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                                    CBB
                           A Check Book Balancer
                                for Unix/X11

                         Written by Curtis L. Olson
                             curt@infoplane.com
                    with many contributions from others.
                 Copyright © 1994 - 1997 by Curtis L. Olson.

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free
Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option)
any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for
more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with
this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass
Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Contents


   * 1 Introduction
   * 2 Important Information
        o 2.1 Contacting the Author
        o 2.2 The CBB Mailing List
        o 2.3 Availability
        o 2.4 Prerequisites
        o 2.5 Installation
             + 2.5.1 Normal Installation
             + 2.5.2 Upgrading CBB
        o 2.6 Advanced Installation Issues
             + 2.6.1 Avoiding Older Perl Versions
             + 2.6.2 Automating the Install Script
             + 2.6.3 Package Maintainer Install Options
        o 2.7 Migrating Data Files to Version 0.60 or Later
             + 2.7.1 Data File Format
             + BEST Pre-Version-0.60 to Current-Version Migration Procedure
             + OLD Pre-Version-0.60 to Current-Version Migration Procedure
   * 3 CBB Tutorial
        o 3.1 Quick Overview
        o 3.2 Create a demo Account
        o 3.3 Import Some Data
        o 3.4 Edit Transactions
        o 3.5 Balance the Account
        o 3.6 Reports and Graphs
        o 3.7 Saving and Exiting CBB
   * 4 CBB Reference Manual
        o 4.1 Making New Accounts
             + 4.1.1 Creating From Scratch
             + 4.1.2 Importing Quicken Data
             + 4.1.3 Setting an Initial Balance
        o 4.2 Editing Transactions
             + 4.2.1 Overview
             + 4.2.2 General Key Bindings
             + 4.2.3 Specific Key Bindings for the Check Number field
             + 4.2.4 Specific Key Bindings for the Date field
             + 4.2.5 Splits
             + 4.2.6 Memorized Transactions
        o 4.3 Categories
             + 4.3.1 Viewing Categories
             + 4.3.2 Creating Categories
             + 4.3.3 Deleting Categories
        o 4.4 Transfers Between Accounts
        o 4.5 Balancing
        o 4.6 Reporting
             + 4.6.1 Transaction List
             + 4.6.2 Transaction List By Category
             + 4.6.3 Short List By Category
             + 4.6.4 Missing Checks
             + 4.6.5 Average Monthly Expenses by Category
        o 4.7 Graphing
             + 4.7.1 Graph of Running Balance
        o 4.8 Preferences
        o 4.9 Saving your work
        o 4.10 Importing and Exporting
             + 4.10.1 Importing from Quicken
             + 4.10.2 Exporting to Quicken
        o 4.11 Security Issues
             + 4.11.1 Umasks and Default Permissions
             + 4.11.2 Data Encryption
                  + Enabling Encryption:
                  + Compatible Encryption Software:
                  + Configuring the Key:
                  + Saving the Preferences:
                  + Other Items to Note:
                  + Possible Bugs:
   * 5 Contributed scripts
        o 5.1 Fetching and Installing the Latest Greatest CBB
        o 5.2 Investment Accounts
        o 5.3 Migrating from Previous Data File Formats
        o 5.4 Managing Recurring Transactions
             + 5.4.1 Overview of the recur.pl script
             + 5.4.2 Config file format
        o 5.5 Keeping a Manageable Data File Size
        o 5.6 Alternative Interfaces to CBB
             + 5.6.1 Txn
             + 5.6.2 Emacs Forms Mode
             + 5.6.3 Your Favorite Editor
             + 5.6.4 Other Options
   * 6 CBB Internals
        o 6.1 The ``.cbbrc.tcl'' File
        o 6.2 The External Menu
        o 6.3 Creating and Installing New Reports
        o 6.4 Creating and Installing New Graphs
        o 6.5 The Devel Menu
        o 6.6 Logging
   * 7 Frequently Asked Questions
   * About this document ...

1 Introduction

CBB is a personal finance management utility for Unix/X11. It is written
entirely in Perl and Tcl/Tk so it is very portable and very extendable. It
is a program for anyone who would like to balance their checkbook and manage
their money using free software under Unix and X11.

CBB is intended to be an open, extensible program. It utilizes a simple,
tab-delimited data file format and, because it is written entirely in Perl
and Tcl/Tk, it is very modifiable. In addition, it provides a simple
interface for users to add their own reports, graphs, and external modules
without modifying any of the CBB source.

The name, CBB, stands for the Check Book Balancer. It is intended to fit
well in the Unix naming scheme where commands should be short and easy to
type. Every once in a while I try to think of something a little more
creating, but as of yet, nothing has come to mind.

CBB has now existed for more than two and a half years. Version 0.60
represented a fairly substantial reworking/reorganization of version
0.53--although this may not always be immediately visible on the surface.
Version 0.62 represented a substantial amount of rework to better support
tk4.0. Now, versions 0.70 and later look much spiffier and sport completely
reworked internals, plus many new features, tweaks, and fixes.

I sincerely hope you can find CBB useful in your day to day and year to year
money management. I am always working to improve this program so please send
in your comments, suggestions, and complaints.

