSYS_DIR variable in <tt>defaults.sh</tt>, and is strongly recommended; be sure to override $MSYS_DIR in <tt>custom.sh</tt> if you put it somewhere else.) '''NB: That's ''not'' C:\soft\msys\1.0, just C: \soft\msys!'''
 
  
−
* Download the "wget" package from https://sourceforge.net/downloads/mingw  -> MSYS -> Extension -> wget -> wget-1.12-1 -> wget-1.12-1-msys-1.0.13-bin.tar.lzma [http://sourceforge.net/projects/mingw/files/MSYS/Extension/wget/wget-1.12-1/wget-1.12-1-msys-1.0.13-bin.tar.lzma/download Direct download link] and place the downloaded file in the $DOWNLOAD_DIR in <tt>defaults.sh</tt>
+
<syntaxhighlight lang="sh">
 +
sudo apt -y update
 +
sudo apt -y upgrade
 +
sudo apt -y install python3-gi python3-gi-cairo gir1.2-gtk-3.0
 +
sudo apt -y install adwaita-icon-theme-full
 +
sudo apt -y install gnucash
  
−
* Either:
+
sudo apt -y install make gcc
−
** Skip building the AqBanking Setup Wizard by specifying "AQBANKING_WITH_QT=no" in custom.sh
+
sudo gnc-fq-update
−
** Download Qt from http://trolltech.com/downloads/opensource/appdev, install it, and set QTDIR in <tt>custom.sh</tt>, like "QTDIR=/c/soft/qt-win-opensource-src-4.4.3".  Also, pending integration of [[AqBanking3_Porting]], set "AQBANKING3=no".  To save yourself some pain, get a binary version of QT such as the ones [http://ftp.iasi.roedu.net/mirrors/ftp.trolltech.com/qt/source/ here].  4.2.2 is known to work, though newer versions may work as well.  Upon installation they may warn that mingw is too old (3.2 vs. 3.1) but this doesn't seem to matter.
+
</syntaxhighlight>
−
** Start the MSYS commandline shell by double-clicking the "MSYS" icon on the desktop which should have been created when you installed the MSYS package.
 
  
−
* Let the automated build begin by typing:
 
  
−
  $INSTALLER_DIR/install.sh  (the complete path to the install.sh)
+
=== Option 2 - Install flatpack GnuCash ===
−
  (e.g. /c/soft/packaging/win32/install.sh, or to save the log,
 
−
  /c/soft/packaging/win32/install.sh | tee /c/soft/Build.txt)
 
  
−
* If you get an error about the "tools" directory not existing, just make it (i.e. $GLOBAL_DIR\tools)
+
<syntaxhighlight lang="sh">
 +
sudo apt -y install flatpak
 +
sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
 +
sudo flatpak install --system flathub org.gnucash.GnuCash
 +
</syntaxhighlight>
  
−
* If you get an error about unzip not found, re-run install.sh.  This is also usually the case about packages not found, after they have been installed.
 
  
−
* Some of the downloaded packages are installed through graphical installer dialogs where you can choose an installation directory. In those cases, the install.sh script will tell you in the MSYS window the installation directory that you should choose, according to your settings in <tt>defaults.sh/custom.sh</tt>. Please enter only those installation directory in the installer dialog because otherwise the install.sh script cannot find the newly installed software.
+
=== Option 3 - Set up build environment and build gnucash yourself ===
  
−
* If there haven't been any errors, you should be able (after several hours of compiling and installing) to start gnucash from the MSYS command line by typing
+
Prepare the build environment:
  
−
  c:/soft/gnucash/inst/bin/gnucash
+
<syntaxhighlight lang="sh">
 +
sudo sed -i "s/^# deb-src/deb-src/" /etc/apt/sources.list
 +
sudo apt -y update
 +
sudo apt -y upgrade
 +
sudo apt -y build-dep gnucash
 +
sudo apt -y install git
 +
sudo apt -y install p7zip-full
 +
sudo apt install at-spi2-core
  
−
or even without MSYS directly by "Start"-> "Run"-> "c:\soft\gnucash\inst\bin\gnucash.bat"
+
mkdir -p ~/Documents/gnucash/source
 +
mkdir -p ~/Documents/gnucash/build
  
−
On Windows Vista Home Premiun, open a windows command prompt, "cd \soft\gnucash\inst\bin" and then type
+
git clone https://github.com/Gnucash/gnucash.git ~/Documents/gnucash/source
−
"gnucash-launcher.cmd" 
 
  
−
* If you want to make a distribution executable, execute the following commands in MSYS, after executing install.sh described above.
+
cd ~/Documents/gnucash/source
 +
git checkout 5.4
 +
</syntaxhighlight>
  
−
  rm -rf /c/soft/gnucash/dist
 
−
  /c/soft/packaging/dist.sh
 
  
−
* To start fresh with new package installs and cleaned out environment variables, after messing up the package installs, execute in MSYS, as for install.sh above, then restart your computer to eliminate environment variable problems such as with ACLOCAL:
+
Build instructions:
  
−
  c:/soft/packaging/win32/reset.sh
+
<syntaxhighlight lang="sh">
 +
cd ~/Documents/gnucash/build
 +
cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/opt/gnucash ~/Documents/gnucash/source
 +
make
 +
sudo make install
  
−
* To make modifications to your own source (svn will attempt to merge your changes with the source on the server during the install.sh build), that is in
+
sudo /opt/gnucash/bin/gnc-fq-update
 +
</syntaxhighlight>
  
−
  c:/soft/gnucash/repos/src
+
= Notes =
−
 
+
== Error messages, Trace file ==
−
* If there HAVE been errors, then please report them in the Section [[#Problems, issues, comments|Problems, issues, comments]].
 
−
 
 
−
* When compiled from source, GnuCash will display in the default GTK Raleigh theme.  The GnuCash binary installer defaults to the GTK-Wimp theme, which defers rendering of widgets to Windows for a native look-and-feel.  Copy gtkrc from C:\soft\gnome\share\themes\MS-Windows\gtk-2.0 to C:\soft\gnome\etc\gtk-2.0 to change themes.
 
