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0001 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
0002 <chapter id="firsttime">
0003 <chapterinfo>
0004   <authorgroup>
0005     <author> &Michael.T.Edwardes; &Michael.T.Edwardes.mail; </author>
0006     <author> &Jack.H.Ostroff; &Jack.H.Ostroff.mail; </author>
0007   </authorgroup>
0008   <date>2018-02-01</date>
0009   <releaseinfo>5.0.0</releaseinfo>
0010 </chapterinfo>
0011 
0012 <title>Using &kmymoney; for the first time</title>
0013 
0014 <sect1 id="firstime-1">
0015 <title>Running &kmymoney; for the first time</title>
0016 
0017 <para>
0018   Once &kmymoney; has fully loaded two windows will be opened. The top window,
0019   'Tip of the Day' offers one of a series of important or useful pieces of
0020   information about the application.
0021   <screenshot>
0022         <screeninfo>Tip of the Day</screeninfo>
0023         <mediaobject>
0024         <imageobject>
0025         <imagedata fileref="tipofday.png" format="PNG" />
0026         </imageobject>
0027         <textobject>
0028         <phrase>Tip of the Day</phrase>
0029         </textobject>
0030         </mediaobject>
0031   </screenshot>
0032 </para>
0033 
0034 <para>
0035   You are recommended to quickly read through these tips by pressing on the
0036   <guibutton>Previous</guibutton> and <guibutton>Next</guibutton> buttons at the
0037   bottom of the window.
0038 </para>
0039 
0040 <para>
0041   Once you have read the tips the window can be closed; it will re-open each
0042   time &kmymoney; is started.  To stop this default behavior, uncheck the
0043   appropriate option on the Tip of the Day window.
0044 </para>
0045 
0046 <note>
0047   <para>
0048     Tips can be read at anytime by selecting the <menuchoice><guimenu>Help</guimenu>
0049     <guimenuitem>Show tip of the day</guimenuitem></menuchoice> menu item within &kmymoney;.
0050   </para>
0051 </note>
0052 
0053 <para>
0054   All tips have been extracted from the Frequently Asked Questions list (&FAQ;)
0055   that provides more detailed help and can be found on the project <ulink
0056   url="https://www.kmymoney.org/faq.php">website</ulink> and in <link
0057   linkend="faq">this manual</link>.
0058 </para>
0059 
0060 <para>
0061   Please click on <guibutton>Close</guibutton> to close the Tip of the Day
0062   dialog.
0063 </para>
0064 
0065 <note>
0066   <para>
0067     When you run &kmymoney;, it might not look exactly like the screenshots in
0068     this manual.  Many details, such as fonts, colors, and icons, can be
0069     customized, either using the
0070     <menuchoice><guimenu>Settings</guimenu><guimenuitem>Configure
0071     &kmymoney;...</guimenuitem></menuchoice> menu item or the &kde; &systemsettings;
0072     application, depending on your operating system.
0073   </para>
0074 </note>
0075 
0076 </sect1>
0077 
0078 <sect1 id="firsttime.mainwindow">
0079 <title>The main window</title>
0080 
0081 <para>
0082         <screenshot>
0083         <screeninfo>The Main Window</screeninfo>
0084         <mediaobject>
0085         <imageobject>
0086         <imagedata fileref="mainwindow_numbered.png" format="PNG" />
0087         </imageobject>
0088         <textobject>
0089         <phrase>The Main Window</phrase>
0090         </textobject>
0091         </mediaobject>
0092         </screenshot>
0093 </para>
0094 
0095 <para>
0096   The &kmymoney; main window consists of four major parts
0097 </para>
0098 
0099 <itemizedlist>
0100   <listitem><para>A. The menu bar</para></listitem>
0101   <listitem><para>B. The toolbar</para></listitem>
0102   <listitem><para>C. The View selector</para></listitem>
0103   <listitem><para>D. The view</para></listitem>
0104 </itemizedlist>
0105 
0106 <para>
0107   The menu and toolbars provide access to the features of &kmymoney; and allow
0108   you to <link linkend="firsttime.3">Create</link> files or configure how
0109   &kmymoney; operates.
0110 </para>
0111 
0112 <para>
0113   On the left side of the main window, the view selector consists of at least
0114   eleven icons with optional labels, depending upon the software provided by
0115   your system.  More icons could be added by various plugins.  By clicking on an
0116   icon, the view window on the right hand side is loaded with the appropriate
0117   view of your financial data.  Each view provides a unique representation of
0118   your financial situation and allows you to view or edit the information shown.
