update to the Help & Homebank for check numbers

[Lindsay Lorden]

I use Homebank on Windows 10; version 5.5 Running against GTK+ 3.24.18.
...

I prefer to use keyboard to get round menus, fields, etc.
Ever since I started using Homebank a year ago, I've found one of my accounts always autopopulates the Info field with the check number "1" whenever I am in the "Payment" field and use the keyboard down arrow to get to Electronic Payment (for example). It never removes that value once it's added.

I haven't issued a check for years, and now my bank is stopping issuing or transacting any checks (including any from overseas), as are most New Zealand banks. I was searching Help for a way to prevent Homebank from doing that autopopulating thing but could find no info on "check" numbers and how this feature functions. What confused me more was that other accounts did not do this, just this one account which the bank called "Westpac Cheque"!

What I have found is that Homebank is clever. I'm hopefully right that it seems to test if the Account Name includes the word "Cheque" (and presumably "check") and consequently does this nifty autopopulating of a number. I discovered this because after looking through the Help system and Homebank preferences for anything that might help me with this 'problem' and finding nothing, I decided to try renaming the account in Homebank from what the bank used to call it to what it now calls this account "Westpac Everyday" - and this autopopulating of a check # is no longer appearing automatically. Yay, solved my problem!

But I thought I'd take this a little further, so others can benefit from what I learnt.

My wish is as follows (NB - it has 2 parts to it):
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Firstly, I assume I have found the inbuilt "key" to how check numbers function. I also assume, but have never had a need to use/test it, that it will issue the next number after the highest number found within the account transactions already. Not sure how "Book 2" interacts with that.

So wish #1 is ===> Can the Help system include some information in how check numbers work? e.g.
1. if your account name includes "Cheque" or "Check" then the function is activated.
2. the default check number is one higher than the currently highest already found in the account.
3. supports 2 check books as follows ... (??? .. sorry no idea how).

It would no doubt be helpful for those who still use check accounts.

As a further wish [#2]:
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This autopopulate should only happen when the user *leaves* the Payment field with "Check" selected rather than when one causes "Check" to be briefly shown as you pass thru the list to one further down when uses the keyboard (down arrow key).

Thanks for considering this.

[Lindsay Lorden (ludwigwn)]

This also, in some way, might relate to wish #1817274 dated 2019-02-22 and last updated in May 2019.

https://bugs.launchpad.net/homebank/+bug/1817274

[Lindsay Lorden (ludwigwn)]

Using Homebank today I've found that *any* account is now triggering this "Check #" ['1'] to appear and stay, meaning I have to delete it when it occurs.

Darn, thought I had foudn a way to stop that happening! Any other way to avoid this problem?

[Richard Sutton (rsutton43)]

Lindsay,
Just a wild guess, but if you go to Manage->Payees..., then select a Payee and press the little pencil at the bottom of the window (indicating you want to edit this item), do you have Payment set to Check?

If you do, that triggers the Info field to increment the check number field that is set in the Manage->Accounts->accountName->Misc.->Checkbook 1. If that Checkbook field is 0, then adding 1 to that number makes sense.

Hope this helps...

Richard

[Lindsay Lorden (ludwigwn)]

Thanks for that suggestion Richard.

Unfortunately no I don't. For those that have a payment method, I've got either Credit Card, Bank Transfer, or Electronic Payment selected.

[Maxime DOYEN (mdoyen)]

wish #1: there is a small explanation already in the help: tips & tricks
not very verbose, but it is working like most other software

wish #2: is already the way it is implemented

the check is only filled with last number+a when is a debit with paymode=check

[Lindsay Lorden (ludwigwn)]

Seen behaviour:
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For me, the check # is filled in when I use the keyboard down arrow to go down the list of Payment options. The moment that the Payemtn option "check" appears the Info field gets populated with a check number.
That is, when I "pass thru" 'Check' on the way to 'Bank Transfer' or 'Electronic Payment' options WITHOUT LEAVING the Payment field.

Hence my wish #2 is:
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.... that the Check # gets filled when I tab AWAY ("OUT OF") the Payment field into the next field, or click into another field using the mouse.

Looking more into my wish #1:
----------------------------
Documentation is not very verbose as you say.
On further playing with the check feature - it seems check numbers are incremented for *any* account (I think I had amount 0.00 when playing around in various account types, e.g. Credit Card, hence Info didn't get filled with a number). As you say, pretty standard feature.
I have not entered any check number in the account dialog, which means both books default to 0; I cannot make them "null", it quite logically populates a number 0 back into the numeric field.

SO WISH #1 becomes:
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Can this section have an option added that will suppress use of automatic adding of a check number if ticked (or maybe unticked)?

[Maxime DOYEN (mdoyen)]

Lindsay,

You are right, the trigger the fill of the info with the next cheque number is when you select cheque as payment mode, as in GTK selecting (here with the keyboard trigger the change event hb react on. Your proposal to fillin when you leave the info is not accurate for mouse users, as it will force them to click or get into it to have the next cheque to be filled in, this is a breaking change I prefer to avoid.

Anyway, there is a bug as well here, as as you say do not rely on type or cheque number to be 0 to disabled the feature.

So I need to think and see what can be done.
thanks for this interesting problem :)

Max.

[Maxime DOYEN (mdoyen)]

finally, the trigger that verify the next cheque number must be filled in is:
- you change the paymode to cheque
- you leave the amount input (or change the amount)

then we evaluate if we need to fill in the next cheque:
- verify the current mode to be Add (so not when you edit)
- verify the paymode is cheque
- verify the the type to be an expense (so < 0)
- here if type is income the info is emptied

I have finally chosen to rely on next cheque number into the target account to be 0 to prevent automatic cheque numbering

[Lindsay Lorden (ludwigwn)]

Thank you ;-}