2 Important Information

2.1 Contacting the Author

If you would like to contact me, you may send email to curt@infoplane.com.
Although sometimes the business of life gets the best of me, I will do my
best to respond in a timely manner and address your issue or concern.

2.2 The CBB Mailing List

The address for the CBB mailing list is cbbers@infoplane.com. To subscribe,
send a message to cbbers-request@infoplane.com with a message body of
subscribe. To unsubscribe, send a message to cbbers-request@infoplane.com
with a message body of unsubscribe. Recent messages to this list are
archived at:

    http://www.menet.umn.edu/~curt/cbb/mail.archive/

2.3 Availability

The current version of CBB is always available via anonymous ftp from one of
the following sites:

    ftp://ftp.me.umn.edu/pub/finance/cbb-latest.tar.gz
    ftp://ftp.fifi.org/pub/cbb/cbb-latest.tar.gz

2.4 Prerequisites

CBB is written in Perl and Tcl/Tk. These need to be installed on your system
before you can can continue. Note, CBB now requires tk4.0 or higher and
perl5.002 or higher. If you notice any problems or incompatibilities please
let me know.

Tcl and Tk are available via anonymous ftp from:

   ftp://ftp.smli.com/pub/tcl/

Note, the Tcl FAQ has a list of mirror sites. You can read the FAQ online
at:

   http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/tcl-faq/top.html

Perl is available via anonymous ftp from:

    prep.ai.mit.edu:/pub/gnu/perl-5.***.tar.gz
    ftp.cs.umn.edu:/pub/gnu/perl-5.***.tar.gz

2.5 Installation

For most systems and environments, installing CBB will be very
straightforward. Simply follow the instructions in section 2.5.1.

2.5.1 Normal Installation



Gunzip and untar the distribution file and cd to the newly created directory
and run:

    make install

Specify the location of perl5 and wish4.x and specify where you would like
the executables and associated files installed.

2.5.2 Upgrading CBB

Periodically, new version of CBB are released. Most of the general laws of
computer upgrades apply to CBB. Although I go to great efforts to ensure new
versions work better than the previous version, occasionally problems creep
in. Use a good measure of caution (such as backing up your data files, and
keeping a copy of the previous version of CBB) when upgrading this or any
other component of your system.

Once you have CBB installed and running, and if you are ``net'' connected,
upgrading to the latest version is trivial. Just follow the simple
instructions in section 5.1.

You can manually upgrade CBB by simply installing the new version over the
top of the old. Be aware that I occassionally add, remove, or change the
names of files in the distribution. Over time, old, outdated, useless files
could accumulate in the CBB lib directory.

2.6 Advanced Installation Issues

The environments and needs of users are often widely varied. The CBB install
script supports several additional options. If you are having trouble
installing CBB, you may want to read through this section for ideas.

2.6.1 Avoiding Older Perl Versions

If the copy of perl that comes first in your path is an older version (such
as perl4) and you have perl5 located someplace else on your system, you can
use the following command to install CBB:

    make PERL=/path/to/newer/copy/of/perl install

2.6.2 Automating the Install Script

The CBB install script by default is interactive and askes several
questions. Running make install simply runs the install script, and nothing
else. If you run the install script by hand, ./install.pl you can pass it
several command line options. The following options are available:

    --help:             Display the usage message.
    --perlpath <path>:  Full pathname to perl interpreter.
    --wishpath <path>:  Full pathname to wish interpreter.
    --bindir <dir>:     Directory to install executables.
    --libdir <dir>:     Directory to install support files.

If you specify any one of the above paths from the command line, the install
script will not prompt for it.

2.6.3 Package Maintainer Install Options

The CBB install script has two addtional options to assist package
maintainers. Most Unix operating systems have a ``package'' format for
installing packages. Packages are convenient because they can be quickly and
easily installed, upgraded, and deinstalled. The software come preconfigured
in the package. Unfortunately most versions of Unix have their own
incompatible package format.

However, if you are a package maintainer for some brand of Unix, the
following options will interest you:

    --prefix <dir>:   Root directory where CBB will eventually be
                      installed and run from ... this is where CBB
                      thinks it lives.
    --destdir <dir>:  Root directory where CBB will actually be
                      installed right now for package building
                      purposes.  It is assumed that once the package
                      is installed, CBB will reside in the --prefix
                      directory.

These options allow you to install CBB in a one directory, but modify the
internal variables and pointers to make CBB think it has been installed in a
completely different directory tree.

2.7 Migrating Data Files to Version 0.60 or Later



If you are upgrading from a pre-0.60 version, you will need to upgrade your
data files as well.

If you are not upgrading from a pre 0.60 version, you can safely skip this
section. This section describes the procedure to migrate your data files
from the pre-0.60 format to the current format.

The initial versions of CBB saved its data in an ASCII text file with the
fields delimited by the `:' character. However, not too far into this CBB
project (at version 0.50a I believe) I switched my thinking and decided to
take advantage of perl's dbm support. This has one primary advantage. Any
changes made to the data file are immediately saved. This also has some
disadvantages. It tends to close off the data file so it can only be
manipulated from within CBB. This is good from a ``data encapsulation''
perspective, but it suddenly becomes a problem if the data file needs to be
manipulated in a way which CBB doesn't support. Another point to note is
that because perl is so good at slurping in text files, and because of
certain constraints imposed by the Tk front end, using the dbm format did
not provide any speed advantage. In fact, for certain operations I noted a
speed decrease.