0119 </para>
0120 
0121 <para>
0122   The view selector may contain the following icons
0123 </para>
0124 
0125 <itemizedlist>
0126   <listitem>
0127     <para>
0128       <guiicon>
0129         <inlinemediaobject>
0130           <imageobject>
0131             <imagedata fileref="home_view.png" format="PNG"/>
0132           </imageobject>
0133           <textobject>
0134             <phrase>Home View</phrase>
0135           </textobject>
0136         </inlinemediaobject>
0137       </guiicon>
0138       Home: A configurable overview of your current financial situation (or an
0139       introduction page when no data file is open).
0140     </para>
0141   </listitem>
0142 
0143   <listitem>
0144     <para>
0145       <guiicon>
0146         <inlinemediaobject>
0147           <imageobject>
0148             <imagedata fileref="institutions_view.png" format="PNG"/>
0149           </imageobject>
0150           <textobject>
0151             <phrase>Institutions View</phrase>
0152           </textobject>
0153         </inlinemediaobject>
0154       </guiicon>
0155       Institutions: All of your institutions and accounts displayed in a
0156       hierarchy.
0157     </para>
0158   </listitem>
0159 
0160   <listitem>
0161     <para>
0162       <guiicon>
0163         <inlinemediaobject>
0164           <imageobject>
0165             <imagedata fileref="accounts_view.png" format="PNG"/>
0166           </imageobject>
0167           <textobject>
0168             <phrase>Accounts View</phrase>
0169           </textobject>
0170         </inlinemediaobject>
0171       </guiicon>
0172       Accounts: All of your accounts displayed in a hierarchy.
0173     </para>
0174   </listitem>
0175 
0176   <listitem>
0177     <para>
0178       <guiicon>
0179         <inlinemediaobject>
0180           <imageobject>
0181             <imagedata fileref="schedule_view.png" format="PNG"/>
0182           </imageobject>
0183           <textobject>
0184             <phrase>Schedules View</phrase>
0185           </textobject>
0186         </inlinemediaobject>
0187       </guiicon>
0188       Scheduled Transactions: Your recurring bills and deposits.
0189     </para>
0190   </listitem>
0191 
0192   <listitem>
0193     <para>
0194       <guiicon>
0195         <inlinemediaobject>
0196           <imageobject>
0197             <imagedata fileref="categories_view.png" format="PNG"/>
0198           </imageobject>
0199           <textobject>
0200             <phrase>Categories View</phrase>
0201           </textobject>
0202         </inlinemediaobject>
0203       </guiicon>
0204       Categories: Special accounts that provide a means for you to group
0205       associated transactions.
0206     </para>
0207   </listitem>
0208 
0209   <listitem>
0210     <para>
0211       <guiicon>
0212         <inlinemediaobject>
0213           <imageobject>
0214             <imagedata fileref="mail-tagged.png" format="PNG"/>
0215           </imageobject>
0216           <textobject>
0217             <phrase>Tags View</phrase>
0218           </textobject>
0219         </inlinemediaobject>
0220       </guiicon>
0221       Tags: Special accounts that provide an additional means to Categories for
0222       you to group associated transactions.
0223     </para>
0224   </listitem>
0225 
0226   <listitem>
0227     <para>
0228       <guiicon>
0229         <inlinemediaobject>
0230           <imageobject>
0231             <imagedata fileref="payees_view.png" format="PNG"/>
0232           </imageobject>
0233           <textobject>
0234             <phrase>Payees View</phrase>
0235           </textobject>
0236         </inlinemediaobject>
0237       </guiicon>
0238       Payees: All Payees used by &kmymoney;.  These are all the people or
0239       organizations you pay money to or receive money from.
0240     </para>
0241   </listitem>
0242 
0243   <listitem>
0244     <para>
0245       <guiicon>
0246         <inlinemediaobject>
0247           <imageobject>
0248             <imagedata fileref="ledgers_view.png" format="PNG"/>
0249       </imageobject>
0250           <textobject>
0251             <phrase>Ledgers View</phrase>
0252       </textobject>
0253         </inlinemediaobject>
0254       </guiicon>
0255       Ledgers: Your account transactions.
0256     </para>
0257   </listitem>
0258 
0259   <listitem>
0260     <para>
0261       <guiicon>
0262         <inlinemediaobject>
0263           <imageobject>
0264             <imagedata fileref="investments_view.png" format="PNG"/>
0265           </imageobject>
0266           <textobject>
0267         <phrase>Investments View</phrase>
0268           </textobject>
0269         </inlinemediaobject>
0270       </guiicon>
0271       Investments: Your portfolio summary.
0272     </para>
0273   </listitem>
0274 
0275   <listitem>
0276     <para>
0277       <guiicon>
0278         <inlinemediaobject>
0279           <imageobject>
0280             <imagedata fileref="reports_view.png" format="PNG"/>
0281           </imageobject>
0282           <textobject>
0283             <phrase>Reports View</phrase>
0284           </textobject>
0285         </inlinemediaobject>
0286       </guiicon>
0287       Reports: A collection of useful reports, providing alternate, customizable
0288       views of your financial data.
