README

WISH Checkbook 2009
by David McClamrock <mcclamrock@locl.net>

Available for download at "Pa Penguin's Icebox"
<http://www.geocities.com/pa_mcclamrock>


WISH Checkbook is a simple home finance manager written in Tcl/Tk, requiring Tcl and Tk 8.5 (or greater, when there is an even greater version). Features include, among others, the following:

* Quick start-up of new accounts.

* Multiple accounts, and transfers among them, can be easily managed.

* Scheduled transactions help you avoid overlooking bills; these transactions can be modified permanently (from the scheduled transaction window) or temporarily (from the account entry window).

* Categories (optional, not required!) are automatically listed and can be quickly retrieved.

* Transactions can be searched for by date, check number, transaction name, or category.

* Accounts can be exported as tab-delimited or comma-delimited text, or as HTML tables.

* Uncleared transactions from one account can easily be rolled over into a new account.

To install the program, if you're running Puppy Linux and you have the .PET package for this program, simply open ROX-Filer, click on the package icon, and follow the directions you'll get to install it as a downloaded program. Otherwise:

1. Running as root, change directory (cd) to the directory containing the .tar.gz package, and unpack it into a new "wishcheck-2009" directory by running this command: tar -zxvf ./wishcheck-2009.tar.gz .

2. Change directory to the "wishcheck-2009" directory and run this command: ./wishcheck_install.tcl . As well as installing the program and related files, this will automatically create an uninstallation script (.wishcheck_uninstall.tcl) that you can run from the same directory if you ever wish to uninstall WISH Checkbook.

By default, files will be installed under the /usr/local directory as follows.
/usr/local/bin : program script and any other executable files
/usr/local/doc/wishes : documentation and license
/usr/local/lib/wishes : all other files

If you don't like /usr/local, or if you can't get at it because you don't have the permissions, just do this:

1. Edit the line near the top of the "./wishcheck_install.tcl" file, where it says "set topdir /usr/local" -- change "/usr/local" to the top-level directory you want and can get at.

2. Do the same to the line near the top of the "./usr/local/bin/wishcheck" program file. (You have to do both, or the program won't find all the files it needs!)

To run the program from the Linux/Unix command line, just enter "wishcheck &" (without the quotes).

If you try this program out, please let me know if you (1) like it, (2) find any bugs, or (3) both!

David McClamrock
November 2008