With the above observations in mind, I decided to come full circle and
return to saving CBB data files in an open ASCII format by default. The
astute among you may observe that ASCII files have one major disadvantage.
They are only saved at the user's request. So, one hapless user working all
day without saving + one unexpected power outage, one press of the reset
button, or one of any other creative ways people invent to destroy their
data = trouble. To counter this problem, I created an auto save feature. At
regular intervals, if the current data file has been modified, it is saved
to a temporary file. This greatly reduces the risk of data loss stupidity or
acts of God--or acts of God in response to our stupidity.

2.7.1 Data File Format

The ASCII data file format is defined to be one record per line with the
fields delimited by the <tab> character. CBB saves the following fields in
this order: date, check number, description, debit amount, credit amount,
category, comment, and the cleared flag. Please feel free (in fact, I
encourage you) to view a CBB data file with any text viewer (more or less.)
The format is mostly self explanitory.

BEST Pre-Version-0.60 to Current-Version Migration Procedure

REMEMBER to always backup up your data before doing anything radical to it.

The easiest and simplest way convert your data files is to export them to
the ``CBB'' format using your pre-0.60 version of CBB. This is a slightly
different format than current versions of CBB use, but current versions of
CBB will be able to detect this slightly different format and load the files
correctly. When you save the file from the new version of CBB is will be
save in the new format.

OLD Pre-Version-0.60 to Current-Version Migration Procedure

This section describes a perl script which automates the conversion of data
file formats. However it is rumored to only work with perl4 and not perl5.
All other parts of CBB require perl5.002 or greater. Please be careful with
this script and always back up your data before you do anything radical.
``Your millage may vary.''

I have provided a perl script to automate the data file migration,
migrate-to-0.60a.pl. It is located in the contrib subdirectory of the
distribution-dir directory.

  1. Backup your data file directory. Do it now!!!
  2. cd $CBB_LIB_DIR/contrib
  3. migrate-to-0.60a.pl <data-dir>
  4. Choose whether you want to migrain (oops I mean migrate) to ASCII or
     dbm format. Type ascii or dbm. I personally recommend using the ASCII
     format, unless you have strong convictions otherwise.

The migrate script will perform the following tasks:

  1. Convert categories file from `:' delimited to <tab> delimited, and save
     it in an ASCII format.
  2. Remove any *.bal.dir and *.bal.pag. These have always been redundant
     from CBB's perspective.
  3. Rename all $file.txn.dir to $file.dir, and all $file.txn.pag to
     $file.pag. This makes for a slightly more pleasant naming scheme.
  4. Open each $file.dir and convert all transactions from `:' delimited to
     <tab> delimited.
  5. If migrating to ASCII, save file to ASCII CBB format and delete dbm
     file.

When the script has finished, your data files should be all set for your new
version of CBB. Start up CBB and poke around your files a bit. If you notice
any problems, let me know immediately--and be glad you backed up all your
data like I suggested earlier.

3 CBB Tutorial

So, you want to go for a little test drive? Want to see how or if this thing
works? Want to send me a 21 inch monitor? Just checking. :-) Well, read on
...

The following procedure will lead you through the process of creating a new
account, importing some data, editing transactions, and balancing your
account.

3.1 Quick Overview

First, here is the ``one-paragraph'' version of this manual. To use CBB,
first make a directory where you would like to keep your group of accounts.
Then, go to this directory, run cbb, and make your account(s). Optionally
you could choose to import the default categories, but this can be done at
any time. Next, load the desired account (if it is not already loaded) and
create, delete, and edit transactions to your hearts content. When your
statement arrives in the mail, balance your account. Meanwhile, you have
been printing some reports, viewing some graphs, maybe setting up some
recurring transactions, and hopefully managing your money better than before
you started using CBB!

3.2 Create a demo Account

Ok, so you've just installed CBB. What now? Well, if you are like me, you
will have already run it a few times before you cracked open the manual and
read all the way down to here. So go ahead and lauch CBB again. The first
thing you need to do is create an account.

  1. Run CBB by typing cbb.
  2. Select Make New Account ... from the File menu.
  3. Enter an account name (i.e. my-demo.cbb) and an account description
     (i.e. My Demo Account).
  4. Click on the Create Account button. Your new account will be created,
     and added to the master account list at the bottom of the main window.
     The name of the account will also be added to the category list (i.e.
     [my-demo]). This category is used to specify transfers between
     accounts.
  5. You will be warned about not having a categories file. This is
     perfectly normal at this point. An empty categories file will be
     created for you.
  6. If you like, pull down the Functions menu and select Categories -> Add
     Default Categories to create a bunch of default categories.

3.3 Import Some Data

Now that you have created an account it is time to enter a few transactions.
If you like, you can import some sample data to save your fingers from the
brutalities of typing. Otherwise, feel free to skip this section and enter
your own transactions. The CBB distribution comes with some sample data just
for this tutorial.

  1. Select Import QIF File ... from the File menu.
  2. You will be presented with a file selection dialog box. Navigate your
     way to the CBB distribution directory. Beneath the distribution
     directory is a demo directory. Go to the demo directory and find the
     file named demo.qif. Double click on this file to select it and import
     it.