0289     </para>
0290   </listitem>
0291 
0292   <listitem>
0293     <para>
0294       <guiicon>
0295         <inlinemediaobject>
0296           <imageobject>
0297             <imagedata fileref="budgets_view.png" format="PNG"/>
0298           </imageobject>
0299           <textobject>
0300             <phrase>Budgets View</phrase>
0301       </textobject>
0302         </inlinemediaobject>
0303       </guiicon>
0304       Budgets: Your budgets.
0305     </para>
0306   </listitem>
0307 
0308   <listitem>
0309     <para>
0310       <guiicon>
0311         <inlinemediaobject>
0312           <imageobject>
0313             <imagedata fileref="forecast_view.png" format="PNG"/>
0314           </imageobject>
0315           <textobject>
0316             <phrase>Forecast View</phrase>
0317           </textobject>
0318         </inlinemediaobject>
0319       </guiicon>
0320       Forecast: This view provides a forecast of your accounts and categories.
0321     </para>
0322   </listitem>
0323 
0324   <listitem>
0325     <para>
0326       <guiicon>
0327         <inlinemediaobject>
0328           <imageobject>
0329             <imagedata fileref="outbox_view.png" format="PNG"/>
0330           </imageobject>
0331           <textobject>
0332             <phrase>Outbox View</phrase>
0333           </textobject>
0334         </inlinemediaobject>
0335       </guiicon>
0336       Outbox: Used by the online banking module to provide feedback on running
0337       processes.  This view is provided by the KBanking plugin and may not be
0338       present on your system.
0339     </para>
0340   </listitem>
0341 </itemizedlist>
0342 </sect1>
0343 
0344 <sect1 id="firsttime.3">
0345 <title>Creating a new file</title>
0346 
0347 <para>
0348   &kmymoney; keeps all the data about your finances in a file.  As was stated in
0349   <link linkend="makingmostof.basicaccounting.personalaccounts">Defining the
0350   accounts (personal records)</link>, you can keep more than one set of
0351   accounts, but the data for each will be kept in a separate file, and
0352   &kmymoney; can only have one file open at a time.  See the chapter on <link
0353   linkend="details.formats">File Formats</link> for more details about
0354   &kmymoney;'s data files.
0355 </para>
0356 
0357 <para>
0358   To create a new file you can either select
0359   <menuchoice><guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>New</guimenuitem></menuchoice>
0360   menu item or choose the <guiicon><inlinemediaobject><imageobject><imagedata
0361   fileref="new.png" format="PNG"/></imageobject></inlinemediaobject></guiicon> new
0362   icon from the toolbar. In addition, if the main welcome page is displayed,
0363   you can also select the first link: "Get started and setup accounts."
0364 </para>
0365 
0366 <para>
0367   &kmymoney; will then open the <quote>New File Setup Wizard</quote> which will
0368   guide you through the process of creating the file.
0369 </para>
0370 
0371 <para>
0372         <screenshot>
0373         <screeninfo>Personal Data Page</screeninfo>
0374         <mediaobject>
0375         <imageobject>
0376         <imagedata fileref="newfile.png" format="PNG" />
0377         </imageobject>
0378         <textobject>
0379         <phrase>Personal Data Page</phrase>
0380         </textobject>
0381         </mediaobject>
0382         </screenshot>
0383 </para>
0384 
0385 <para>
0386   Since all fields are optional, you can use &kmymoney; without entering any
0387   information now.  Any information entered here is used only to personalize
0388   your file.  In the future, it may be used in some reports and for online
0389   banking. If &kmymoney; requires any personal information in future releases
0390   and finds none, you will be prompted to enter the relevant data then.
0391 </para>
0392 
0393 <para>
0394   Please enter your name and address or nothing and press
0395   <guibutton>Next</guibutton>.
0396 </para>
0397 
0398 <para>
0399   In case you have an address for yourself stored in the &kaddressbook;, the
0400   button <guibutton>Load from Addressbook</guibutton> is enabled and pressing it
0401   imports all information into &kmymoney;.
0402 </para>
0403 
0404 <para>
0405   &kmymoney; supports multiple currencies.  To set your base currency (the
0406   currency you use day to day and which will be used for your reports), select
0407   the appropriate entry from the list provided and press
0408   <guibutton>Next</guibutton>. A default will be selected from &kmymoney; based
0409   upon your locale settings.
0410 </para>
0411 
0412 <para>
0413   In the following example, US Dollar has been selected as the base currency.
0414 </para>
0415 
0416 <para>
0417         <screenshot>
0418         <screeninfo>Base currency selection Page</screeninfo>
0419         <mediaobject>
0420         <imageobject>
0421         <imagedata fileref="newfile-2.png" format="PNG" />
0422         </imageobject>
0423         <textobject>
0424         <phrase>Base currency selection page</phrase>
0425         </textobject>
0426         </mediaobject>
0427         </screenshot>
0428 </para>
0429 
0430 <para>
0431   The following page allows you to create an initial account. For the typical
0432   &kmymoney; user this is a checking account.