−
 
 
−
 
 
−
Please spread the word and report back any problems you encounter. It is probably not too difficult anymore to create a full self-contained
 
−
package of GnuCash on Windows as well! Some more information is also
 
−
collected here on this wiki page.
 
−
 
 
−
=== A bit of history ===
 
−
This page used to collect random notes from the time when we manually tried to install each and every part of the requirements. They have been moved to [[Windows/Old Notes]].
 
−
 
 
−
== Notes ==
 
−
=== Error messages, Trace file ===
 
 
In the GnuCash application, all error messages are redirected to a ''trace file''. There will be one trace file for each time GnuCash is run. For a user named "myname" these files are located in the folder
 
In the GnuCash application, all error messages are redirected to a ''trace file''. There will be one trace file for each time GnuCash is run. For a user named "myname" these files are located in the folder
 
* <tt>c:\Documents and Settings\myname\Local Settings\Temp</tt> (Windows XP) or
 
* <tt>c:\Documents and Settings\myname\Local Settings\Temp</tt> (Windows XP) or
Line 122: Line 138:
 
If you experience crashes or unexpected behavior, check the latest of these files (or the one created when the problem started) and add all interesting-looking lines of that file to your error reports, at least the lines with the keywords <tt>WARN</tt>ing and <tt>CRIT</tt>ical warning.
 
If you experience crashes or unexpected behavior, check the latest of these files (or the one created when the problem started) and add all interesting-looking lines of that file to your error reports, at least the lines with the keywords <tt>WARN</tt>ing and <tt>CRIT</tt>ical warning.
  
−
=== Debugging with gdb ===
+
See also [[Windows Debugging]].
−
In addition to [[Stack Trace]], here are a few instructions on how to run gnucash under gdb on Windows:
 
−
* Install "gdb" from mingw.org [http://downloads.sourceforge.net/mingw/gdb-6.3-1.exe]
 
−
* '''GnuCash 2.2.9 and older'''
 
−
:* Modify the installed "bin\gnucash.cmd" script by inserting one and changing one line.  It should end like
 
−
    set PATH=C:\Program Files\gdb\bin;%PATH%
 
−
    start gdb --args gnucash-bin %*
 
−
::Be careful to use the actual paths in which you have installed gdb.exe
 
−
:* Then start gnucash as usual
 
−
*'''GnuCash 2.4.0 and more recent'''
 
−
:* Open a Windows command prompt and type:
 
−
    set PATH=C:\Program Files\gdb\bin;%PATH%
 
−
    gdb "C:\Program Files\gnucash\bin\gnucash"
 
−
::Be careful to use the actual paths in which you have installed gdb and gnucash respectively.
 
−
*'''For all versions''': this will open a gdb prompt
 
−
* Type <tt>run</tt> at the gdb prompt.
 
−
* Then provoke the crash and type <tt>backtrace</tt> or shorthand <tt>bt</tt> at the gdb prompt to obtain the backtrace, as explained on [[Stack Trace]] as well.
 
−
 
 
−
('''2.2.9 and older only''')If you are working in a MinGW shell, you may want to change and call the bin\gnucash script instead and use <tt>exec start gdb --args gnucash-bin "$@"</tt> to make <tt>Ctrl-C</tt> actually work.
 
−
 
 
−
If you build gnucash with the help of install.sh, make sure you export <tt>DISABLE_OPTIMIZATIONS=yes</tt> in <tt>packaging/win32/custom.sh</tt> to include debugging symbols and avoid optimizations that complicate debugging.
 
−
 
 
−
You can provide even better stack traces if you tell gdb where in memory dynamically loaded modules got mapped to, because otherwise function calls into those are only written as '??'. See [http://lists.gnucash.org/pipermail/gnucash-devel/2006-November/019042.html here] and [http://lists.gnucash.org/pipermail/gnucash-devel/2006-November/019048.html here] for a way to do this.
 
−
 
 
−
To enter <tt>[</tt> and <tt>]</tt>, use <tt>set editing off</tt>.
 
−
 
 
−
=== install.sh ===
 
−
* To debug install.sh, change <tt>set -e</tt> to <tt>set -ex</tt> at the top of it.
 
−
* Once you have installed Subversion, you might want to freqently checkout and update packaging/win32 as described in [[SVN]].
 
−
svn checkout <nowiki>http://svn.gnucash.org/repo/gnucash/trunk/packaging/win32</nowiki> packaging
 
−
 
 
−
=== Online banking ===
 
−
The current install.sh automated build already builds GnuCash with Online Banking enabled, including HBCI, OFX DirectConnect, and OFX file import methods.
 
−
 
 
−
However, in order to set up the online banking connectivity (HBCI or OFX, which are both handled by aqbanking), you need to run a separate setup program of aqbanking. Because of the high complexity of the various online banking techniques, the setup program is a GUI program which is based on the Qt library. These Qt parts are ''not'' automatically built by install.sh, but you can enable them as described below.
 
−
 
 
−
==== aqbanking ====
 
−
 
 
−
The GUI installation goes like this for a manual install:
 
−
 
 
−
* Install Qt 4.x (Open Source Edition) from http://www.trolltech.com/developer/downloads/qt/windows
 
−
* Since install.sh already includes the build rules as optional parts, run the following:
 
−
export QTDIR=/c/Qt/4.2.2
 
−
export aqbanking_with_qt=yes
 
−
install.sh
 
  
−
This should build and install the qt parts of aqbanking as well.
+
== Determining the locale ==
−
 
 
−
===  Console output and exetype ===
 
−
All executables and DLLs on Windows operate in one of a few different subsystems, most of them either in <tt>Console</tt> or <tt>GUI</tt> (also called <tt>Windows</tt>).  Basically, executables in Console always start up in a new console window and print output for stdout und stderr to it, whereas ones in GUI do not open windows and are pretty quiet, even in console windows.  If you want to change that subsystem type, because you want to see debugging output or hide unnecessary console windows, [http://lists.gnucash.org/pipermail/gnucash-user/2007-April/020151.html] lists a few possible ways.
 
