wish: stats report preference to include/exlcude xfer by default

[Lionel KOMSA]

Hi,

I have a Homebank file with multiple accounts. A personnal one, one with my wife, others for my children...
I use to make transfers between these accounts for different reasons, and I use the "Transfer" type of operation with which I can select the source account and the target one. This allows me to link the operations of the both accounts together and check that there is no error.
I also affect a category to those operations.

The problem is those operations are not in the report.
So is it normal ? If yes, can you explain me why ? If yes, I can't understand the usage of the operation type "transfert".

Thanks a lot for your support.

Lionel

[David Muir (anjinmiura)]

This confused me as well. By default, transfers ae excluded from the report. Click on the Edit Filter button, and then change the Status Type to Any Type (or Transfer if all the transactions are transfers), and change the option to Include. See attached screenshot. Transfers will now appear in your report.

[Lionel KOMSA (knel)]

Oh, yes thank you !!
I missed this filter because it is in "Status" tab and I looked to fast without see the Type filter. Strange that they are exclude by default.

This type "transfer" is particular and I can't figure out why. For example, even if it is not the subject, do you know why we can't split a transfer ?

[David Muir (anjinmiura)]

Sorry, I don't know the answer to that one. I have never needed to do that.

[Maxime DOYEN (mdoyen)]

By default transfer are excluded from the Stats report (and only this one) as the goal of this reports is to see distribution, and transfer are null txn (it do not globally increase or decrease the money you own)
This was the initial thought 20 years ago and since new feature arrived and it is probably subject to question now, or maybe should be an option. As there is now some view where it may make sense.

@Lionel: The problem is those operations are not in the report.
=> in view by account ?

For transfer split, it is more or less the same initial thinking, see doc and https://bugs.launchpad.net/homebank/+bug/1822448
My position still the same, a transfer is a single operation to move from A to B, category should event not be available for that kind of transaction.

[Lionel KOMSA (knel)]

Thanks for your answer.
I understand your position, but as I can see in the other ticket you mention, I am not the only one to have a very different view of transfers from yours. Your usage is an approch but it would still possible if you remove the restrictions on transfer operation.

I explain myself : as I said initially, in my Homebank file, I manage several accounts; mine, my children's one, the joint account with my wife...
Regularly, I make transfers to my children's account, or to the joint account. These transfers correspond to a payment for a specific reason that I want to categorize and even that I would like sometimes to be able to split into different categories. In any case, they do have an impact on the money left on my personal account.
For this reason, when I do a report on my account, I have to consider those transferts.

So @Maxime, to answer to your question, yes, the problem is that those operations are not in the report. But now that I know that it is possible to modify the filter, the problem is no longer blocking. What could be good is that the filters are saved to avoid having to redo them for each report.

And idealy, it would be a great thing if one day you authorize splited transfert.
But, at least, please, never remove the category for a transfer operation.

[Maxime DOYEN (mdoyen)]

My suggestion is still on the table:
" This was the initial thought 20 years ago and since new feature arrived and it is probably subject to question now, or maybe should be an option. As there is now some view where it may make sense."

=> as I have just refactored the filter to enable select each type and status independently, so what about a preference for this ?
several option here:
- a global preference (default status)
- and optionally a checkbox "[] exclude xfer" into the stats windows as well to quickly change

remaining question set the default exclude xfer to on or off by default
I hesitate between keeping the actual behavior ON not to bother some usage or set it to OFF because it mostly makes sense in some stats reports, what do you think ?

[Maxime DOYEN (mdoyen)]

the new type filer for 5.6

[David Muir (anjinmiura)]

Sounds like a great solution to me. Even though my personal preference would be to include transfers by default, I think the least disruptive option is to make the defaults match the way the program has always behaved. That is, off by default for transfers, but add a note to the help file explaining how to change the default to include transfers.

[Lionel KOMSA (knel)]

Thanks for your return.

Like David, I think the least disruptive choice is to let xfer exclude by default.

For your option, a global preference sounds good for me because you change it one time, and all the reports will take this choice.
I think one user like you will always want to exlude xfer, and other like me will always want to include them.