3.4 Edit Transactions



Now, that you have some data to play with, try editing a transaction. Click
the ``!'' box or hit enter to commit the transaction. Click the ``X'' box or
type <Meta-N> to clear the entry boxes and start over.

Now try creating new transactions.

Try playing around with ``splits'' to specify more than one category for a
transaction. Feel free to explore the menus and buttons until you get the
hang of things. You can refer to Section 4.2 for a more detailed description
of transaction editing.

3.5 Balance the Account

Now, lets pretend you just received your bank statement in the mail and you
want to reconcile your new account. Lets also pretend that you didn't mess
thing up too bad back in Section 3.4.

  1. Find the Balance button towards the bottom right hand corner of the
     window and click on it. This will bring up a list of all ``uncleared''
     transactions.
  2. Enter a statement ending balance of 1740.00. (Leave the statement
     beginning balance as 0.00.)
  3. Select the first four transactions as well as the sixth transaction.
     (Just pretend these were the ones that showed up on your statement.)
     Note, as you select transactions, watch the Debits = n, Credits = n,
     Difference = n line.
  4. When the starting balance - withdrawals + deposits = ending balance,
     click on the Update button to mark all the selected transactions as
     cleared.
  5. Congratulations: your account is (hopefully) balanced.

When your next statement arrives and you run the balance routine again, you
will only be presented with ``uncleared'' transactions to select. This is a
good way to spot old checks that never were cashed ...such as your mortgage
payment that got ``lost in the mail.'' Note: by balancing your checkbook in
this manner, two good things happen. The first is, when your brother finally
cashes that check for $100.00 - many months after you wrote it - your bank
balance doesn't suddenly drop -$100.00 from where you think it should be.
That transaction had always been entered and subtracted out of your bank
balance. The second good thing is that it is easy to spot these sorts of
situations so that you can call up your brother and pester him to cash the
check.

3.6 Reports and Graphs

Now that you have entered a bit of data, you may want to ``understand'' your
data at a deeper level. CBB comes with several reports and graphs which can
help you get a better idea of where and how your money is being spent. Feel
free to look at a few reports and graphs at this point.

3.7 Saving and Exiting CBB

Wow! You've been slaving away for the last 10 minutes perfecting your demo
account. Great job! That is about all there is to it. CBB isn't rocket
science. It just boils down ``plus and minus''. Since this is not real data,
you probably don't care to save it. However, if this had been an actual
account, you most definitely would want to save your hard work. CBB stores
all your changes in memory, so you must save the account before you quit. If
your forget to save your work before you quit, CBB will remind you to do
this. If you do something awful, like reboot your machine or log out without
saving, you are not completely out of luck. CBB periodically saves a backup
copy of your account with a file name of #account.cbb#. When you reload your
account, CBB will notice the autosave file and ask if you want to load it
instead. Under normal circumstances you will want to answer yes. If you
aren't sure, don't do anything. Exit CBB, go to your data directory and look
at the files manually to make sure which version is the one you want.

4 CBB Reference Manual

4.1 Making New Accounts

4.1.1 Creating From Scratch

To create a new account from scratch, choose Make New Account ... from the
File menu. Enter the account name without any extension. (CBB will
automatically add a .cbb to the name you provide.) This account name will
become a category of the form [acct-name] description for use in transfers
between accounts. Section 4.4 explains how transfers work. Next enter a
description for this account. When you satisfied with your name and
description, click on the Create Account button and your new empty account
will be created and loaded.

4.1.2 Importing Quicken Data

To create a new account based on exported Quicken data, create a new account
from scratch as described in the previous subsection. Once the account has
been created, Quicken data can be imported into it. Importing data from
Quicken is explained in Section 4.10.1.

4.1.3 Setting an Initial Balance

Setting an initial balance for an account is as simple as creating a first
transaction with a credit amount equal to the initial balance.

4.2 Editing Transactions



4.2.1 Overview

At all times in CBB (except for those times when you are doing other things)
you are either creating new transactions, or editing existing transactions.
Other operations such as balancing may temporarily suspend the entry, but
when the chosen function is completed, you are returned to your current edit
or insert operation.

At any time you can abort the current edit or insert operation by initiating
a new edit or insert or by clicking the ``X'' button to the right of the
entry area.

When you are satisfied with the current contents of the edit area, hit
Return or click the ``!'' button to the right of the entry area and the
transaction will be updated. If you are creating a new transaction, it will
be inserted. If if you are editing an existing transaction, it will be
updated.

4.2.2 General Key Bindings

Tk4.x provides several standard key bindings to facilitate data entry. These
tend to mimic emacs key bindings. Figure 1 shows a list of some of the more
useful of these key bindings. For those hackers among us: look in
$(TK_LIB_DIR)/entry.tcl for a complete list of key/mouse bindings.

   [figure117]
Figure 1: General Key Bindings.

4.2.3 Specific Key Bindings for the Check Number field

When the focus is in the check number field you can use the + and - keys to
increment and decrement the number. CBB remembers the last check number you
used, so when you are creating a new transaction, pressing + will insert the
next check number. Figure 2 shows a list of these key bindings.

   [figure142]
Figure 2: Check Number Field Bindings.