0433 </para>
0434 
0435 <para>
0436         <screenshot>
0437         <screeninfo>Checking account creation Page</screeninfo>
0438         <mediaobject>
0439         <imageobject>
0440         <imagedata fileref="newfile-3.png" format="PNG" />
0441         </imageobject>
0442         <textobject>
0443         <phrase>Checking account creation page</phrase>
0444         </textobject>
0445         </mediaobject>
0446         </screenshot>
0447 </para>
0448 
0449 <para>
0450   Enter the name of the account and a possible account or reference number
0451   assigned by the institution managing the account.  Enter the opening date of
0452   the account and the opening balance of the account.  For example, you want to
0453   use &kmymoney; to manage all your finances as of 2008-01-01, then enter the
0454   balance of the account at the beginning of this date.  The number can possibly
0455   be obtained from a paper statement.  Also enter the name and routing number of
0456   the institution, though this information is optional and only required for
0457   online banking purposes.
0458 </para>
0459 
0460 <para>
0461   In case you don't want to setup an initial account, please uncheck the check box.
0462 </para>
0463 
0464 <para>
0465   Once finished, press <guibutton>Next</guibutton> to proceed.
0466 </para>
0467 
0468 <para>
0469         <screenshot>
0470         <screeninfo>Account template selection Page</screeninfo>
0471         <mediaobject>
0472         <imageobject>
0473         <imagedata fileref="newfile-4.png" format="PNG" />
0474         </imageobject>
0475         <textobject>
0476         <phrase>Account template selection page</phrase>
0477         </textobject>
0478         </mediaobject>
0479         </screenshot>
0480 </para>
0481 
0482 
0483 <para>
0484   Choose the appropriate country and account template(s). Each template provides
0485   a different set of categories for organizing your finances. Multiple
0486   templates, even from different countries, can be selected using a combination
0487   of &Ctrl; and &Shift; together with the &LMB;.  The account
0488   hierarchy to be setup will be shown in a preview part of the wizard. In case
0489   you cannot find a template that suits your needs, don't select a template at
0490   this time, and you can manually set up categories later.
0491 </para>
0492 
0493 <para>
0494   Once finished with the template selection press <guibutton>Next</guibutton> to
0495   proceed.
0496 </para>
0497 
0498 <para>
0499   The next page of the wizard allows you to setup user preferences. If you
0500   select the checkbox, the application settings dialog will be displayed after
0501   you have completed the account setup wizard.  Press
0502   <guibutton>Next</guibutton> if you are done and want to proceed.
0503 </para>
0504 
0505 <para>
0506         <screenshot>
0507         <screeninfo>Preference Page</screeninfo>
0508         <mediaobject>
0509         <imageobject>
0510         <imagedata fileref="newfile-5.png" format="PNG" />
0511         </imageobject>
0512         <textobject>
0513         <phrase>Preference page</phrase>
0514         </textobject>
0515         </mediaobject>
0516         </screenshot>
0517 </para>
0518 
0519 <para>
0520   The last page of the wizard allows you to select the location and filename
0521   that will be used to store your financial data. Initial values will be
0522   constructed out of your HOME folder and user name. In case the file exists, a
0523   warning will be displayed which reminds you to select a name of a non-existing
0524   file.
0525 </para>
0526 
0527 <para>
0528         <screenshot>
0529         <screeninfo>Filename selection Page</screeninfo>
0530         <mediaobject>
0531         <imageobject>
0532         <imagedata fileref="newfile-6.png" format="PNG" />
0533         </imageobject>
0534         <textobject>
0535         <phrase>Filename selection page</phrase>
0536         </textobject>
0537         </mediaobject>
0538         </screenshot>
0539 </para>
0540 
0541 <para>
0542   Now you have entered all relevant information to create the file. Press
0543   <guibutton>Finish</guibutton> and &kmymoney; will create the file for you and
0544   open it.
0545 </para>
0546 
0547 </sect1>
0548 
0549 <sect1 id="firsttime.4">
0550 <title>Creating accounts</title>
0551 
0552 <para>
0553   There are multiple ways you can create an account, which are described here:
0554 </para>
0555 
0556 <variablelist>
0557   <varlistentry>
0558     <term>Using the menu</term>
0559     <listitem>
0560       <para>
0561         To create an account using the menu select
0562         <menuchoice><guimenu>Accounts</guimenu><guimenuitem>New
0563         account</guimenuitem></menuchoice> menu item.