−
 
 
−
The easiest option if you don't have any further build tools available is probably the third one from that mail: Install the MSYS program (needed for building GnuCash) from the pointer at the top section of this page, fetch http://svn.gnucash.org/trac/browser/gnucash/trunk/packaging/win32/exetype.pl
 
−
and type
 
−
exetype.pl gnucash-bin.exe console
 
−
 
 
−
If you are building gnucash with install.sh, you might want to automate this step. To do so, just add the following lines to the function make_install in your local install.sh (after "make install"):
 
−
    qpushd $_INSTALL_UDIR/bin
 
−
    exetype gnucash-bin.exe console
 
−
    qpopd
 
−
 
 
−
=== Determining the locale ===
 
 
When asked for the locale, take a look at the Regional Settings in your Control Panel and report the values found for "Standard and Formats", "Location" and "Language for non-Unicode programs".
 
When asked for the locale, take a look at the Regional Settings in your Control Panel and report the values found for "Standard and Formats", "Location" and "Language for non-Unicode programs".
  
−
Also, use [http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=450353 this  bug's] [http://bugzilla.gnome.org/attachment.cgi?id=90557 attachment] to determine the locale as used internally by gettext.
+
Also, use [{{BugURL}}/show_bug.cgi?id=450353 this  bug's] [{{BugURL}}/attachment.cgi?id=90557 attachment] to determine the locale as used internally by gettext.
  
−
 
+
= Problems, issues, comments =
−
== Problems, issues, comments ==
 
 
For any problem that occurs now, you should add a new section below.
 
For any problem that occurs now, you should add a new section below.
  
−
=== Known issues ===
+
== Issues with older versions of GnuCash ==
−
Here is a list of the most often mentioned Windows issues. If you experience this problem, please check the respective bugzilla reports for potential workarounds.
 
−
* http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=457100 Fatal error on windows startup (Our top windows bug!)
 
−
* http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=449153 Win32 GnuCash Fails to Start
 
−
* http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=462148 report output is vertically inverted and bottom up printed
 
−
* http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=395327 win32: Some dialog windows open in the background, app may look frozen
 
−
* http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=468846 Win32 GnuCash 2.2.1 Fails to Start/Install
 
−
* http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=504261 Start on W2K fails with Entry Point Not Found (KERNEL32.dll, GetVolumePathNameForVolumeNameW)
 
−
* http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=506873 'Install Online Price Retrieval' fails with ActivePerl 5.10
 
  
−
=== Errors on Windows 98 ===
+
In an effort to keep the information somewhat manageable this page will only gather issues with the current stable version of GnuCash. For historical reference, the older issues will be moved to [[Windows/Old Issues|a separate page]].
  
−
Hi, I installed SVN r15355 on Windows 98 and got the following error...
+
If you experience issues with an older version of GnuCash, the first advice is normally to try again with the current stable version. There may however be situations where you need to revive an older version and in that case the information kept on the [[Windows/Old Issues|older issues page]] may be useful.
−
:Answer: Gnucash doesn't compile or run on Windows 98. The oldest supported version is (since 2.3.10) Windows XP, nothing older than that. Sorry for that.
 
  
−
===DLL install error===
+
In addition, if you experience any of the older issues in the current stable release of GnuCash, please [[Bugzilla|file a bug report]] or ask about it on the [[Mailing Lists|user mailing list]].
−
I get an error like that:
 
  
−
'libgncmodule.la' 'c:/soft/gnucash/lib/libgncmodule.la'
+
== Known issues ==
−
/bin/install -c .libs/libgncmodule.dll.a
+
Here is a list of the most often mentioned Windows issues. If you experience this problem, please check the respective bugzilla reports for potential workarounds.
−
c:/soft/gnucash/lib/libgncmodule.dll.a
+
* {{BugURL}}/show_bug.cgi?id=466512 Win32: Wrong permissions for .gnucash directory (was: Win32 GnuCash 2.2.1 Fails to Start/Install)
−
base_file=`basename ${file}`
+
* {{BugURL}}/show_bug.cgi?id=645273#c40 Reports features do not work
−
  dlpath=`/bin/sh 2>&1 -c '. .libs/'${base_file}'i;echo $dlname'`
 
−
make[5]: *** [install-libLTLIBRARIES] Error 1
 
−
make[5]: Leaving directory `/c/soft/repos/src/gnc-module'
 
−
make[4]: *** [install-am] Error 2
 
  
−
This seems to be only an installation problem. Fine compiling it seems.
+
== Windows 7 64-bit - GnuCash fails to run ==
−
:I saw this at "make install" when I stopped and restarted the preceding compiling several times. So to me this looks like an artifact of DLLs that somehow "don't fit" to each other. The solution was always to run "make clean" in the source directory so that all DLLs are being deleted, and then starting the compiling again. --[[User:Cstim|Cstim]] 05:55, 4 December 2006 (EST)
 
−
Now I got that: http://rafb.net/p/zYqOJv60.html  (also after removing the whole soft directory (besides the downloads dir).[[User:Calmar|Calmar]]
 
−
:So you have got these errors in at least three different directories and also in a clean environment. The problem always seems to be a missing .lai file. But surprisingly other directories (among them those that failed in other builds) contain such files. The only solution I know is still to <tt>cd</tt> into the offending directory and to run <tt>make clean && make all install</tt>. I am sorry for the inconvenience. -- [[User:Andi5|andi5]]
 
−
::I was able to solve the problem, with ./install.sh (repeated) until it comes through. After the 5th try or so, it came through :) Very happy I can satisfy now what I promised to my friend (I mean new year is a good start for him). Thanks again for all your help! Good new year everybody!
 