4.2.4 Specific Key Bindings for the Date field

The + and - keys work as you expect when the focus is in the date field.
They will increment or decrement the date. CBB tries to keep track of things
like leap year or even the number of days in a specific month. So, if CBB
generates an illegal date such as 2/30/97 please report this as a bug.
Figure 3 shows a list of these key bindings.

   [figure164]
Figure 3: Date Field Bindings.

4.2.5 Splits

The Splits function allows you to ``split'' the value of a transaction among
several different categories. Caution: Even though you may click Dismiss in
the Splits window, the transaction will not be updated. You need to hit
Return or click the ``!'' button again once the splits window is closed.
Note: If the splits window does not provide enough lines, you can increase
the maximum number of splits in your .cbbrc.tcl file.

4.2.6 Memorized Transactions

CBB keeps a list of transactions sorted and indexed by the description. When
entering a typical transaction you would normally first specify the check
number, then specify the date, then specify the description. If you have
entered a similar transaction in the past, then you only need to type the
first few characters of the description, hit Tab and the rest of the
transaction is filled in for you. At this point you should make any
necessary changes. Finally, you can update the transaction by hitting
Return.

If you don't want your transaction completed (i.e. your transaction is being
completed in an undesired fashion) you can type Control-Tab in the
description field to avoid the completion feature.

The transaction is auto-completed only once per transaction. In other words,
your changes won't keep getting overwritten each time you tab through the
description field. Also, this feature is only activated by Tabbing from the
description field. Shift-Tabbing or pressing Return have the same effect as
they do in any other field.

Note: You can turn this feature on and off from the File -> Preferences
menu.

4.3 Categories

Categories are used to give each transaction a ``type.'' This is useful for
reporting, since the report can be organized by category.

4.3.1 Viewing Categories



Categories can be viewed by typeing <Meta-C> or selecting Categories ->
Category List ... from the Functions menu. This brings up a list of
categories. When the category list is open, double clicking on an category
will paste it into the current entry. Alternatively, you can select a
category and click on the Paste button.

4.3.2 Creating Categories

Adding a category is as easy as using it in a transaction. When the
transaction is updated, and the category is unknown, you will be asked if
you wish to add the new category. Simply fill in the category description
and check the Tax Related box (if it is tax related.) Once you are
satisfied, click on the Add button.

Alternatively, you can bring up the category list and click on the Add
button.

As a last resort, you can manually edit the categories file. CBB stores the
category file in the same subdirectory as the associated account file. Note,
the fields are delimited by tabs. Have fun and be careful if you try this!

4.3.3 Deleting Categories

Once the category list window has been opened (see Section 4.3.1) simply
select a category and click on the Delete button and the category will be
deleted.

4.4 Transfers Between Accounts



When an account is created, a category of the form [acct-name] is also
created. To create a transfer to another account, use the destination
account name (enclosed in [ and ]) to specify the account being transfered
to. When the transaction is inserted into the current account a
corresponding transaction will be inserted in destination account.

WARNING: currently when a transfer transaction is edited or deleted, its
corresponding transaction in the other account should be automatically
changed as well. This code is not well tested at this time, so keep your
eyes open if you edit transfer transactions and make sure the corresponding
changes get made on the other end. CBB will warn you whenever you edit or
delete a transfer transaction.

4.5 Balancing

Clicking on the Balance button will bring up a list of all ``uncleared''
transactions in a window. CBB already knows your statement beginning
balance. It is simply the sum of all the cleared transactions. Verify your
statement's beginning balance then enter your ending balance. Then go
through all your ``uncleared'' transactions and check off all that are
listed on your statement. CBB will keep a running total of the beginning
balance + the transactions. When you are all done, this should equal the
ending balance. If it doesn't, there is a discrepancy someplace ...which
will hopefully be not too hard to track down. When everything matches, click
on the Update button. This will ``clear'' all the selected transactions.
When you balance your checkbook next month, only the ``uncleared''
transactions will be presented to you.

This technique makes it easy to spot and handle situations when some
``individual'' doesn't cash your check for 3 months ...it is still in the
system and easy to spot. This way your idea of your balance stays in sync
with the bank's idea of your balance. And since it is entered into CBB and
subtracted from your running balance, you won't get burned when they finally
do cash it.

If you notice a discrepancy that needs to be fixed while balancing, you can
bring the main CBB window forward and make your changes. Then, bring the
balance window forward and click the Refresh button. This will bring the
balance window back in sync with the main window. Alternatively you could
close and reopen the balance window.

4.6 Reporting

As of version 0.60 of CBB, I have completely reworked the reporting
mechanism. Each report is actually a stand-alone, self-sufficient,
executable perl script (although there is nothing magical about the use of
perl, they could be written in any language.)

When you select a Reports ... you are presented with a dialog box. In this
dialog box you can select the report you would like to print, the files you
would like to include in the report, a date range, and report destination.
If you wish to include all transactions up to a certain date, leave the
Starting Date field blank. If you wish to include all transactions from a
certain date on, leave the Ending Date field blank. To include all
transactions leave both fields blank. Dates should be in the following
format: mm/dd/[[yy]yy]. Valid dates are 5/19, 5/19/95, and 5/19/2095.

