You make a fair point; users should know their reports and keep the configuration up to date.
I wrote the original post, and it was NOT my intention to ask developers to do any more than they have done already. What I said would be useful is some documentation on tips for configuring the reports in a standard way. One development change that would be useful would be to have a button or buttons for all expense accounts or all income accounts, so that if I added an expense account, it would get picked up. On Mon, May 19, 2025 at 2:53 PM G R Hewitt <[email protected]> wrote: > I think the point being missed here is that everyone is different and has > need of different reports. > I don't think it is the job of the developers to make reports other than > what they have - basic reports that anyone can alter to suit. > If someone adds a new account to their tree surely it would seem logical to > adjust the report too at the same time, or at the least leave themselves a > note to do so. > It is the responsibility of the user to ensure their reports are correct, > not the developers. > They have provided a tool for free, say a chisel, they are not going to > come round and sharpen it for you when it goes blunt, that is your > responsibility. > Gnucash is free software developed by volunteers who give up their free > time to keep it running and provide updates as and when they can. > It must be disheartening sometimes to read comments that it should do this, > that or the other; no one is forced to use it, it is > supplied 'as is' and if it is not good enough 'as is' use a different > program. > > On Mon, 19 May 2025 at 20:26, sunfish62--- via gnucash-user < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > Lost in all the entreaties to experiment with the reports (aside: > > sometimes people just want a report to work) is the fact that the OP very > > clearly felt that the account selection feature in most reports is not > > resilient or helpful. > > > > I agree. > > > > Selecting accounts in even a moderately complex set of books can be > > tedious and error-prone. Add in the fact that new accounts in a tree that > > was previously fully selected won't get added automatically, and you > have a > > recipe for bleary eyed users failing to notice that their taxes are off > > because one new account wasn't properly added to their annual report. > Then > > they get the pleasure of filing amended returns.... > > > > David T. > > > > On May 19, 2025, 8:45 PM, at 8:45 PM, "Stan Brown (using GC 4.14)" < > > [email protected]> wrote: > > >On 2025-05-19 09:48, R Losey wrote: > > >> Having come from a Quicken background, where reports work "out of the > > >box", > > >> the reports in GnuCash have been difficult. > > >> > > >> I know that I have gaps in my understanding of accounting and > > >bookkeeping. > > >> I have had very little problems using GnuCash's double-entry method. > > >> > > >> But you are correct in that I am lacking knowledge in some of the > > >report > > >> areas - I don't think that is a lack of knowledge of double-entry > > >> accounting, however. > > > > > >In my opinion, the best advice for learning to configure reports comes > > >in three words: experiment, experiment, experiment. When trying a new > > >report, I make it a point to look at every setting in the Options for > > >that report and try things until I get what I want on the report. It's > > >not always obvious from the screen what an option will do; hence my > > >advice to experiment. > > > > > >For instance, I found by experiment that both the Balance Sheet and the > > >Income Statement worked just fine when I clicked "Select All" on the > > >account selection one of the report options window. The Balance Sheet > > >showed Assets, Liabilities, and Equity accounts, not Income and > > >Expenses > > >accounts, despite that word "All", and the Income Statement showed > > >Income and Expense accounts and ignored Assets, Liabilities, and > > >Equity. > > > > > >-- > > >Stan Brown > > >Tehachapi, CA, USA > > >https://BrownMath.com > > >_______________________________________________ > > >gnucash-user mailing list > > >[email protected] > > >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 > > [email protected] > > 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 > [email protected] > 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. > -- _________________________________ Richard Losey [email protected] Micah 6:8 _______________________________________________ gnucash-user mailing list [email protected] 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. 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