;doc: cli: improve Generating data; document --verbose-tags

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Simon Michael 2023-04-29 18:58:30 -10:00
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@ -4861,15 +4861,37 @@ $ hledger balance --pivot member acct:.
# Generating data # Generating data
Two features for generating transient data (visible only at report time) hledger has several features for generating data, such as:
are built in to hledger's journal format:
- [Auto posting](#auto-postings) rules can generate extra postings on certain transactions. - [Periodic transaction](#periodic-transactions) rules can generate
They are activated by the `--auto` flag. single or repeating transactions following a template. These are
usually dated in the future, eg to help with forecasting. They are
activated by the `--forecast` option.
- The balance command's `--budget` option uses these same periodic
rules to generate goals for the budget report.
- [Periodic transaction](#periodic-transactions) rules can generate repeating transactions, - [Auto posting](#auto-postings) rules can generate extra postings on
usually dated in the future, to help with forecasting or budgeting. certain matched transactions. They are always applied to forecast
They are activated by the `--forecast` or `balance --budget` options, described next. transactions; with the `--auto` flag they are applied to
transactions recorded in the journal as well.
- The `--infer-equity` flag infers missing conversion equity postings
from @/@@ costs. And the inverse `--infer-costs` flag infers missing
@/@@ costs from conversion equity postings.
Generated data of this kind is temporary, existing only at report
time. But you can see it in the output of `hledger print`, and you
can save that to your journal, in effect converting it from temporary
generated data to permanent recorded data. This could be useful as a
data entry aid.
If you are wondering what data is being generated and why, add the
`--verbose-tags` flag. In `hledger print` output you will see extra
tags like `generated-transaction`, `generated-posting`, and
`modified` on generated/modified data. Also, even without `--verbose-tags`,
generated data always has equivalen hidden tags (with an underscore prefix),
so eg you could match generated transactions with `tag:_generated-transaction`.
# Forecasting # Forecasting