From f6a7070167a7269006ac7862fca17b6120627342 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Simon Michael Date: Thu, 29 Oct 2015 17:15:13 -0700 Subject: [PATCH] ui: reg: document the balance/total column better --- doc/manual.md | 25 +++++++++++++++++++++---- hledger-ui/hledger-ui.1.md | 29 +++++++++++++++++++++++++---- 2 files changed, 46 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-) diff --git a/doc/manual.md b/doc/manual.md index c9d24f63b..30d51e3a1 100644 --- a/doc/manual.md +++ b/doc/manual.md @@ -2258,10 +2258,27 @@ hledger-web, and other accounting systems), rather than postings current account; positive for an inflow to this account, negative for an outflow. -- (Not implemented yet: the balance field should usually show the - current account's historic balance as of the transaction date, even - if you have adjusted the report start date. Currently it always - shows the running total). +- When possible, the balance field shows the current account's + historic balance as of the transaction date, rather than a running + total starting from 0. + + Specifically, the register shows historic balances when no query + other than a date limit is in effect. Eg: + + ``` + $ hledger-ui + $ hledger-ui -b 'this month' + $ hledger-ui --register checking date:2015/10 + ``` + + whereas the following would revert to showing a running total + instead, since they are not just date-limited: + + ``` + $ hledger-ui checking + $ hledger-ui -b 'this month' --cleared + $ hledger-ui --register checking desc:market + ``` ##### Error screen diff --git a/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.1.md b/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.1.md index 07c8bdba2..cd6243105 100644 --- a/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.1.md +++ b/hledger-ui/hledger-ui.1.md @@ -145,10 +145,27 @@ hledger-web, and other accounting systems), rather than postings current account; positive for an inflow to this account, negative for an outflow. -- (Not implemented yet: the balance field should usually show the - current account's historic balance as of the transaction date, even - if you have adjusted the report start date. Currently it always - shows the running total). +- When possible, the balance field shows the current account's + historic balance as of the transaction date, rather than a running + total starting from 0. + + Specifically, the register shows historic balances when no query + other than a date limit is in effect. Eg: + + ``` + $ hledger-ui + $ hledger-ui -b 'this month' + $ hledger-ui --register checking date:2015/10 + ``` + + whereas the following would revert to showing a running total + instead, since they are not just date-limited: + + ``` + $ hledger-ui checking + $ hledger-ui -b 'this month' --cleared + $ hledger-ui --register checking desc:market + ``` ## Error screen @@ -181,3 +198,7 @@ The need to precede options with `--` when invoked from hledger is awkward. When you press `g`, the current and all previous screens are regenerated, which may cause a noticeable pause. Also there is no visual indication that this is in progress. + +The register screen's switching between historic balance and running +total based on query arguments may be confusing, and there is no +column heading to indicate which is being displayed.