  
−
Actually I still see this error frequently, even when I completely remove the build/ directory and let it be created from scratch. (?!?) As an alternative, I've now tried a newer libtool version by installing the cvs snapshot libtool-1.5.23a from http://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/ . Maybe the newer version has this bug fixed. --[[User:Cstim|Cstim]] 10:27, 22 January 2007 (EST)
+
This is with GnuCash 2.4.3:
−
:Seems like using libtool-1.5.23a didn't change a thing. I've written a script that should track down potential errors:
 
−
 
 
−
<pre>
 
−
#!/bin/sh
 
−
ALL_LIBDIR=` find . -name '*.la' | grep '\.libs' `
 
−
RM_THESE=""
 
−
 
 
−
for LIB in $ALL_LIBDIR ; do
 
−
    DIR=`dirname ${LIB}`
 
−
    FNAME=`basename ${LIB}`
 
−
    LIBBASE=`basename ${LIB} .la`
 
−
    if test ! -f "${LIB}i" -a -f "${DIR}/${LIBBASE}.dll.a" ; then
 
−
echo "File ${LIB}i missing"
 
−
PDIR=`dirname ${DIR}`
 
−
#echo "Do this: rm ${PDIR}/${FNAME}"
 
−
RM_THESE="${RM_THESE} ${PDIR}/${FNAME}"
 
−
    fi
 
−
done
 
−
 
 
−
if test "x${RM_THESE}" != "x"; then
 
−
    echo "Do this:"
 
−
    echo "rm ${RM_THESE}"
 
−
fi
 
−
</pre>
 
−
 
 
−
So how is someone supposed to use the above script? It says it is supposed to track down potential errors, since it is doing some erasing (rm) does that mean it is fixing the problems as well? Or at least fixing it such that running install.sh again should work?
 
−
 
 
−
I have now run <tt>make clean && make all install</tt> in a particular directory 3 times but still get the same error.
 
−
 
 
−
 
 
−
 
 
−
=== Windows XP Home Edition Problems ===
 
−
 
 
−
Gnucash does not appear to work on windows XP home edition (mediea edition). Gconfd takes a long time to start (5+ minuets) and everything else takes longer and then it just appears to do nothing (even though it is still in the list of processes).
 
−
:Does GnuCash 2.2.2 work for you? [[User:Andi5|andi5]]
 
−
In my machine it works well, except for the reports, that doesn't work and cause the application to crash. I have installed the last build (15667) on my windows xp home with SP2. -- [[User:Jeanobrega|jeanobrega]]
 
−
:Please file a bug report at [[Bugzilla]]. [[User:Andi5|andi5]]
 
−
 
 
−
I installed 2.2.3 as well as 2.2.4 and in both cases the same problem appeared. After starting a window like "tip of the day" appears. I tried different treatment (close, ignore, waiting,...) during starting  of the programm, but the result was the same in all cases. The Programm was terminated during start up.
 
−
Does anyone know that problem and how to fix it.
 
−
I used gnucash for several years under LINUX without one single problem, but due to several reasons I now have to switch to windows.
 
−
:Please give me some help!!! [[User:voradl|voradl]]
 
−
 
 
−
=== GnuCash failing to start in Windows ===
 
−
 
 
−
This seems to be a duplicate of the above problem, but I have a workaround that worked for me.
 
−
 
 
−
I'm running GnuCash 2.2.9 on Windows XP Professional, SP2, Firewall (ZoneAlarm) turned off at the moment, and I have put Orbit2 2.13.3 in the bin directory (don't think this makes much difference, fwiw; link to that file is somewhere on this page).
 
−
 
 
−
My workaround takes several steps:
 
−
 
 
−
# I delete .gconfd (in C:\Documents and Settings\Mom).
 
−
##  Then I start GnuCash.
 
−
##  I see that only gnucash-bin.exe is running.
 
−
# I kill gnucash-bin.exe.
 
−
##  Then I restart GnuCash.
 
−
##  I see that gnucash-bin.exe is running, as well as two copies of gconfd-2.exe.  No windows open.
 
−
# I kill gnucash-bin.exe (I get weird errors reminiscent of https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=363648 if I kill gconfd-2.exe first).
 
−
##  Then I kill the 2nd gconfd-2.exe.
 
−
##  I start gnucash again.
 
−
 
 
−
Viola!  GnuCash opens.  YMMV  [[User:Peterkay|Peterkay]] 05:25, 19 November 2009 (UTC)
 
−
 
 
−
Another possibly related issue with Windows 7 64-bit and GnuCash 2.4.3:
 
  
 
Starting GnuCash shows the splash screen and the tip of the day for a brief instant and then it disappears.  To fix the problem, I did:
 
Starting GnuCash shows the splash screen and the tip of the day for a brief instant and then it disappears.  To fix the problem, I did:
Line 300: Line 175:
 
Hopefully this helps someone. --[[User:Sketch|Sketch]] 05:05, 7 March 2011 (UTC)
 
Hopefully this helps someone. --[[User:Sketch|Sketch]] 05:05, 7 March 2011 (UTC)
  
−
=== Windows 2000 Problems ===
+
== Font problems ==
−
I downloaded the latest binary today. Installed on Windows 2000 SP4. GnuCash did not display windows fully...
 
−
:Answer: Gnucash doesn't compile or run on Windows 2000 (anymore). The oldest supported version is (since 2.3.10) Windows XP, nothing older than that. Sorry for that.
 
−
 
 
−
=== Application Error on Exit in XP Pro ===
 
−
I just installed 2.1.1 from SourceForge (not sure the rev number).  Install goes okay and program runs fine, but when I exit (using File->Quit) I get a dialog titled
 
−
*<no file>: gnucash-bin.exe - Application Error
 
−
The text reads:
 
−
The instruction at "0x0138a214" referenced memory at "0x014d3aa8".
 
−
The memory could not be "read".
 
−
Any ideas?  I'm a little confused because I was editing my existing GnuCash files (originally 1.8.11, saved using 2.0.1 in Linux), so it shouldn't be <no file>.  Here are the contents of the trace file:
 
−
*  WARN <qof.engine> [guid_init()] only got 1731 bytes.
 
−
The identifiers might not be very random.
 
−
*  WARN <gnc.engine> failed to load gnc-backend-postgres from
 
−
C:\Program Files\gnucash\lib\gnucash
 
−
*  WARN <gnc.app-util> Could not spawn perl: Failed to execute child
 
−
process (No such file or directory)
 
−
*  WARN <qof.session> [qof_session_load_backend()]  failed to load
 
−
gncqof-backend-qsf from c:/soft/gnucash/repos/inst/lib/gnucash
 
−
*  WARN <Gdk> gdkselection-win32.c:1068: OpenClipboard failed: Invalid
 
−
window handle.
 
