import: document a problem with balance assignments

[ci skip]
This commit is contained in:
Simon Michael 2019-04-19 11:18:33 -07:00
parent 4fffe74408
commit eb576ba5be

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@ -19,3 +19,18 @@ to see only uncategorised transactions:
```shell
$ hledger import --dry ... | hledger -f- print unknown --ignore-assertions
```
Importing balance assignments:
Entries added by import will have their posting amounts made explicit (like `hledger print -x`).
This means that any balance assignments in imported files must be evaluated;
but, imported files don't get to see the main file's account balances.
As a result, importing entries with balance assignments
(eg from an institution that provides only balances and not posting amounts)
will probably generate incorrect posting amounts.
To avoid this problem, use print instead of import:
$ hledger print IMPORTFILE [--new] >> $LEDGER_FILE
(If you think import should leave amounts implicit like print does,
please test it and send a pull request.)