GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 606086
Data file accessed through symlink causes backup files saved in symlink directory, not data file directory
Last modified: 2018-06-29 22:32:55 UTC
When I launch gnucash via a symlink, I expect the automatic backup files be saved to the directory where the symlink target is, but gnuchas doesn't realize that I used a symlink and puts the .xac files where the symlink is. I have this situation: my data file is in a /home/me/balance directory, but I have a symlink on the desktop in order to run it more easily. Gnucash saves .xac files on the desktop, while it should save them in /home/me/balance.
I'd suggest putting an application shortcut on the desktop instead, where you manually specify the command line argument (the /home/me/balance/datafile file name), instead of a symlink and relying on the desktop's file extension mapping.
OK, I have just started a virtual computer running Ubuntu 11.10 and I opened the folder containing a GnuCash Data File. I opened the data file with GnuCash by double clicking on the data file. Then I saved the file under a different name and closed GnuCash. Then I created a link to the first file by hovering over the icon holding down the middle mouse button and dragging it to the desktop then clicking Link Here. Then I double clicked on the link. GnuCash opened the link and created a backup on the desktop. I entered a transaction and saved the file, it replaced the link with a file. I went back to the original folder and found the original file and the file with the different name still there and unchanged. The new transaction was not in the original file. In Windows, if I create a "shortcut" to a file and place it on the desktop, and double-click it to open the file, gnucash opens the file in it's original directory under it's original name and will save it with the same name, behaving similar to other programs such as text editors, etc. So I just learned that in Ubuntu Gnucash does not treat Linux links as it treats Windows shortcuts. I repeated the experiment with LibreOffice Calc. If I double click on the link to open the file, edit it and close it, I can then return to folder containing the original file, double click on it and find the edit that i made when I opened the file from the link. This is similar to the way shortcuts work in Windows. Gimp, which is another GTK based program also edits the original file rather than the link when it is started by clicking on the link. Now I cannot repeat this experiment in OSX, so I will ask someone who has one of those machines to try a similar experiment. It should not be necessary to require the user to always start the program via an application shortcut rather than a file link. David C
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