Reports can be printed to a variety of destinations. If you select Send to
Screen the report will be displayed in a window. If you select Save to File
or Pipe, enter a file name in the appropriate field and the report will
saved to that file. If you specify a file name of the form | command, CBB
will pipe the output of the report through the specified command. For
instance, if you wanted to send the report to a printer, you could enter
something like:

    | nenscript -2Gr | lpr -d hp4L

4.6.1 Transaction List

The first report is simply a list of all transactions. It looks remarkably
like the contents of the transaction list box.

4.6.2 Transaction List By Category

The next report displays all transactions sorted and subtotaled by category.
It properly handles splits.

4.6.3 Short List By Category

This report is similar to the Transaction List By Category report except it
omits the individual transactions and only displays the sum of the
transactions for each category. It also properly handles splits.

4.6.4 Missing Checks

This report will scan through all the transactions of the selected accounts
and find any breaks in the sequence. It will also flag any duplicate check
numbers.

4.6.5 Average Monthly Expenses by Category

This report is a nice tool to assist in budgeting. It will show your average
monthly expenses for each category.

4.7 Graphing

Graphing is very similar to reporting. Each graph is actually a stand-alone,
self-sufficient, executable perl script which process the input data and
calls a second Tk script to display the result.

When you select a graph you are presented with a dialog box similar to the
one presented for report printing. You can select a graph, group of input
files, and a date range. If you wish to include all transactions up to a
certain date, leave the Starting Date field blank. If you wish to include
all transactions from a certain date on, leave the Ending Date field blank.
To include all transactions leave both fields blank. Dates should be in the
following format: mm/dd/[[yy]yy]. Valid dates are 5/19, 5/19/95, and
5/19/2095.

4.7.1 Graph of Running Balance

This graph is analogous to the ``Transaction List'' report. It simply plots
a graph of your running balance over the specified date range.

4.8 Preferences

Currently, preferences need much work ...However, you can set a few things
including fonts in your .cbbrc.tcl file.

If you have your own custom Tcl code you would like to include (such as
setting your favorite key bindings) you can created a file called .wishrc in
your home directory and place the code there. CBB will source this file if
it exists after it sources your .cbbrc.tcl file.

4.9 Saving your work

All changes must be saved--or how could they be called changes.

CBB is similar to vi or emacs in that all your changes are made in RAM. So,
just like you must save your work in vi or emacs, you must save your work in
CBB. To do this, click on the Save button or select Save Account or Save
Account As ... from the File menu.

CBB has an ``auto save'' feature. Your proposed changes are saved to a
temporary file at regular intervals. (This interval defaults to 3 minutes
and can be set in your .cbbrc.tcl file.) If CBB is killed or crashes, the
autosave file will be left intact. When you startup CBB and load the
account, CBB will notice the autosave file and ask you if you would like to
use it instead.

And, as my great grandfather always said, ``save early and save often!''

4.10 Importing and Exporting

4.10.1 Importing from Quicken



CBB is capable of importing Quicken export files. These files are of the
form <name>.qif. The transfer process is relatively simple.

  1. Boot dos/windows. (dosemu?!?, wine?!? - anyone?) Run Quicken and open
     up the desired account.
  2. From the File menu, choose Export->Export QIF and specify the export
     file name. This should be <name>.qif
  3. Once the file is created, copy this file to someplace where you can
     access it from Linux.
  4. Now, quickly exit from dos/windows before it begins to corrupt your
     mind or your machine--you stinkin' Bill Gates lover.
  5. Boot Linux! Whew ...much better!
  6. Run cbb.
  7. Make a new account. (Or load an existing account if you wish to import
     the transaction into it.)
  8. Select Import QIF File ... from the File menu and select the file you
     wish to import. Click on the Import button and the file will be
     imported into a New account.

4.10.2 Exporting to Quicken

CBB is also capable of generating Quicken export files. These files can be
imported into Quicken. This process is also relatively simple.

  1. Run cbb.
  2. Load the account you would like to export.
  3. Select Export QIF File from the File menu. A file called
     <acct-name>.qif will be created.
  4. Move this file to dos/windows side of the world. (Use your favorite
     method.)
  5. Boot dos/windows, run Quicken. (At this point things begin to get hazy
     since I've never done this ...use your noggin ...it can't be that
     hard.)
  6. From the File menu, choose Import and specify the Import file name.
     This should be <acct-name>.qif
  7. You are on your own. Enjoy your stay in dos/windows land. Say ``Hi!''
     to our buddy, Bill G. for me while you are there. And while you are at
     it, please let me know what I can do to win back your business. :-)

4.11 Security Issues

Computer security is a lot like other types of security. There is no such
thing as a perfect secure computer system or network. For every protection
you put in place, some clever person will be able to devise a way to
circumvent it. Usually when a cracker is discovered, whatever hole they
leveraged to gain their illegal access can be closed. The cracker then
proceeds to find a new hole. It is a never ending cycle.

Having said that, there are steps you can take to protect your personal
privacy and make sure that any violation is intentional and nonaccidental.

If you are the only user of a non-networked machine, this section will
probably not be your biggest concern, however, if you use CBB on a shared
machine, please read on. You may wish to protect your personal financial
data from being potentially viewed by others.