−
*  WARN <Gdk> gdkselection-win32.c:1068: OpenClipboard failed: Invalid
 
−
window handle.
 
−
--[[User:Scbash|Scbash]] 13:22, 12 May 2007 (EDT)
 
−
:Does this still happen with GnuCash 2.2.2?  If it does, please file a bug at [[Bugzilla]]. [[User:Andi5|andi5]]
 
−
 
 
−
=== Missing file after extracting Open SSL on Windows XP Pro ===
 
−
 
 
−
This is the error that I got:
 
−
 
 
−
3200K .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... 99%  145.77 KB/s
 
−
3250K .......... ...                                        100%  834.05 KB/s
 
−
<br>
 
−
20:36:43 (145.65 KB/s) - `c:/soft/tmp/openssl-0.9.8e.tar.gz' saved [3341665/3341665]
 
−
<br>
 
−
Extracting openssl-0.9.8e.tar.gz ... done
 
−
The system cannot find the path specified.
 
−
 
 
−
This is the first error that I got. Everything was fine up to this point.
 
−
 
 
−
When I turn on <tt>set -ex</tt>, I get the following:
 
−
 
 
−
++ cp e_os.h e_os2.h include/openssl
 
−
+++ unix_path 'C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe'
 
−
+++ echo 'C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe'
 
−
+++ sed 's,^\([A-Za-z]\):,/\1,;s,\\,/,g'
 
−
++ _COMSPEC_U=/C/WINDOWS/system32/cmd.exe
 
−
++ PATH=/c/soft/active-perl/ActivePerl/Perl/bin:/c/soft/mingw/bin
 
−
++ /C/WINDOWS/system32/cmd.exe //c 'ms\mingw32'
 
−
The system cannot find the path specified.
 
−
 
 
−
:Does that mean that your system lacks <tt>C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe</tt>, <tt>$TMP_DIR\openssl-0.9.8e\ms\mingw32.bat</tt> or what do you think?
 
−
 
 
−
<tt>C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe</tt> is definitely there.<br>
 
−
So is <tt>C:\soft\tmp\openssl-0.9.8e\ms\mingw32.bat</tt>.
 
−
 
 
−
If I hardcode the full path to <tt>mingw32</tt> in <tt>install.sh</tt> like this:
 
−
 
 
−
  PATH=$_ACTIVE_PERL_UDIR/ActivePerl/Perl/bin:$_MINGW_UDIR/bin $_COMSPEC_U //c <b>c:\\soft\\tmp\\openssl-0.9.8e\\</b>ms\\mingw32
 
−
 
 
−
<tt>ming32.bat</tt> starts to execute but it generates its own set of errors:
 
−
 
 
−
  > perl Configure mingw       
 
−
  Can't open perl script "Configure": No such file or directory
 
−
  Generating x86 for GNU assember
 
−
  Bignum
 
−
  The system cannot find the path specified.
 
−
  Can't open perl script "bn-586.pl": No such file or directory
 
−
  Can't open perl script "co-586.pl": No such file or directory
 
−
  DES . . .
 
−
 
 
−
So to get beyond that problem, I modified mingw32.bat to start out with a <tt>cd</tt> command, since it was starting in the <tt>C:\</tt> directory:
 
−
 
 
−
  <b>cd C:\soft\tmp\openssl-0.9.8e</b>
 
−
  perl Configure mingw %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8
 
−
  @echo off
 
−
 
 
−
which allowed it to run a bit further and generated this error:
 
−
 
 
−
  Generating x86 for GNU assember
 
−
  Bignum
 
−
  DES
 
−
  crypt
 
−
  Blowfish
 
−
  CAST5
 
−
  RC4
 
−
  MD5
 
−
  SHA1
 
−
  RIPEMD160
 
−
  RC5\32
 
−
  CPUID
 
−
  Generating makefile
 
−
  Generating DLL definition files
 
−
  Building the libraries
 
−
  Building OpenSSL
 
−
  mingw32-make: *** [banner] Error 1
 
−
 
 
−
I don't think I should keep making these minor adjustments to install.sh and mingw32.bat. There must be something I've done wrong that is causing this problem to appear in the first place.
 
−
 
 
−
--[[User:FELap09|FELap09]]
 
−
 
 
−
: I am sorry, I do not really know how to help you other than "delete c:\soft\tmp\openssl-*, c:\soft\openssl and retry with -ex". -- [[User:Andi5|andi5]]
 
−
 
 
−
: I had a similar problem compiling OpenSSL. It was fixed by uninstalling mingw from its custom location, then allowing the install.sh script to reinstall it. -- [[User:Cedayiv|cedayiv]]
 
−
 
 
−
=== Font problems ===
 
  
 
After upgrading to 2.2.1, people have reported font-related issues:
 
After upgrading to 2.2.1, people have reported font-related issues:
Line 436: Line 206:
 
--[[User:Piyo|Piyo]] 23:23, 5 February 2008 (EST)
 
--[[User:Piyo|Piyo]] 23:23, 5 February 2008 (EST)
  
−
=== Windows Vista Problems ===
+
== Program hangs constantly ==
−
A number of people have reported problems running on Windows Vista.  Gnucash takes a long time to start and reports an error, then may lock up. The error is
 
−
"An error occurred while loading or saving configuration information for gnucash. Some of your configuration settings may not work properly.", and, under the Details button, <br>
 
−
"Adding client to server's list failed, CORBA error: IDL:omg.org/CORBA/COMM_FAILURE:1.0
 
−
Adding client to server's list failed, CORBA error: IDL:omg.org/CORBA/COMM_FAILURE:1.0
 
−
Adding client to server's list failed, CORBA error: IDL:omg.org/CORBA/COMM_FAILURE:1.0
 
−
Adding client to server's list failed, CORBA error: IDL:omg.org/CORBA/COMM_FAILURE:1.0
 
−
Adding client to server's list failed, CORBA error: IDL:omg.org/CORBA/COMM_FAILURE:1.0"
 
−
<br>
 
−
Disabling all network interfaces allows Gnucash to work normally for some people. Apparantly there is a shortage of Vista machines in developers' hands, so don't hold your breath for a fix.
 
