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jGnash README

jGnash is a free (no strings attached!) personal finance manager with many of the same features as commercially-available software. It was created in order to make tracking personal finances easy, but also provides the functionality needed by advanced users. jGnash is cross-platform and will run on any operating system that has a current Java Runtime Environment (e.g., Linux, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows)

jGnash 2.x requires that Java 8 or newer be installed. jGnash is compatible with the Oracle JVM as well as the open source OpenJDK Platform.

Features

  • Operates on any operating system with Java 8 or newer installed

  • Double Entry Accounting with reconciliation tools

  • OFX, QFX, mt940, and QIF import capabilities

  • Investment Accounts and automatic import of Stocks, Bond, and Funds price history

  • Nestable accounts with automatic rollup of totals and intelligent handling of mixed currencies

  • Reminders with automatic transaction entry

  • Intelligent handling of multiple currencies and exchange rates with automatic online exchange rate updates

  • Printable reports with PDF and spreadsheet export capability

  • XML and relational database file formats

  • Supports concurrent multiple users over a network

Donations

Donations are always welcome and appreciated. This helps to defer the cost of computer hardware and internet access.

PayPal

Learn about jGnash / Support

To learn about the features of jGnash, visit the jGnash Website.

The jGnash download includes a user manual to help get you started with the basics if you are new to tracking finances. It also covers some of the more subtle features, command line options, and shortcuts that are not immediately obvious.

The jGnash Help Group is always a good source if you need help and is the prefered method of contact. Your first post to the group will be moderated to filter spam.

Download jGnash

You can download jGnash from the jGnash Download Page.

To Install jGnash:

  1. Install Java 8 or newer. Most users of jGnash will want to use the latest version of Oracle Java Runtime Environment. Developers will want the Java Development Kit (see build instructions below.)

  2. Unzip all files into a directory of your choice leaving the directory structure unchanged.

To Run:

Executable files are provided for Windows and UN*X users at the root of the installation directory. The jGnashFx executables will launch jGnash with the latest interface and the jGnash2 files with launch jGnash with the old legacy Java Swing interface.

Simply double click on the *.exe file of choice in Windows.

UN*X users can start jGnash with the provided Bash scripts. If they fail to launch, check your file permissions and make sure they are set to be executable or use a unzip tool that preserves file permissions.

An example for UN*X users is show below assuming you have changed to the installation directory.

./jGnashFx

Linux Tips:

jGnash is not compatible with the GCJ Java installation pre-installed on older Linux distributions. You will need to install the OpenJDK or Oracle Java Platform and correctly set the default for jGnash to operate correctly.

Some Linux distributions separate the installation of the Open JavaFx libraries from the base JVM package. If the Fx version of the UI does not work, verify the required openjfx package is installed.

Mac OS X Installation:

For Mac OS X users, a minimum of Mac OS X 10.8.3 is required

  1. Copy the jGnash folder to /Applications and remove the version so the final path looks like /Applications/jGnash.

  2. Open the AppleScript Editor.

Create the following script:

try
    do shell script "/Applications/jGnash/jGnashFx"
end try

Save it as an Application called jGnash.app in /Applications/jGnash

Java 9 and 10 Requirements

jGnash is designed to operate with Java 8 but will work correctly under Java 9 and 10 with some tweaks.

An additional command line option --add-modules java.xml.bind is required if you want to operate under Java 9 and 10.

An illegal reflective access Warning may be displayed on the console similar to the following. It can be ignored and should improve at a later date as the Java Ecosystem migrates to Java 9.

WARNING: An illegal reflective access operation has occurred
WARNING: Illegal reflective access by javassist.util.proxy.SecurityActions (file:/home/craig/.gradle/caches/modules-2/files-2.1/org.javassist/javassist/3.20.0-GA/a9cbcdfb7e9f86fbc74d3afae65f2248bfbf82a0/javassist-3.20.0-GA.jar) to method java.lang.ClassLoader.defineClass(java.lang.String,byte[],int,int,java.security.ProtectionDomain)
WARNING: Please consider reporting this to the maintainers of javassist.util.proxy.SecurityActions
WARNING: Use --illegal-access=warn to enable warnings of further illegal reflective access operations
WARNING: All illegal access operations will be denied in a future release

Building jGnash:

Gradle is used as the primary build system for jGnash. The Gradle Wrapper is included so that you do not need to install Gradle. The Wrapper will automatically download the necessary dependencies.

Note
 Depending on your OS (almost always Windows and OSX) the JCE Unlimited Strength Jurisdiction Policy Files for Java 8 are needed for the unit tests to complete correctly. If you do not want to install these files or are restricted by your locale, modify the test build or disable tests. jGnash uses encryption for client / server communication and unit tests are performed to prevent regressions.

To build jGnash you’ll need the following software installed and correctly configured on your system:

  1. JDK 8u71 or later.

If you are building with a recent 64 bit Linux system, you may need to enable Multilib/32 Bit support capabilities. Otherwise, the Gradle build may fail when building the windows executables.

To create the distribution zip file, start at the main directory and run:

Building on Windows

gradlew clean distZip

Building on UN*X

./gradlew clean distZip

A distributable zip file will be produced at the root of the build directory called jGnash-version-bin.zip.

jGnashFx Version

The distribution now contains a version of jGnash that utilizes JavaFX for the user interface. Long term this version will replace the Java Swing based version that jGnash was first based on. The advantages of JavaFX over Swing are an improved appearance with better utilization of the systems graphics hardware including Hi-DPI systems.

The core/engine of jGnash remains the same and is shared by both the Swing and JavaFx versions. This means stability and protection of your valuable data remains the same. This also allows you to switch between versions without issue.

The advantages for jGnash is a smaller code base for the user interface, access to better components such as improved table support, HTML pages, functional animations, modern controls, etc. Experienced jGnash users will notice interface improvements. For example, try using the vertical and horizontal scroll wheels in a date picker and the collapsible transaction forms.

Java 8 Requirements

JDK 8u71 or later is required for the jGnashFx interface. The 8u71 release fixed several JavaFX bugs and jGnashFx is dependent on several recent API changes.

Linux Users

Linux users may use the jGnashFx interface if you have the Oracle release of Java installed or if you are using OpenJDK with OpenJFX 8u71 or later installed. OpenJFX 8u40 and u45 packages are generally available for most mainstream distributions, but will not work.

OpenJFX

jGnashFx has been heavily tested against OpenJFX. There are no noticeable differences in performance or stability with the Oracle release or OpenJDK with OpenJFX.

Development Tools

The IDE used for the development of jGnash is:

IntelliJIDEA Logo

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