4.11.1 Umasks and Default Permissions

Starting with version 0.73, CBB sets it's umask to 0066. For those of you
who aren't brushed up on bitmasks and octal numbers, this means that your
data files are made to be read/write by only you. This is equivalent to
executing chmod 600 file.cbb from the Unix command line. This means that
only you or the ``super-user'' are allowed to read or modify your data.

4.11.2 Data Encryption

Making your data non-readable to everyone but yourself is usually sufficient
in most normal circumstances. However, the most vigilant (or paranoid) users
might like the additional security of keeping their data encrypted. CBB is
now capable of calling an external encryption program such as ``crypt'' or
``pgp'' to encrypt and decrypt your data as needed.

WARNING: The first rule of encryption says that using cryptography programs
without a proper level of understanding of what is going on is usually worse
than not using any encryption at all!!!

There are many pitfalls here, so proceed only if understand what encryption
can and cannot do for you, and only if you know what you are doing (in
general), and make sure to keep good backups of your data (in a secure
location, otherwise what good is encryption.)

Enabling Encryption:

In order to use the encryption features, you have to check the button Use
Cryptography in the Preferences menu.

If there are no cryptography programs already defined, you will then be
asked to enter your encryption and decryption program and options.

Compatible Encryption Software:

Basically you can use any program that follows the following criteria:

   * Accepts input from stdin (the data to be encrypted/decrypted).
   * Writes output to stdout (the data to be encrypted/decrypted).
   * Accepts the passing of the key (cryptcode) as the last argument in the
     commandline.
   * It should be able to identify unencrypted data and pass it along when
     decrypting (if you want to be able to load unencrypted when in
     encryption mode - this is very convenient for converting data.)

PGP fulfills these requirements if you use the following options:

Encryption:
     ``pgp -fc -z''
Decryption:
     ``pgp -f -z''

If you specify the encryption code of ``secret,'' CBB will then invoke pgp
with pgp -fc -z secret to encrypt and pgp -f -z secret to decrypt the data.

Note that this does not use public key cryptography, but simply uses the
IDEA algorithm to encrypt the data.

This way of passing the code is also a possible security leak on some
systems, because other users might be able to snoop the command line
arguments to pgp (Linux allows pgp to blank out this particular argument, so
you cannot see it with ps -e).

There might be other security risks in this way of handling encryption, so
please check the pgp manual.

Configuring the Key:

After having entered the encryption and decryption progam, you will be asked
for the ``cryptcode'' (the key). You have to enter it twice (you don't want
to lose data because you encrypted it with a mistyped key), and instead of
letters, there should appear only "*" in the entry box.

Saving the Preferences:

If you now save an account, it will be encrypted. Also the preferences will
be saved (they get saved each time you save an account - and only then, so
save an account after changing them.) This does save the ``encrypted mode''
flag, and the encryption and decryption commands. It does not save the
cryptcode (you don't want to read it in your preferences file, do you).

Other Items to Note:

When ``encrypted mode'' is entered, logging is turned off (no sense in
having encrypted data files, if your transaction log is unencrypted). It is
turned back on, if you leave ``encrypted mode.''

If you are in ``non-encrypted mode,'' you will notice that your encrypted
accounts don't show any balances in the account-list anymore.

If cbb gets started in ``encrypted mode'' it will ask you automatically for
your ``cryptcode'' before starting.

Possible Bugs:

   * Pressing cancel in the different crypto-windows might not reset
     non-encrypted mode.
   * Add-ons (or external scripts) that rely on being able to read the files
     directly will not work anymore.
   * No error is reported when opening an account with a bad cryptcode (it
     just does not show you any entries, and allows you to overwrite the
     account with a blank account. This is not really a security risk, since
     someone who can overwrite an account from within cbb can do the same
     from the command line. But it is a data loss risk.

5 Contributed scripts

This section describes several scripts that are beyond the original scope of
CBB, yet may be useful in managing your money. These scripts are installed
in: $CBB_LIB_DIR/contrib

5.1 Fetching and Installing the Latest Greatest CBB



The script fetch-latest.pl will automatically fetch the latest version of
CBB from ftp.me.umn.edu. It will then untar and gunzip it. Finally it will
run the standard install procedure to install it.

You can run this script from within CBB by selecting Fetch & Install Latest
CBB from the External menu. Then, answer the standard install questions when
prompted. Don't forget to quit and restart CBB once the install has
completed successfully.

5.2 Investment Accounts

The script invest.pl is a simple hack to help keep track of your
investments. An alternative would be to use a real application like
``Xinvest''. A pointer to Xinvest can be found on the CBB web page.

The invest.pl accepts a simply formatted text file from stdin and writes a
simple report to stdout. A sample input file could look like the following.
Note: each field is separated by one or more tabs.