0564       </para>
0565     </listitem>
0566   </varlistentry>
0567 
0568   <varlistentry>
0569     <term>Using the Accounts view</term>
0570     <listitem>
0571       <para>
0572         To create an account using the accounts view click on the <guiicon>
0573         <inlinemediaobject><imageobject><imagedata fileref="accounts_view.png"
0574         format="PNG"/></imageobject></inlinemediaobject></guiicon> accounts icon
0575         in the view selector to display the Accounts View.  Right click on the
0576         either the Asset tree icon or the Liability tree icon in the right hand
0577         view and select <guimenuitem>New account</guimenuitem> from the popup
0578         menu.  The Asset tree holds all of your accounts that are an asset, such
0579         as savings and investments.  Liabilities are accounts that represent
0580         money you owe, such as loans and credit cards.  These and all the other
0581         account types are discussed in more detail later in this manual.
0582       </para>
0583     </listitem>
0584   </varlistentry>
0585 
0586   <varlistentry>
0587     <term>Using the toolbar</term>
0588     <listitem>
0589       <para>
0590         If the <guibutton>New Account...</guibutton> button is displayed on the
0591         toolbar, you can click it to create an account.
0592       </para>
0593     </listitem>
0594   </varlistentry>
0595 
0596 </variablelist>
0597 
0598 <tip>
0599   <para>
0600     Note that &kmymoney; uses context menus a lot throughout the whole
0601     application.  If you find yourself stuck trying to figure out how to do
0602     something, try right-clicking where you would expect to see a feature.
0603   </para>
0604 </tip>
0605 
0606 <para>
0607   Creating a new account by either method opens the <emphasis>New Account
0608   Wizard</emphasis>.  This wizard will take you step by step through the process
0609   of creating an account, gathering the required information at each step.  To
0610   navigate through the pages click on the <guibutton>Next</guibutton> and
0611   <guibutton>Back</guibutton> buttons.
0612 </para>
0613 
0614 <para>
0615   Create an account using any of the previously mentioned methods to continue.
0616   A full description of creating accounts can be found in the <link
0617   linkend="details.accounts">Accounts</link> section.
0618 </para>
0619 
0620 <para>
0621   Now that one or more accounts exist in &kmymoney;, your account summary is
0622   shown in the Home view.  You can create transactions manually in the <link
0623   linkend="details.ledgers">Ledgers</link> view, or set up automatic
0624   transactions through the <link linkend="details.schedules">Schedules</link>
0625   view.
0626 </para>
0627 </sect1>
0628 
0629 <sect1 id="firsttime.schedules">
0630 <title>Schedules</title>
0631 
0632 <para>
0633   Sometimes called a recurring transaction, a <link
0634   linkend="details.schedules">Schedule</link> is a transaction that occurs one
0635   or more times over a certain period of time.  A typical example is your pay
0636   check that you receive every month or week.  Rather than have to enter the
0637   transaction details each time you get paid, you can instruct &kmymoney; to
0638   create a schedule that will enter a transaction for you when you get paid.
0639 </para>
0640 
0641 <para>
0642   To maintain <link linkend="details.schedules">schedules</link> click on the
0643   <guiicon><inlinemediaobject><imageobject><imagedata fileref="schedule_view.png"
0644   format="PNG"/></imageobject></inlinemediaobject></guiicon> schedules icon in
0645   the view selector.
0646 </para>
0647 </sect1>
0648 
0649 <sect1 id="firsttime.categories">
0650 <title>Categories</title>
0651 
0652 <para>
0653   To maintain <link linkend="details.categories">categories</link> click on the
0654   <guiicon><inlinemediaobject><imageobject><imagedata fileref="categories_view.png"
0655   format="PNG"/></imageobject></inlinemediaobject></guiicon> categories icon in
0656   the view selector.
0657 </para>
0658 
0659 <para>
0660   A full description of this topic can be found in the <link
0661   linkend="details.categories">Categories</link> section.
0662 </para>
0663 </sect1>
0664 
0665 <sect1 id="firsttime.tags">
0666 <title>Tags</title>
0667 
0668 <para>
0669   To maintain <link linkend="details.tags">tags</link> click on the <guiicon>
0670   <inlinemediaobject><imageobject><imagedata fileref="mail-tagged.png" format="PNG"/>
0671   </imageobject></inlinemediaobject></guiicon> tags icon in the view selector.
0672 </para>
0673 
0674 <para>
0675   A full description of this topic can be found in the <link
0676   linkend="details.tags">Tags</link> section.
0677 </para>
0678 </sect1>
0679 
0680 <sect1 id="firsttime.payees">
0681 <title>Payees</title>
0682 
0683 <para>
0684   To maintain your list of payees click on the <guiicon><inlinemediaobject>
0685   <imageobject><imagedata fileref="payees_view.png" format="PNG"/></imageobject>
0686   </inlinemediaobject></guiicon> payees icon in the view selector.
0687 </para>
0688 
0689 <para>
0690   A full description of this topic can be found in the <link
0691   linkend="details.payees">Payees</link> section.
