First of all, let me say that I have been using GnuCash since January 2001, and in particular have been enjoying its wonderful dual-entry methodology to manage two businesses with combined assets and about twenty-five different accounts. I used Quicken throughout 2000 and have no idea how I could have managed in Quicken what I am now managing in GnuCash. Developers, please accept my gratitude. That said, I'd like to respond with some thoughts that came to me after reading K. Ridder's recent post (quoted at the end). It appears that GnuCash understands two kinds of transactions: 1) split transactions and 2) non-split transactions. And it also appears that GnuCash deals with both types in a completely different manner. While this observation sounds trivial and stupid, it really does have significance. If I had my druthers, I would have GnuCash support only one kind of transaction: The split, and nothing but the split. In this model, what users traditionally enter as a non-split transaction would simply be entered as a split with only one part. In my opinion, this would simplify both the model and the view greatly. As it stands now, you really can't use both at the same time anyway, because the available views seem to favor one or the other in an exclusive manner, and switching back and forth is a real pain. For that reason, I have GnuCash defaulting to split-view all the time. Rather than switching back to double-line mode for "simple" transactions, I simply enter those transactions as one-part splits. The problem that I encounter appears when I switch to double-line mode (just to see a summary) and can no longer read any of my split entries (i.e., all of them), even though most of them are just one-part splits. It would be nice if, in double line mode, you could still read split transactions that are composed of only one part. Also, as Ridder discovered and explained in his earlier message (quoted below), GnuCash's split transactions appear to not have been designed with the knowledge that a split transaction might contain multiple entries transferring into the same destination. Ridder is using the multiline feature not to document a true split in the purest sense, but rather as a way of itemizing the individual components of a simple, non-split transaction. I do this all the time, too. Some days I like to just write "groceries" with the total, and other days I like to split it up into eggs, milk, and bread -- so that GnuCash can compute the total for me. But when I look at the other end of the transaction, I see the same transaction listed multiple times, as does Ridder. When the split contains many items, the wrong end of the split looks absolutely horrible and is quite confusing. I am glad to hear that 1.6 will not show multiple entries for the same transaction when you are looking at the "wrong" end of the split. This is a much needed improvement and I applaud the developers for taking care of this. > From: "Klaus Ridder" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Problems with splits > Date: Thu, 24 May 2001 19:41:23 +0200 > > I encounteres this problem in 1.4.11, so I don't know if it still exisits in > the current version: > > Make a booking "XY Store" in the "Bank" Account, with the splits > - Computer $500 > - Phone $100 > - Printer $200 > Books these 3 things to the expenes Account "BusinessExpenses". > > Now open the account "Business Expenses". It now shows > - XY Store $500 > - XY Store $100 > - XY Store $200 > > Instead of > - Computer $500 > - Phone $100 > - Printer $200 > > OK, I switch to mult-row mode and see the following: > > Store XY $500 > Bank $800 > Phone $100 > Printer $200 > --------------------------- > Store XY $100 > Bank $800 > Computer $500 > Printer $200 > --------------------------- > Store XY $200 > Bank $800 > Computer $500 > Phone $100 > -------------------------- > > > I don't think this is how it shoud be ... I would really love to see that I > bought a Cpmputer, a phone and a printer - and that's just what isn't shown. _______________________________________________ gnucash-devel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.gnumatic.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-devel
