Sounds like the -b option to the *Nix cp command. Makes a backup copy
in the destination if the same file name already exists. So the '1' is
the oldest backup copy and '18' is the newest (if '18' is the highest
number).
Does iCloud have something like "versioning" or "keep backup" turned on?
On 12/4/25 05:52, Derek Atkins wrote:
That is.... interesting.
I honestly have no idea what's going on. All I can imagine is that there
is a timing issue in the way iCloud Drive works on Windows and you're
hitting something that is GnuCash/Windows/iCloud-specific.
I don't know if any of the devs have access to that combination in order
to perform any testing.
Do you have any iCloud logs?
Anything "interesting" in the GnuCash logs? (I doubt this -- it sounds
like it's an iCloud thing, not necessarily a GnuCash thing).
Thanks,
-derek
On Thu, December 4, 2025 8:35 am, [email protected] wrote:
Screenshot of file explorer just now after removing compression:
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, December 4, 2025 8:34 AM
To: 'Derek Atkins' <[email protected]>; [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]; [email protected]
Subject: RE: [GNC] ABC.gnucash iCloud availability status "excluded not
synced"
Hi Derek: Yes, consecutive numbers as in "1", "2", "3" - I have it all the
way up to "18" in my original GnuCash file folder. The full filename
without " xx" is "Created20250822.gnucash". Turning off compression
changed the size from 504 to 6409 KB, but I still have the same issue.
Thanks for checking, Jan
-----Original Message-----
From: Derek Atkins < <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, December 4, 2025 8:16 AM
To: <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]
Cc: <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected];
<mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]
Subject: Re: [GNC] ABC.gnucash iCloud availability status "excluded not
synced"
Hi,
Can you please give us the exact "xx" here. You say "consecutive
numbers", but does that mean "1", "2", "3", or something else? Please
share the full name(s), including the numbers, because that will help us
debug it.
My guess is that your iCloud drive is not properly syncing. I think it is
unlikely GnuCash, but it is possible due to the way GnuCash uses a
combination of Create and Rename operations.
One option is to turn off compression and see if that fixes the problem?
The files will be 10x larger, but it's POSSIBLE that iCloud is not
enjoying the gzipped data.
Thanks,
-derek
On Thu, December 4, 2025 7:54 am, Jan via gnucash-user wrote:
Well, it seems to have been a temporary fix, only. Even in a new
iCloud folder, I again have "ABC.gnucash" not being saved properly on
iCloud and instead "ABC xx.gnucash" (xx = consecutive numbers) being
created, which results at the next start of GnuCash to "ABC.gnucash
could not be found", of course. This happens also when I manually
remove the " xx" but I had some luck doing the removal in a different
folder and copying the resulting "ABC.gnucash" back to the normal
GnuCash file folder, but not consistent.
I looked at the status of a thus copied "ABC.gnucash" file and file
explorer states the iCloud availability status "excluded not synced"
which per Apple "indicates that certain files are not being uploaded
to iCloud Photos due to unsupported file types" which doesn't help as
the relevant folders are under iCloud Drive, not iCloud Photos.
Ideas anyone?
Thanks, Jan
-----Original Message-----
From: <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] <
<mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, November 22, 2025 8:15 AM
To: <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]
Cc: David Cousens < <mailto:[email protected]>
[email protected]>; <mailto:[email protected]>
[email protected]
Subject: RE: [GNC] ABC xx.gnucash on iCloud leads to "... ABC.gnucash
could not be found"
Cloud can be tricky. I have one cloud note app that only works with
Dropbox and not with my off brand cloud. I'm glad you found a
workaround.
David T.
On Nov 22, 2025, 1:46 PM, at 1:46 PM, <mailto:[email protected]>
[email protected] wrote:
Thanks, David C and T. My problem does not seem to be related to
backup files. It's the main GnuCash file that is not saved properly
(probably more an iCloud than a GnuCash issue, but possibly both have
a part in it). As mentioned in my original post, things have been
working correctly again after saving the GnuCash files in a new
folder, still on iCloud.
-----Original Message-----
From: <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] <
<mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, November 22, 2025 3:17 AM
To: David Cousens < <mailto:[email protected]>
[email protected]>
Cc: <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected];
<mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]
Subject: Re: [GNC] ABC xx.gnucash on iCloud leads to "... ABC.gnucash
could not be found"
David C.,
It looks like you are linking to outdated documentation. The current
version of the chapter you cited is
<https://www.gnucash.org/docs/v5/C/gnucash-guide/chapter_basics.html>
https://www.gnucash.org/docs/v5/C/gnucash-guide/chapter_basics.html
David T.
On Nov 22, 2025, 1:58 AM, at 1:58 AM, David Cousens
< <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]> wrote:
Jan,
The creation oof Backup lock and log files in the sme directory as
your
data file is explained here
<https://code.gnucash.org/website/docs/v1.8/C/gnucash-guide/basics_bac>
https://code.gnucash.org/website/docs/v1.8/C/gnucash-guide/basics_bac
k u p1.html however I noticed that this may be out of date as at
least on Linux systems the formatof the backup a files no longer has
the extension ".xac" but uses the extension ".gnucash", the same as
the main data file but preceded by the date time format extension.
So if your main data file is
myfile.gnucash
then the backup files will be
myfile.yyyymmddhhmmss.gnucash
where yyyymmddhhmmss is the date timestamp created when the main data
file was saved. Similarly the log file
myfile.yyyymmddhhmmss.log
will have a record of any new transactions entered during the
session.
You can use these files to recover from data crashes during a session.
If GnuCash exits improperly there will be a file myfile.LCK created
in
the directory with the main data file. It is created when you start a
session with GnuCash and is normally deleted when GnuCash is exited
properly.
You can also clear it with the "Open Anyway" option in the popup
dialogue which comes up when you restart GnuCash after it has exited
incorrectly.
It also serves to indicate that an instance of GnuCash has the data
file open for read/write access while you have a session open and
serves to warn a user trying to open another instance operating on
the
same data file.
On Fri, 2025-11-21 at 10:41 -0500, Jan via gnucash-user wrote:
Hi guys!
For a few days now, I have a persistent problem with my gnucash
file
that's being stored on my iCloud Drive (GunCash 4.13 on Win11; file
size is 498 KB): Instead of ABC.gnucash, ABC xx.gnucash is being
stored and "rebuilt" automatically when I manually remove the "xx"
in
the filename. I've had this before every once in a while, usually
after an improper computer shutdown, but the manual fix removing
"xx"
always worked. Now GnuCash regularly starts up with the "...
ABC.gnucash could not be found" error which makes sense as the
ABC.gnucash file is still in "sync pending", not the normal
"available on this device". It seems this delayed sync is limited
to
my GnuCash folder on the iCloud Drive, i.e. if I copy ABC
xx.gnucash
to a different folder and remove the "xx", it syncs right away.
When
I move ABC.gnucash from that different folder to the GnuCash
folder,
the long and often unsuccessful syncing starts, often leaving me
with
another ABC xx.gnucash in the end. Same with copying ABC.gnu cash
from that different folder to the GnuCash folder. My temporary
solution is to create a new GnuCash folder on my ICloud drive, copy
ABC xx.gnucash to that folder and remove the "xx". If I start
GnuCash
from there, all is good again - for now.
What could be going on here?
Thanks for any help, Jan
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Derek Atkins 617-623-3745
<mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]
<http://www.ihtfp.com> www.ihtfp.com
Computer and Internet Security Consultant
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