−
 
 
−
I had the above problem in Vista-32 bit. Downloaded ORBit2-2.13.3.zip from ftp://ftp.gnome.org/pub/gnome/binaries/win32/ORBit2/2.13/ and extracted files into GnuCash\bin (backup existing files first) to resolved it. I am using GNUCash 2.2.1, r16462 2007-08-20.
 
−
 
 
−
:I can confirm that this fix works for me on Vista-32.--[[User:Jadlakha|Jadlakha]] 14:54, 8 December 2007 (EST)
 
−
:I can confirm that this fix works for GnuCash 2.2.2 on Vista x64. [[User:Pettijohn|Pettijohn]] 15:09, 18 December 2007 (EST)
 
−
::The 2.2.2 installer has been updated and should no longer require this fix. I have tested this per the discussion on this bug: http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=504319 [[User:Pettijohn|Pettijohn]] 16:33, 19 December 2007 (EST)
 
−
 
 
−
I can also confirm this problem in 2000 SP4 with version 2.2.1. No problems with the install. The above error describes it exactly just without locking up.
 
−
 
 
−
:This problem is known on all Windows versions. You may also want to go revert to the old ORBit2-2.13.3 version as explained in section [[Windows#GConf/ORBit COMM_FAILURE]] (above) for the same problem but on non-Vista OSs.
 
  
−
Had all of the above on Vista... Just tried the GNUcash portable beta  and it works like a dream on my Vista build.
+
(GnuCash 2.4)
  
−
:"GnuCash portable beta" is this: http://portableapps.com/node/10633 and http://gnucashportable.sourceforge.net/ --[[User:Cstim|Cstim]] 09:27, 3 January 2008 (EST)
+
According to [{{BugURL}}/show_bug.cgi?id=677829 this bug report] GnuCash can become unstable with some themes. The original reporter didn't remember which themes caused issues, but had no problems when using the "Unity" theme.
  
−
:GNUcash PortableApp worked for me, great way to run it on Vista! I got it here: http://portableapps.com/apps/office/gnucash_portable --[[User:andyprough|Andy Prough]] 23:11, 29 October 2008 (CST)
+
--[[User:GJanssens|GJanssens]] 18 October 2013
  
−
=== Finance::Quote Problems with Windows (VISTA 32-Bit SP1) ===
+
== Gnucash fails to start with Failed to contact configuration server ==
  
−
After installing Finance::Quote (installing ActivePerl and then running "C:\Program Files\gnucash\bin\install-fq-mods.bat") when trying to get actual prices a new black window pops up with "C:\Perl\bin\Perl.exe" on top. But that´s it. Any ideas?
+
(GnuCash 2.4)
  
−
[[Contribution from Ivan 16.05.2008:]]
+
Copied from [{{BugURL}}/show_bug.cgi?id=708989 this bug report]:
−
I can confirm that 'Finance::Quote' '''works successfully for me on my Vista SP1 machine''' ... despite some serious user-errors around the setup (see below). All the work described below happened from 05 May 2008 - 11 May 2008, using GnuCash version 2.2.5.
 
  
−
Initially I installed ActivePerl 5.10, then read the part that said 'use only 5.8', and decided to install 5.8 parallel to  5.10 (seemed like a good idea at the time!). The point being: my configuration deviated seriously from 'normal'.
+
I installed GnuCash on Windows 7 and at one point I received the following error message
  
−
Clearly that did not work, so I uninstalled 5.10 and 5.8 in that order ... and then re-installed 5.8 only.
+
  Failed to contact configuration server; some possible causes are that you need
 +
  to enable TCP/IP networking for ORBit, or you have stale NFS locks due to a
 +
  system crash. See https://projects-old.gnome.org/gconf/ for information.
 +
  (Details -  1: IOR file
 +
  'C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Temp\gconfd-Username/lock/ior' not opened
 +
  successfully, no gconfd located: No such file or directory 2: IOR file
 +
  'C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Temp\gconfd-Username/lock/ior' not opened
 +
  successfully, no gconfd located: No such file or directory)
  
−
This has been successful and I have no issues with the fundamental 'Finance::Quote' functionality currently.
+
I do not know what caused this error message.
  
−
True enough, I can not find a price for 1 DWS fund (but I can for 3 other DWS funds) nor for prices at 'Yahoo! Europe' (does that even exist?), but I would not ascribe these errors to a fundamental failure of the 'Finance::Quote' functionality on my Vista SP1 machine.
+
Uninstalling GnuCash, removing an empty gnucash folder in C:\Program Files
 +
(x86)\, and reinstalling Gnucash does not restore GnuCash. I.e., same error
 +
message was produced.  
  
−
There was a format change at yahoo_europe, so it was/is? broken, but that is not restricted to windows. --[[User:Fell|Fell]] 19:49, 15 January 2009 (EST)
+
Cleaning up the windows registry did not help either.
  
−
=== Logitech QuickCam conflicts ===
+
What did work was to remove the folder
 +
C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Temp\gconfd-Username/   
 +
which did not contain the subdirectory + file lock/ior that is mentioned in the
 +
error message.
  
−
Some Logitech QuickCam software is incompatible with MSYS, and causes the install.sh script to randomly crash and create sh.exe.stackdump files. If you experience this problem, see the [http://www.mingw.org/wiki/FAQ MSYS FAQ page] or the [http://readlist.com/lists/lists.sourceforge.net/mingw-msys/0/341.html MinGW mailing list] for help.
+
The folder AppData is hidden (for Windows 7) and needs to be explicitly typed
 +
in the folder browser.
  