0692 </para>
0693 </sect1>
0694 
0695 <sect1 id="firsttime.import">
0696 <title>Quicken Interchange Format (QIF) Import</title>
0697 
0698 <para>
0699   If you currently use another financial manager application, &kmymoney; can
0700   import an account's transactions as long as they can be exported or saved in a
0701   format &kmymoney; understands. The most common of these is the Quicken
0702   Interchange Format (QIF).  Most financial programs can export this format,
0703   although the different applications' methods of exporting QIF is not discussed
0704   here for brevity.
0705 </para>
0706 
0707 <para>
0708   A full description of this topic can be found in the <link
0709   linkend="details.impexp.qifimp">QIF Import</link> section.
0710 </para>
0711 </sect1>
0712 
0713 <sect1 id="firsttime.find">
0714 <title>Searching for transactions</title>
0715 
0716 <para>
0717   &kmymoney; provides a useful and powerful transaction search facility in the
0718   form of the search dialog.
0719 </para>
0720 
0721 <para>
0722   The search dialog can be opened from the toolbar using the <guiicon>
0723   <inlinemediaobject><imageobject><imagedata fileref="transaction_find.png"
0724   format="PNG"/></imageobject></inlinemediaobject></guiicon> find icon or by
0725   selecting the <menuchoice><guimenu>Edit</guimenu><guimenuitem>Find
0726   Transaction</guimenuitem></menuchoice> menu item.
0727 </para>
0728 
0729 <para>
0730   A full description of this topic can be found in the <link
0731   linkend="details.search">Search</link> section.
0732 </para>
0733 
0734 </sect1>
0735 
0736 <sect1 id="firsttime.reconcile">
0737 <title>Reconciliation</title>
0738 
0739 <para>
0740   At some point you will want to reconcile the transactions you have entered
0741   with the transactions listed in a statement, be it a bank statement, credit
0742   card statement, loan statement, or any other statement.  Reconciliation
0743   involves matching what you have entered with what the statement lists.  If any
0744   discrepancies are found then either you or the person who created the
0745   statement have made a mistake.
0746 </para>
0747 
0748 <para>
0749   To reconcile an account, first select the account, either from
0750   <guiicon>Accounts</guiicon> view or from <guiicon>Ledgers</guiicon>
0751   view. Then, either click on the <guiicon>Reconcile</guiicon> icon on the
0752   Toolbar, or select the <menuchoice><guimenu>Account</guimenu>
0753   <guimenuitem>Reconcile</guimenuitem></menuchoice> menu item.
0754 </para>
0755 
0756 <para>
0757   A full description of this topic can be found in the <link
0758   linkend="details.reconcile">Reconciliation</link> section.
0759 </para>
0760 </sect1>
0761 
0762 <sect1 id="firsttime.backup">
0763 <title>Backing up</title>
0764 
0765 <para>
0766   Now that you have created some accounts and entered transactions it's a good
0767   idea to perform a backup.  Because the file used by &kmymoney; is a standard
0768   Unix file you can just copy the file to another location to back it up or use
0769   the dialog provided by &kmymoney;.  Using the dialog is the preferred method
0770   because if &kmymoney; ever starts using other file formats, such as SQL, then
0771   it would be much harder to copy the file manually.
0772 </para>
0773 
0774 <para>
0775   To backup your file through &kmymoney; Select
0776   <menuchoice><guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>Backup</guimenuitem></menuchoice>
0777   menu item and enter the folder where you wish the file to be saved. If the folder
0778   needs mounting first and you have the sufficient privileges then check the
0779   tick box labeled <guilabel>Mount this folder before backing up</guilabel>
0780   and click on <guibutton>OK</guibutton>.
0781 </para>
0782 
0783 <para>
0784   The file will be saved to the folder specified with the current date appended
0785   to the filename so it is easy to see the date the file was backed up.
0786 </para>
0787 </sect1>
0788 
0789 <sect1 id="firsttime.launch">
0790 <title>Launching &kmymoney;</title>
0791 
0792 <para>
0793   Most commonly, you will launch &kmymoney; from an icon or a start menu of your
0794   window manager.  In this case, the default behavior is that &kmymoney; will
0795   open the last file you had open.  However, in some circumstances, you will
0796   want or need to launch &kmymoney; from the command line.
0797 </para>
0798 
0799 <para>
0800   For a complete description of all the available command line options, see the
0801   man page for &kmymoney;.  However, there are two special cases which we
0802   describe here.
0803 </para>
0804 
0805 <formalpara><title><command>kmymoney -n</command></title>
0806   <para>
0807     The -n option tells &kmymoney; not to open the last file it had open.  This
0808     can be useful if the program crashes on startup.
