;imp: ui: doc: document watch mode and limitations (#1617, #911, #836..)

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Simon Michael 2021-07-29 20:36:49 -10:00
parent f12ff0df3a
commit f8cc6edbde

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@ -172,11 +172,6 @@ At most one of cost or value mode can be active at once.
There's not yet any visual reminder when cost or value mode is active;
for now pressing `b` `b` `v` should reliably reset to normal mode.
With `--watch` active, if you save an edit to the journal file
while viewing the transaction screen in cost or value mode,
the `B`/`V` keys will stop working.
To work around, press `g` to force a manual reload, or exit the transaction screen.
`q` quits the application.
Additional screen-specific keys are described below.
@ -289,6 +284,56 @@ press g again to reload and resume normal operation.
(Or, you can press escape to cancel the reload attempt.)
# TIPS
## Watch mode
One of hledger-ui's best features is the auto-reloading `--watch` mode.
With this flag, it will update the display automatically whenever changes
are saved to the data files.
This is very useful when reconciling. A good workflow is to have
your bank's online register open in a browser window, for reference;
the journal file open in an editor window;
and hledger-ui in watch mode in a terminal window, eg:
```shell
$ hledger-ui --watch --register checking -C
```
As you mark things cleared in the editor,
you can see the effect immediately without having to context switch.
This leaves more mental bandwidth for your accounting.
Of course you can still interact with hledger-ui when needed,
eg to toggle cleared mode, or to explore the history.
## Watch mode limitations
There are situations in which it won't work, ie the display will not update when
you save a change (because the underlying `inotify` library does not support it).
Here are some that we know of:
- Certain editors: saving with `gedit`, and perhaps any Gnome application,
won't be detected ([#1617](https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/issues/1617)).
Jetbrains IDEs, such as IDEA, also may not work ([#911](https://github.com/simonmichael/hledger/issues/911)).
- Certain unusual filesystems might not be supported.
(All the usual ones on unix, mac and windows are supported.)
In such cases, the workaround is to switch to the hledger-ui window
and press `g` each time you want it to reload.
(Actually, see #1617 for another workaround, and let us know if it works for you.)
If you leave `hledger-ui --watch` running for days,
on certain platforms (?),
perhaps with many transactions in your journal (?),
perhaps with large numbers of other files present (?),
you may see it gradually using more and more memory and CPU over time,
as seen in `top` or Activity Monitor or Task Manager.
A workaround is to `q`uit and restart it,
or to suspend it (`CTRL-z`) and restart it (`fg`) if your shell supports that.
# ENVIRONMENT
**COLUMNS**