49 lines
1.5 KiB
Markdown
49 lines
1.5 KiB
Markdown
# How to use another account separator character
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[Timedot format](manual.html#timedot) makes me want to use dots (`.`) for separating account components, instead of colon (`:`).
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For example, instead of `fos:hledger:timedot` I'd like to write `fos.hledger.timedot`.
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We can use the powerful [account aliases](manual.html#account-aliases) feature
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to rewrite account names before hledger's account name parser sees them.
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In journal files, we can use an alias directive.
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Note the backslash which tells the regular expression engine it's a literal `.` not a wildcard:
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```journal
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# alias /REGEX/=REPLACEMENT
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alias /\./=:
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2008/01/01 income
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assets.bank.checking $1
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income.salary
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```
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Check that subaccounts are recognised:
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```shell
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$ hledger -f t.journal bal --no-elide
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$1 assets
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$1 bank
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$1 checking
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$-1 income
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$-1 salary
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--------------------
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0
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```
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Alias directives aren't supported in the timedot format,
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```timedot
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2016/2/4
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fos.hledger.timedot 2
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fos.ledger 1
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```
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so we would use the `--alias` command line option instead.
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The second backslash tells the shell that's a literal backslash, not a shell escape sequence:
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```shell
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$ hledger --alias /\\./=: -f t.timedot bal --no-elide
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3.00 fos
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2.00 hledger
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2.00 timedot
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1.00 ledger
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--------------------
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3.00
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```
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