−
== Development Notes ==
+
And also note that 'Username' should be replaced with your real username in the path (it's in there two times).
−
A [[Windows/Development | review]] of moving Gnucash to Guile 1.8
 
  
−
== Todo ==
+
--[[User:GJanssens|GJanssens]] 18 October 2013
−
This section is intended mainly for developers to concisely specfiy what issues are open, assigned or closed (and can be removed then).
+
== Windows 11: GnuCash installer quits without doing anything ==
−
[/]    AqBanking
+
When launching <code>gnucash-setup.exe</code> Windows 10 and Windows 11 usually complain that GnuCash is from an unknown developer and will put up a scary dialog but if you accept the risk it will run the installer after the usual User Authorization Escalation dialog. We've had a [https://bugs.gnucash.org/show_bug.cgi?id=799299 report] that Windows 11 might silently fail to do anything. If that happens to you right-click on <code>gnucash-setup.exe</code> and select Properties from the context menu, then click Unblock and Save. You should be able to launch the installer normally.
−
[/]    Encoding issues ([http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=404832 Bug])
 
−
[ ]    Randomness ([http://lists.gnucash.org/pipermail/gnucash-devel/2006-December/019289.html Mail])
 
−
[W] [[Windows#GConf/ORBit COMM_FAILURE|R]] GConf/ORBit2
 
−
[X]    Finance::Quote
 
−
[X] [[Windows#Reading/writing compressed files|R]]  Compressed files ([http://lists.gnucash.org/pipermail/gnucash-devel/2007-February/019876.html Mail])
 
−
[X] [[Windows#Help files not found in the binary distribution|R]]  Documentation
 
−
[X]    LibOFX
 
−
[X] [[Windows#Text reports crash|R]]  Text report crashers (<strike>[http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=382852 Bug]</strike>, [http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=378158 Bug])
 
−
[X] [[Windows#Q: Where is the binary?|R]]  Packaging
 
−
 
−
A lot more, fill me
 
−
X = done; W = workaround; / = in-progress, not-yet-done, needs-testing
 

Latest revision as of 11:00, 28 September 2024

GnuCash on Microsoft Windows

This page collects various notes about running GnuCash on Microsoft Windows.

Q: Which Windows versions are supported?

Answer
The download page shows, which Windows version is officially supported by which GnuCash version.
Note
Windows 3/95/98/Me and Windows NT3.5/4.0 have never been supported.

Q: Where is the binary installer?

A: The latest versions can be downloaded from the [{{{{URL:www}}}}/download.phtml download] page on the GnuCash website. Anyone who cares about their data should use the released version found there.

People looking to test new features - at the risk of running into extra bugs - could try a test version:
  • As it is not so easy to build GnuCash under Windows, a daily build of the stable branch is made available as well to test bugfixes.
  • To closely follow development on the future branch, which contains new features - and bugs - there are the nightly builds. Expect data loss if you try these though!

Q: Is it possible to compile GnuCash on Windows?

A: Yes. It's cumbersome, but possible. See the instructions in Building on Windows.

Q: Are there nightly builds?

A: We run nightly builds for the stable (former maint) and after implmenting its first feature the future (former master) branch, but it's configured so that it runs only if changes have been pushed since the last build and only if the build is successful; they do fail from time to time. You can find the last 6-12 month's worth of builds at 

https://code.gnucash.org/builds/win32/

or, more specifically, for stable, on demand for future, and logs for all builds.

The product of the nightly builds is a Windows installer that will replace your existing GnuCash installation. The future branch really is unstable: Be sure to have suitable backups and don't use it for your "production" books.

Q: Anything else?

To avoid making the installer file even bigger, some functionality is not available without further downloads and installations of software.

Preferences in GnuCash 2.6 and more recent

gconf has been replaced with another preferences system. On Windows you will find the preferences directly in the Windows Registry under the registry key 

 HKEY_CURRENT_USER/software/GSettings/org/gnucash/

Pdf name for invoices

This name is controlled by two hidden preferences:

  • pdf-export/filename-format
  • pdf-export/filename-date-format

Both of them will reside in the registry under HKEY_CURRENT_USER/software/GSettings/org/gnucash/dialogs/general/report

These won't be there by default (only values that deviate from the default value will be effectively in the registry). To change it you will first have to create a sub key named 'pdf-export.

Under this key you can create two string type keys named filename-format and filename-date-format.

This is the definition of these two string keys:

filename-format
This setting chooses the file name for PDF export. This is a sprintf(3) string with three arguments: "%1$s" is the report name such as "Invoice". "%2$s" is the number of the report, which for an invoice report is the invoice number. "%3$s" is the date of the report, formatted according to the filename-date-format setting. (Note: Any characters that are not allowed in filenames, such as '/', will be replaced with underscores '_' in the resulting file name.)
The default value is %1$s-%2$s-%3$s
filename-date-format
This setting chooses the way dates are used in the filename of PDF export. Possible values for this setting are "locale" to use the system locale setting, "ce" for Continental Europe style dates, "iso" for ISO 8601 standard dates , "uk" for United Kingdom style dates, and "us" for United States style dates.

Finance::Quote

For the retrieval of Online Quotes, you will need to install Perl and Finance::Quote (F::Q). See Installing Perl on Windows.

GnuCash via Windows Subsystem for Linux 2

For the adventurous user, it is also possible to install and use GnuCash via the Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2 in short). The following notes were taken from a message to the gnucash-devel mailing list by user Sherlock:

Install WSL as Administrator

wsl —install


Option 1 - Install distributed GnuCash

sudo apt -y update
sudo apt -y upgrade
sudo apt -y install python3-gi python3-gi-cairo gir1.2-gtk-3.0
sudo apt -y install adwaita-icon-theme-full
sudo apt -y install gnucash

sudo apt -y install make gcc
sudo gnc-fq-update


Option 2 - Install flatpack GnuCash

sudo apt -y install flatpak
sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
sudo flatpak install --system flathub org.gnucash.GnuCash


Option 3 - Set up build environment and build gnucash yourself

Prepare the build environment: 

sudo sed -i "s/^# deb-src/deb-src/" /etc/apt/sources.list
sudo apt -y update
sudo apt -y upgrade
sudo apt -y build-dep gnucash
sudo apt -y install git
sudo apt -y install p7zip-full
sudo apt install at-spi2-core

mkdir -p ~/Documents/gnucash/source
mkdir -p ~/Documents/gnucash/build

git clone https://github.com/Gnucash/gnucash.git ~/Documents/gnucash/source

cd ~/Documents/gnucash/source
git checkout 5.4


Build instructions: 

cd ~/Documents/gnucash/build
cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/opt/gnucash ~/Documents/gnucash/source
make
sudo make install

sudo /opt/gnucash/bin/gnc-fq-update

Notes

Error messages, Trace file

In the GnuCash application, all error messages are redirected to a trace file. There will be one trace file for each time GnuCash is run. For a user named "myname" these files are located in the folder

  • c:\Documents and Settings\myname\Local Settings\Temp (Windows XP) or
  • C:\Users\myname\AppData\Local\Temp (Windows Vista/7).

