Hi Tom,
A way to prevent GnuCash from using the most recent transaction with the
same Description as the template for the new transaction is to enter the
Notes field before the Description field.
Regards,
Sherlock
On 11/25/25 5:12 PM, Sherlock wrote:
Hi Tom,
Sorry. I misread your query. You said you wanted to disable the
autocomplete but you actually want to disable the use of the most recent
transaction with the same Description as the template for the new
transaction.
Regards,
Sherlock
On 11/25/25 3:52 PM, Tom Route36 wrote:
Hi Sherlock,
Thanks for the advice as to pressing Esc or selecting Don't
AutoComplete before hitting Tab. That's pretty much what everyone has
been suggesting here. It's also what I've been trying all along to
get around this issue. Unfortunately, that method isn't working. If
I type in anything for the Description that GnuCash has seen
previously, that earlier entry will appear in the drop-down list. And
whether I hit Esc at that point, or select Don't AutoComplete from the
top of the list, it doesn't seem to matter. Once I try to continue the
entry by hitting the Tab key, GnuCash still insists on AutoCompleting
the entry with the most recent transaction it finds for whatever I
typed into the Description field.
The way that GnuCash is behaving here seems like something I'd call a
bug; since it certainly seems like hitting Esc should stop the
AutoCompletion. But that's not happening.
For David who asked about the GnuCash release and OS version, I'm
running Windows 11 Home Version 24H2 OS Build 26100.6584. And I've
confirmed this problem with the two latest stable versions of GnuCash:
with both v5.12 Build ID: 5.12+(2025-06-28) and with v5.13 Build ID:
5.13+(2025-09-27).
I have come up with a fairly reliable workaround for this problem;
although I have to say it's not something I really like. My
workaround is to leave the Description field completely BLANK. And I
just go ahead and enter all the amounts and details in the Splits.
Once all those details are entered, I go and save the Transaction --
yes, with a BLANK Description field. After saving the Transaction
that way, then I go back and edit the Transaction to type in whatever
the Description field should actually be. And since I'm only editing
an existing Transaction, GnuCash is happy to leave things alone and no
longer try to AutoComplete anything. This solution of mine does work;
but as noted above, it's not something that I really like. I think
the proper solution would be for GnuCash to recognize the Esc key up
front as a flag to stop doing the AutoCompletion. Or, even better,
have a Preference setting in GnuCash to let the user decide whether or
not they want to enable AutoCompletion.
Anyway, that's where things stand right now for me. If you need any
additional details, or would like me to try some other solution for
this issue, just let me know.
Tom
On 11/25/2025 11:56 AM, Sherlock wrote:
Hi Tom,
There is no preference setting to disable autocomplete. If you
don't want GnuCash to match the earlier transaction, press the Esc
key (or select Don't Autocomplete in the pull-down menu) before you
hit the Tab key.
Regards,
Sherlock
On 11/25/25 1:22 AM, Tom Route36 wrote:
Hi. I'm still learning my way around GnuCash; so forgive this
beginner question. When I go to enter a new transaction into a
register and what I am entering into the Description field matches
an earlier transaction, GnuCash will automatically fill in the
amount and the split details exactly as it was recorded previously
for that earlier transaction.
For example, let's say my earlier transaction had the Description
"Walmart - Sacramento" with a Tot Charge amount of $154.26, and the
Split consisted of 9 entries. If a couple weeks later I go to enter
a new transaction with the same Description ("Walmart - Sacramento")
and I hit the Tab key to type in whatever new Tot Charge amount I
want to record, what happens is that GnuCash will automatically
fill- in that same earlier $154.26 amount before I have any chance
to enter my new Tot Charge amount. Worse yet, it fills in the 9
Split entries for the new transaction to match that earlier
transaction as well.
Not only is this annoying; but GnuCash gets bogged down and slows my
system down while it tries to recall the Split details of that
earlier transaction. Is there a preference setting somewhere to
stop GnuCash from trying to AutoComplete my new transactions with
the details of my earlier transactions?
Tom
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