0809   </para>
0810 </formalpara>
0811 
0812 <formalpara><title><command>kmymoney &lt;path to file&gt;</command></title>
0813   <para>
0814     Giving &kmymoney; a filename on the command line tells it to open that file
0815     instead of the last file it had open.  You can use the name of any valid
0816     &kmymoney; file, as described in the chapter on <link
0817     linkend="details.formats">file formats</link>.  In addition, this can be
0818     used to import a <link linkend="details.impexp.gnucash">&gnucash;</link> file.
0819   </para>
0820 </formalpara>
0821 </sect1>
0822 
0823 <sect1 id="firsttime.newpc">
0824 <title>How to move &kmymoney; to a new computer</title>
0825 
0826 <sect2 id="firsttime.newpc.data">
0827 <title>Moving your data</title>
0828 
0829 <para>
0830   If you get a new computer, it's very easy to move your data.  In fact, all you
0831   have to do is to copy your &kmymoney; data file.  The name of the file is
0832   shown in the title bar when &kmymoney; is running, it usually ends in <filename
0833   class="extension">.kmy</filename>. The first time you run the application on the
0834   new computer you will have to tell it where you have put the data file, either
0835   by running from the command line, or from the
0836   <menuchoice><guimenu>File</guimenu><guimenuitem>Open...</guimenuitem></menuchoice>
0837   menu item. You should even be able to move between &Windows;, &MacOS;, and &Linux; systems.
0838 </para>
0839 
0840 <para>
0841   If you have encrypted your data file, be sure the appropriate software and
0842   keys have also been set up on the new computer.
0843 </para>
0844 
0845 <para>
0846   If your data is in an SQL database, refer to documentation for your database
0847   software for guidance on migrating your data.
0848 </para>
0849 
0850 <para>
0851   Note that this assumes you have installed the same version of &kmymoney; on the new
0852   computer as you were running on the old computer.  Installing a newer version should
0853   also be safe, but you need to be aware of any issues related to that upgrade.  Any such
0854   issues should be noted in the release notes for the new version.
0855 </para>
0856 </sect2>
0857 
0858 <sect2 id="firsttime.newpc.settings">
0859 <title>Moving your settings</title>
0860 
0861 <para>
0862   If you only move your data file to the new machine, as described in the
0863   previous section, &kmymoney; will work correctly, but you will have lost any
0864   settings you changed from the default on your old machine.  To maintain these
0865   settings, you also need to copy your configuration file.  This file is called
0866   <filename>kmymoneyrc</filename>. This file will be in a folder with other &kde;
0867   application configuration files. On a &Linux; system, this will be in
0868   <filename class="directory">$KDEHOME/share/config</filename> where <envar>$KDEHOME</envar> is usually
0869   <quote>.config</quote> within your home folder. If you are migrating from
0870   a version of &kmymoney; prior to 5.0 or later, the old location
0871   of <envar>$KDEHOME</envar> was <filename class="directory">.kde4</filename>.
0872 </para>
0873 
0874 <sect3 id="firsttime.newpc.settings.plugins">
0875 <title>Moving plugin settings</title>
0876 
0877 <para>
0878   If you have run any &kmymoney; plugin, such as the csv importer or exporter,
0879   it may also have created a configuration file in that same folder, such as
0880   <filename>csvimporterrc</filename> or <filename>csvexporterrc</filename>.
0881   These should also be copied to the new computer.
0882 </para>
0883 
0884 <para>
0885   As with the main data file, this assumes the same version of the plugin on
0886   both computers.  Upgrades are generally safe, but if the functionality of the
0887   plugin has changed greatly, it is advisable to carefully test using the old
0888   configuration file, to be sure the plugin behaves as you expect.
0889 </para>
0890 
0891 <para>
0892   Note that when upgrading from a previous version to version 5.0 or higher, the
0893   location of the template files used by the plugin for printing checks has
0894   changed.  Please consult the release notes or the project <ulink
0895   url="https://www.kmymoney.org/faq.php">website</ulink> for more details.
0896 </para>
0897 
0898 <note>
0899 <para>
0900   These instructions are solely for moving your &kmymoney; data and settings.
0901   However, there may be important items which are stored by &kde; and not by
0902   &kmymoney;, such as passwords stored in kwallet.  Moving other parts of
0903   your &kde; setup is beyond the scope of this manual, although many of the
0904   relevant files are also stored under <envar>$KDEHOME</envar>.
0905 </para>
0906 </note>
0907 </sect3>
0908 </sect2>
0909 </sect1>
0910 
0911 <sect1 id="firsttime.contact">
0912 <title>Contacting the Developers / Reporting Bugs</title>
0913 
0914 <sect2>
0915 <title>Contacting the developers</title>
0916 
0917 <para>
0918   For general questions or comments about &kmymoney;, there is a users' mailing
0919   list &userlist;. (<ulink
0920   url="https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kmymoney">more details
0921   here</ulink>.) In addition, you can contact the developers through their
0922   mailing list &devlist;. (<ulink
0923   url="https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kmymoney-devel">more details
0924   here</ulink>.)  Since replies are often sent only to the list, you may not get
0925   any response unless you subscribe to one of the lists before sending to it.