They are named

  • gnucash.trace.ABCDEF (GnuCash 2.2.9 and older) or
  • gnucash.trace.ABCDEF.log (GnuCash 2.4.0 and newer)

where the ABCDEF part is changed randomly on each start of gnucash. See also Tracefile.

If you experience crashes or unexpected behavior, check the latest of these files (or the one created when the problem started) and add all interesting-looking lines of that file to your error reports, at least the lines with the keywords WARNing and CRITical warning.

See also Windows Debugging.

Determining the locale

When asked for the locale, take a look at the Regional Settings in your Control Panel and report the values found for "Standard and Formats", "Location" and "Language for non-Unicode programs".

Also, use this bug's attachment to determine the locale as used internally by gettext.

Problems, issues, comments

For any problem that occurs now, you should add a new section below.

Issues with older versions of GnuCash

In an effort to keep the information somewhat manageable this page will only gather issues with the current stable version of GnuCash. For historical reference, the older issues will be moved to a separate page.

If you experience issues with an older version of GnuCash, the first advice is normally to try again with the current stable version. There may however be situations where you need to revive an older version and in that case the information kept on the older issues page may be useful.

In addition, if you experience any of the older issues in the current stable release of GnuCash, please file a bug report or ask about it on the user mailing list.

Known issues

Here is a list of the most often mentioned Windows issues. If you experience this problem, please check the respective bugzilla reports for potential workarounds.

Windows 7 64-bit - GnuCash fails to run

This is with GnuCash 2.4.3:

Starting GnuCash shows the splash screen and the tip of the day for a brief instant and then it disappears. To fix the problem, I did:

  1. Right-click on the GnuCash icon and select 'Run as Administrator'
  2. GnuCash starts up as expected
  3. Close GnuCash

After doing the above once, I can start GnuCash normally and it starts up properly.

Hopefully this helps someone. --Sketch 05:05, 7 March 2011 (UTC)

Font problems

After upgrading to 2.2.1, people have reported font-related issues:

  • The tick/check mark in the Reconcile window may look like a "nondescript squiggle"
  • Register windows may open with all transactions scrolled out of sight (upwards)
  • Languages other than English show characters as a box of four zeros "0 0 0 0".

The reason appears to be that GnuCash is now referring to Windows to determine what fonts to use, and in both these cases is using the one specified for "Message Box", which defaults to Tahoma 8.

Changing to Tahoma 10 fixed both of these for me.

The procedure on WinXP is:

  1. Start -> Control panel or My Computer -> Control panel
  2. Appearance and Themes -> Display (or, if using the "Classic View", Display)
  3. Appearance
  4. Advanced
  5. Select "Message Box" from the drop-down
  6. Change as required (e.g. set to Tacoma 10 point)
  7. OK
  8. Apply

Fred 10:30, 22 August 2007 (EDT)

Is this still necessary when using GnuCash 2.2.2? andi5

I (piyo) confirmed that the above procedure is necessary for viewing Japanese on Windows XP with GnuCash 2.2.3 (2008-01-08):

  • Confirmed that working fonts are Arial UI Unicode, FixSys, System, Tahoma (including 8!), Terminal. Also for Japanese, MS P Gothic, MS P Mincho, MS UI Gothic, MS Gothic, MS Mincho fonts are working.
  • Confirmed that non-working fonts are Lucida Sans Unicode and Microsoft Sans Serif.

--Piyo 23:23, 5 February 2008 (EST)

Program hangs constantly

(GnuCash 2.4)

According to this bug report GnuCash can become unstable with some themes. The original reporter didn't remember which themes caused issues, but had no problems when using the "Unity" theme.

--GJanssens 18 October 2013

Gnucash fails to start with Failed to contact configuration server

(GnuCash 2.4)

Copied from this bug report:

I installed GnuCash on Windows 7 and at one point I received the following error message 

 Failed to contact configuration server; some possible causes are that you need
 to enable TCP/IP networking for ORBit, or you have stale NFS locks due to a
 system crash. See https://projects-old.gnome.org/gconf/ for information.
 (Details -  1: IOR file
 'C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Temp\gconfd-Username/lock/ior' not opened
 successfully, no gconfd located: No such file or directory 2: IOR file
 'C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Temp\gconfd-Username/lock/ior' not opened
 successfully, no gconfd located: No such file or directory)

I do not know what caused this error message.

Uninstalling GnuCash, removing an empty gnucash folder in C:\Program Files (x86)\, and reinstalling Gnucash does not restore GnuCash. I.e., same error message was produced.

Cleaning up the windows registry did not help either.

What did work was to remove the folder C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Temp\gconfd-Username/ which did not contain the subdirectory + file lock/ior that is mentioned in the error message.

The folder AppData is hidden (for Windows 7) and needs to be explicitly typed in the folder browser.

And also note that 'Username' should be replaced with your real username in the path (it's in there two times).

--GJanssens 18 October 2013

Windows 11: GnuCash installer quits without doing anything

When launching gnucash-setup.exe Windows 10 and Windows 11 usually complain that GnuCash is from an unknown developer and will put up a scary dialog but if you accept the risk it will run the installer after the usual User Authorization Escalation dialog. We've had a report that Windows 11 might silently fail to do anything. If that happens to you right-click on gnucash-setup.exe and select Properties from the context menu, then click Unblock and Save. You should be able to launch the installer normally.

Retrieved from "https://lists.gnucash.org/wiki/index.php?title=Windows&oldid=22219"