Hi Sherlock,
Thank you so very much for that advice. It absolutely does work. And
it's such an easy uncomplicated fix. Just tab to Notes, type in
anything, and tab back to Description. AutoComplete still works for
filling in the Description field; but it no longer fills in the most
recent transaction. Problem solved ... at least for my immediate
needs. I still think the initial issue should be considered a bug. But
for me now it's just a minor annoyance with a good simple workaround.
Once again, thank you for figuring this out.
Tom
On 11/25/2025 11:34 PM, Sherlock wrote:
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
_______________________________________________
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.
