I think David Carlson's suggestion is better than mine. I had hoped to spark a discussion on this point, so I didn't expect my version would be the final one. I'm delighted that it is being looked at, and benefit to users will result.
-- Regards, Stan Brown Tompkins County, New York, USA https://BrownMath.com http://OakRoadSystems.com On 2019-11-17 19:24, David Carlson wrote: > A comment about Stan Brown's suggestion. > > I think a better and more accurate wording would be "The data file has > not been cleanly closed since it was last opened. If you are sure that > it was not opened by another user, click 'Open Anyway'. Otherwise click > one of the other options." > > To me the important part is that the data file has not been cleanly > closed, which is the real reason that the lock file exists. There may > be better words to use as long as this idea is incorporated. > > David Carlson > > On Sun, Nov 17, 2019 at 4:35 PM Frank H. Ellenberger > <frank.h.ellenber...@gmail.com <mailto:frank.h.ellenber...@gmail.com>> > wrote: > > Hello Stan et al. > > I like the idea. A short grep delivers 5 occurrences of likewise > texts: 4 at > > https://github.com/Gnucash/gnucash/blob/de09259f13e8e3d7f2e50f97a353bd22eb45a4b6/gnucash/gnome-utils/gnc-file.c#L276 > and one further below: > > https://github.com/Gnucash/gnucash/blob/de09259f13e8e3d7f2e50f97a353bd22eb45a4b6/gnucash/gnome-utils/gnc-file.c#L768 > I am not totally sure if the change can be applied on aloof them. > > BTW. Splitting the first 4 strings like the last would reduce the > burden for our translators. > > Regards > Frank > > Am So., 17. Nov. 2019 um 08:22 Uhr schrieb Stan Brown > <the_stan_br...@fastmail.fm <mailto:the_stan_br...@fastmail.fm>>: > > > > In the two years I've been reading this list, I think the single most > > common question has been about this "could not obtain the lock" > message. > > Seems like someone asks about it at least once a week. > > > > The text "that database may be in use by another user," while > literally > > true, isn't helpful because it points to a less common case and > gives no > > guidance for the more common case. It's like hearing hoofbeats and > > hypothesizing "zebra" instead of "horse". > > > > I suggest that improving the message would be a huge boon to less > > experienced GC users, and very little effort for the developers. > > > > Why not replace the present text > > > > That database may be in use by another user, in which case you > > should not open the database. What would you like to do? > > > > with this: > > > > If your previous session crashed, select Open Anyway. If > this is > > a shared database, wait for other users to finish using it or > > select Open Read-Only. For more information, see (link to sec > > 2.5.3 of Tutorial). > > > > "What would you like to do?" can be omitted, in my opinion. Seeing > > buttons, users will know that they need to pick one. What they > _do_ need > > is text that is relevant to their situation. > > > > (I question the tutorial's advice to delete the lock files manually. > > David Cousens reports: > > > My experience on Linux is that when you select Open > > > Anyway, the previous .LNK and .LCK files will be deleted and new > ones > > > created which should then be deleted when GNucash is closed > properly. > > The same happens for me in Windows. Is there any OS where this > desirable > > behavior doesn't happen? If there is, the tutorial's advice should > > mention those specific systems, or at least it should say that in > > Windows and Linux GC will do this automatically when you reopen a data > > file after the "could not obtain the lock" message.) _______________________________________________ gnucash-user mailing list gnucash-user@gnucash.org To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user If you are using Nabble or Gmane, please see https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Mailing_Lists for more information. ----- Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.