Frequently Asked Questions This is a list of questions asked on the mailing lists for which there really is no section in the documentation covering the subject. Sources of Information Q: Where's the FAQ? A: You're looking at it. The definitive copy can be found at http://here Q: Are there mailing lists for GnuCash? A: Yes.Go to http://www.gnucash.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user and http://www.gnucash.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-devel to subscibe. Q: Is there a searchable archive for the mailing lists? A: I believe there is. I'll look it up. Q: Are there other means of obtaining support for GnuCash? A: Yes. Many of the developers hang out on icq in the #gnucash discussion on irc.gnome.org. Also, there is a wiki online at Where?. About the GnuCash Software Q: Can I run GnuCash on Windows? A: No, GnuCash is not developed on (or for) Windows. If you must run GnuCash from a Windows machine, your best bet is to use VNC to run GnuCash remotely from a UNIX server. Another possibility would be to install VMWare (www.vmware.com) on your windows machine and run a copy of Linux within VMWare. We don't have many (any?) windows developers, so nobody is really working hard on a port to windows.... Q: Is there a batch mode (non-interactive) available for GnuCash, for building reports, etc? A: No, for now GnuCash must be run interactively. Q: Can multiple people access the same datafile in GnuCash? A: You can have multiple people with access to the same datafile, but they cannot use the data file simultaneously. To setup multi-person access, all the people must have read/write access to the directory containing the file (to read the other's created files, and to create new files). One way to do this is by creating a user group and setting the data directory to be owned by the shared group and set to mode 2775. The '2' makes the directory setgid which copies the permissions to all files. Q: Why is GnuCash written in C? A: The core functionality of GnuCash is written in C, but do not forget that much of this can be accessed through Guile (scheme). There are a number of reasons for why GnuCash is written in C. The first is historical, Gnucash was started in 1998 and many of the OOP (C++, Java, Python) compilers were not yet mature and standarized enough on the variety of platforms considered at that time, so C was the only option at that time. A second reason is because the standard GUI GnuCash uses is GTK, which is written in C. Q: Is there a web interface available for GnuCash? A: No Q: How can I provide security for GC data using CFS, etc.) A: Unanswered Q: How can I contribute to the GnuCash project? A: We're working on a more formal process, but for now should subscribe to the mailing list at http://www.gnucash.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user and http://www.gnucash.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-devel and discuss what you can contribute with the participants on the lists. Accounting with GnuCash Q: How can I move the transactions from account A into account B, thus combining them? A: There is no easy way to do this, you will need to change every transaction reference for account A to account B. Use the "Find Transactions" feature and search for splits where Account = account A. This will list all of them in a single journal-style register window where you can actually edit the accounts. Change the transfer account in each from A to B. As you edit the transactions they will be removed from the register. When the register is empty, account A will be empty and you can remove it. Q: How can I save a template of my account structure? A: This is available from the menu: File -> Export -> Accounts Q: When I search for customers (or anything else for that matter), how can I return a list of everything? A: Enter a search criteria of matches regex, and place a single dot "." in the text field area. Then, click Find. The regular expression "." means to match anything. Q: How do I treat taxes? As an account payable or as an expense? A: This is a loaded question, and you should really talk to your accountant. How you treat taxes really depends on what kind of taxes they are, and how you WANT to treat them.. In some cases they are expenses, in some cases they are liabilities. Q: How can I record a transaction on different dates (actual date and bank date)? A: You record the transaction on the date you write the check or initiate the transaction. When it "clears" the bank, you can click in the "Reconciled" field to "clear" the transaction (change the "n"on-reconciled to "c"leared).