Huh. I never knew that the search function in a register was limited to
transactions in the current view filter, but a couple quick tests
confirm that.
That's not what I would have expected. I would expect that if I
performed a search of an account, the search would include everything in
that account, and not just transactions that were visible at the time of
the search. I mean, the point of search is to *find* things. What
purpose would be served by *not* including other transactions?
Further, how does search function when: a) the user starts a search in
the Accounts pane, and b) the user has saved a particular view filter
for a given account? Are the results limited by that account's saved
filter? If not, then why not, given the limits within an account window?
Finally, this doesn't match up with search behavior with regard to
hidden or placeholder accounts; a general search from the Accounts pane
will return transactions in these accounts (indeed, it is possible to
modify read only transactions without warning from a search results
window). Why would search function on one set of hidden transactions,
but not another?
Ultimately, my questions are:
* Is this an intentional behavior?
* Is there a reason for this behavior?
* Is this behavior actually documented for users?
* And is this behavior what an average user would (or should) expect?
David T.
On 1/13/2026 7:28 AM, Derek Atkins wrote:
No, the General Journal will show imported transactions.
However, the GJ starts with a time limit -- it only shows transactions in
the last 30 days (by default). You can, of course, change that via the
View menu.
So if your imported transactions were prior to the start date of the GJ,
they wouldn't show up in your search.
-derek
On Mon, January 12, 2026 8:39 pm, Tom Route36 wrote:
Patrick (and Kirk),
I think I solved the mystery about why I wasn't able to get Find working
in the General Journal. It turns out that Find actually IS working
okay. The problem is that the transactions that I was looking for were
never in the General Journal in the first place.
As I mentioned earlier I'm still a newbie with GnuCash. And I've only
started ENTERING transactions into GnuCash within the last couple
months. All my transactions prior to that were all IMPORTED into
GnuCash from Quicken via a QIF file. And apparently, those imported
transactions never got recorded in the General Journal. At least, that
appears to be the case for me here.
Maybe someone else can confirm if that's how transactions are supposed
to work with the General Journal. That is, you have to actually ENTER
those transactions, and not simply IMPORT them. Assuming that's correct,
that's not a big deal for me. It's just something I have to be aware of
going forward. That is, don't look in the General Journal for imported
transactions.
Tom
On 1/12/2026 2:45 PM, Patrick James via gnucash-user wrote:
"probably because I don't really enter things via the General Journal."
Back in the good 'ole days, all entries began in the General Journal,
and then were posted to the various accounts. With the advent of modern
information systems, that process is no longer necessary. In GnuCash,
when you enter to a given account, the General Journal entry is created
for you, and while the order does not really matter, and there are other
information systems issues here, one may consider the General Journal
entry to be created first, before the account entry. Again with today's
information systems, this is not really that important, but the General
Journal includes all the journal entries.
In summary, it's reasonable to suggest that GnuCash "really does enter
things via the General Journal."
If an entry is not present, check the filters.
On 01/12/2026 1:18 PM PST kirk abbott via
gnucash-user<[email protected]> wrote:
General Journal doesn't really work for me either. Mainly because only
random things seem to show up there. probably because I don't really
enter things via the General Journal. What is working for me is the
Accounts Tab. Don't know if it mattered, but I had the Assets line
highlighted while testing. Regardless, it found everything within a
couple of days of the target date regardless of Asset account.
Kirk
On Monday, January 12, 2026 at 12:02:13 PM PST, Patrick James via
gnucash-user<[email protected]> wrote:
Tom,
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