0926 </para>
0927 
0928 <para>
0929   We're happy to hear about your experiences using &kmymoney;.
0930 </para>
0931 </sect2>
0932 
0933 <sect2>
0934 <title>Reporting bugs</title>
0935 
0936 <para>
0937   To report a bug please use the interface provided by &kmymoney; by selecting
0938   <menuchoice><guimenu>Help</guimenu><guimenuitem>Report
0939   Bug</guimenuitem></menuchoice> menu item and filling in the required information.
0940   However, in case you have any difficulties with that method, you can report a
0941   bug (or file a wish-list or enhancement request) directly at the <ulink
0942   url="https://bugs.kde.org">&kde; bug reporting web site</ulink>.  Reports
0943   should be filed against the product <quote>kmymoney</quote>.
0944 </para>
0945 
0946 <para>
0947   In any case, before reporting a bug, please read through the guidelines below.
0948   Following them will make it more likely that the developers will be able to
0949   quickly identify the problem without having to ask you for more information.
0950 </para>
0951 
0952 <sect3 id="firsttime.bugs.quality">
0953 <title>Writing High Quality Bug Reports</title>
0954 
0955 <para>
0956   We encourage users to take extra time to write high-quality bug reports when
0957   submitting them.  This reduces wasted effort on all sides, as the reporter and
0958   the developer who will fix it trade emails until this information is really
0959   in place.
0960 </para>
0961 
0962 <para>
0963   Eli Goldberg wrote the canonical Bug-Writing Guideline, available at <ulink
0964   url="https://issues.apache.org/bugwritinghelp.html">https://issues.apache.org/bugwritinghelp.html</ulink>.
0965   Generally, you'll be well-served by following these guidelines:
0966 </para>
0967 
0968 <formalpara><title>Include your system information</title>
0969   <para>
0970     The <menuchoice><guimenu>Help</guimenu><guimenuitem>Report
0971     Bug</guimenuitem></menuchoice> menu item will fill this in automatically,
0972     but if you would prefer not to use this interface, there are several items
0973     you need to include in the report.  We will need to know what operating
0974     system you are using (&Linux;, &MacOS;, or &Windows;), the version of &kde;,
0975     and the version of &kmymoney; you're running, and either the version of
0976     &MacOS; or &Windows; or the name and version of your &Linux; distribution
0977     and the version of your kernel.
0978   </para>
0979 </formalpara>
0980 
0981 <formalpara><title>Include a backtrace for crashes</title>
0982   <para>
0983     The backtrace is often the single most useful piece of information in
0984     solving crashes.
0985   </para>
0986 </formalpara>
0987 
0988 <formalpara><title>Try to reproduce it</title>
0989   <para>
0990     Let us know if you were able to do so.  It's useful to know whether the bug
0991     only happened once and you couldn't get it to happen again or happens every
0992     time or happens sometimes but not others.
0993   </para>
0994 </formalpara>
0995 
0996 <formalpara><title>Include specific steps</title>
0997   <para>
0998     This is a bad bug report: <quote>I entered a transaction, and &kmymoney;
0999     crashed.</quote> A much better bug report is: <quote>Using the transaction
1000     form, I entered a new transaction in my Credit Card account.  I selected the
1001     Transfer tab, entered in an amount, then changed to the Deposit tab, and
1002     back to the Transfer tab.  When I returned to the Transfer tab, &kmymoney;
1003     crashed.  This bug is fully reproducible for me.</quote>
1004   </para>
1005 </formalpara>
1006 
1007 <formalpara><title>Tell us what you expected to happen</title>
1008   <para>
1009     In some cases, this is obvious, but in more subtle bugs, sometimes you'll
1010     see a bug report where it is not obvious what the reporter expected to
1011     happen.  Always tell us what you think should have happened.
1012   </para>
1013 </formalpara>
1014 
1015 <formalpara><title>Consider running with debugging enabled</title>
1016   <para>
1017     By compiling a version configured with --enable-debug=full you can ensure
1018     that the best possible backtraces are generated.  If you encounter a crash,
1019     run &kmymoney; again from within gdb, and reproduce the crash.  When it
1020     crashes, type <quote>bt</quote> to generate a backtrace.
1021   </para>
1022 </formalpara>
1023 
1024 <para>
1025   Running this way is a bit more difficult, so we don't expect all users to do
1026   this.  However, if you're interested in helping &kmymoney; become as stable as
1027   possible, this is the best way to do it short of finding the bug in the code
1028   and sending in a patch.
1029 </para>
1030 </sect3>
1031 </sect2>
1032 </sect1>
1033 </chapter>