I'm going to follow up my own message to note that I have now found that GnuCash 4.13 under Windows 10 will add transactions to a placeholder account even while displaying a message stating that it cannot write transactions to placeholder accounts!
I've just had GnuCash do this twice, when it used an ancient transaction as a template (I'll write about that in a different thread shortly) that has an account that I have since set as a placeholder account and hidden because it is closed. Something is clearly broken here. David T. On Apr 29, 2023, 9:44 PM, at 9:44 PM, "David T. via gnucash-user" <gnucash-user@gnucash.org> wrote: >Michael, > >The OP problem had to do with the importer adding transactions to a >placeholder account. So that's why I am discussing that, rather than >bringing up the creation of new accounts in the process. I'm not even >sure how that applies here; a newly-created account during the import >process (if such is even achievable in the import process) would >presumably not be set as a placeholder account. > >GnuCash already prevents a user from entering transactions into a >placeholder account-- and even prevents you from opening such accounts >without an explicit (non standard) open mode. The only way I know of >entering transactions into a placeholder account is to turn off the >setting first. Of course, then, it's not a placeholder account... > >Again, in my example, you're missing the point. I'm not talking about >the special case where a user has elevated rights and logs in specially >to use them. I'm talking about a system allowing any user to change any >file-- or worse, a system changing them as a result of some other >action I took. If I, as a regular user, were to overwrite YOUR files, >you'd be rather upset. > >I'll repeat: adding transactions to a placeholder account during an >import should not be possible, since it violates the GnuCash definition >of a placeholder account. > >David T. > >On Apr 29, 2023, 6:17 PM, at 6:17 PM, Michael or Penny Novack ><stepbystepf...@comcast.net> wrote: >>On 4/29/2023 10:08 AM, David T. wrote: >>> Michael, >>> >>> I disagree. The importer shouldn't put transacting into an account >>> that is--by definition-- write protected. >>> >>> My counter example would be a write-protected file folder. An >>> operating system that allowed a user to put data into a >>> write-protected folder would come in for serious criticism. >>> >>> Temporary records should go somewhere, for sure. It's been my >>> experience that GnuCash uses Imbalance-xxx for such transactions. >Why >> >>> would you ever expect to put them in write-protected accounts? >>> >>You are talking about the behavior of the IMPORTER. >> >>Your proposed solution would affect ANY entry of transactions. >> >>And an operating system SHOULD allow writing into a write protected >>folder whenever the person (or program) doing so has sufficient >>"rights" >><< normally when I am logged in it is WITHOUT admin rights (even on my > >>home system) -- bear in mind decades in the cypher mines where I had >to >> >>be very conscious of whether I was using my ordinary login or my >>"prod*" >>log in. Like in the middle of the night emergency fix to a hanging >>production program -- doing this during the day I would walk over to >>the >>desk of whoever normally handled "builds" and have them do the >>replacement of the program in the production library>> >> >>Michael >> >>PS --- By all means ask for a change to the behavior of the importer >if >> >>you think that is in order. But actually what you want is that the >>importer verify that it isn't specifying an account that does not >exist >> >>OR one that is a placeholder. We used to call something like the the >>"input editor" portion of a transaction handling program. >_______________________________________________ >gnucash-user mailing list >gnucash-user@gnucash.org >To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: >https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user >----- >Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. >You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All. _______________________________________________ gnucash-user mailing list gnucash-user@gnucash.org To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user ----- Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