# Date          Description             Shares  Unit Price
#-----          -----------             ------  ----------
19960101        Beginning of 1996       10.000  25.00
19960201        Updated value           0.000   26.56
19960301        Purchase more shares    10.00   25.87
19960401        Updated value           0.000   26.04
19961216        St Cap Gain Reinvest    1.157   26.43
19961216        Lt Cap Gain Reinvest    1.220   26.43
19961216        Service Fee             -0.568  26.43

Executing the command: cat sample.inv | invest.pl would produce the
following output:

                                        Price   Total
                                New     per     Shares  Total   Total
Date     Description            Shares  Share   Owned   Invstd  Value
-------- ---------------------- ------  ------  ------  ------  ------
19960101 Beginning of 1996      10.000  25.00   10.000  250.00  250.00
19960201 Updated value          0.000   26.56   10.000  250.00  265.60
19960301 Purchase more shares   10.000  25.87   20.000  508.70  517.40
19960401 Updated value          0.000   26.04   20.000  508.70  520.80
19961216 St Cap Gain Reinvest   1.157   26.43   21.157  539.28  559.18
19961216 Lt Cap Gain Reinvest   1.220   26.43   22.377  571.52  591.42
19961216 Service Fee            -0.568  26.43   21.809  556.51  576.41

5.3 Migrating from Previous Data File Formats

Please see section 2.7, page [gif]  for an explanation of this script and

its use.

5.4 Managing Recurring Transactions

Wouldn't you like your mortgage payment to entered automatically every
month? Would you like to have some idea of how much money you will have in a
month, six months, or a year? Then read on. This might be just what you
need.

Recurring transactions which have been automatically inserted are denoted by
placing a ``?'' in the ``cleared'' field. This is changed to a ``!'' when
the transaction date has passed. (Note: this code is changed to a ``x'' when
the transaction is cleared.)

5.4.1 Overview of the recur.pl script

The recur.pl script has two main sections.

  1. The first thing the script does is traverse the account looking for any
     transactions with a ``?'' in the cleared field. Of these transactions,
     those which have a date older than today's date will have their cleared
     field changed to a `` !''. Those transactions with a future date will
     be deleted. (They will be reinserted in the next step.)
  2. The last thing thing the script does is to traverse the .rcr file for
     the account and reinsert all future entries up until the cutoff date.
     At this time the cutoff date is set for a year in advance, but this can
     be changed by editing a variable at the beginning of the recur.pl
     script.

5.4.2 Config file format

The config (<account>.rcr) file is reminiscent of a crontab file. The format
is slightly different, but the idea is generally the same. Specify the days,
months, and years that the transaction will take place, then specify the
transaction. One thing to note is that all fields must be separated by one
<Tab> character. The script will then insert that transaction on those days.

For instance, the following entry will cause an auto loan payment to be
inserted on the fifth of every month. Once the transaction has been entered,
you can make any changes you like to it, such as adding

# Days  Months  Years   Description     Debit   Credit  Comment Category
# ----  ------  -----   -----------     -----   ------  ------- --------
5       *       *       Loan's R Us     100.00  0.00            Auto-Loan

Another variation would be the following entry which will insert a
transaction every fourth of July.

4       7       *       Fireworks       35.00   0.00   Bang     Entertainment

The next entry will insert a transaction on the 15th and last day of every
month.

15,last *       *       Salary          0.00    3.14   Peanuts  Salary Income

This entry will insert a transaction on the 1st day of January, April, July,
and October.

*       1,4,7,10  *     Auto Insurance  200.00  0.00   Approx.  Insurance

REMEMBER, separate each field by a <Tab> character and not spaces.

Finally, a slightly different entry format will allow you to enter
transactions based on a regular interval such as every other week. The first
field specifies the start date of the interval. This can be any date, but
recur.pl will never enter past recurring transactions. The transactions will
kick in after the current date. Then next field is the interval in days. So
14 would specify an interval of every other week. The third field is ignored
and not used. The last five fields are identical to the previous types of
entries.

# Start Date  Intrvl Not Used  Description  Debit  Credit  Comment  Category
# ----------  ------ --------  -----------  -----  ------  -------  --------
19960119      14     *         Salary       0.00   2.78    Peanuts  Salary

5.5 Keeping a Manageable Data File Size

The script yearend.pl simply moves all uncleared transactions from the
specified account to a new account. This helps keep file sizes smaller.
Usage: yearend.pl <account>.cbb <new-account>.cbb

5.6 Alternative Interfaces to CBB

A number of people have enquired about text interfaces to CBB. Currently
there is no complete solution, but there are a few options. Note, rumor has
it that someone is working on a dialog interface to CBB, I look forward to
seeing this when it is ready.

5.6.1 Txn

Christopher B. Browne (cbbrowne@unicomp.net) has provided a perl script
called txn. It will append records to .cbb files, and do so from the command
line. For instance:

[25%] txn checking -t '75' 'The Mansion in Dallas' Lunch 75.00 'Gratuitously
expensive luncheon'

Added to /home/cbbrowne/kwiken/checking.cbb
19970422 75 The Mansion in Dallas 75.00 0 Lunch Gratuitously expensive
luncheon

This script does have certain limitations:

   * It appears that ``splits'' have been changed somewhat; I haven't
     checked yet to see if they are handled correctly.
   * Writing to a .cbb file whilst the TCL version is open and using the
     file in question will have obviously questionable results. If Curt
     implements his file locking idea (which probably ought to put the PID
     of the main CBB process in either /var/lock/LCK..cbb or do individual
     file locks like /var/lock/LCK..checking.cbb), I could have txn look for
     and/or lock these...
   * You'll have to modify the paths at the start of the script to locate
     your favorite CBB directory.
   * This script assumes that if the category is not available that you can
     look at a list of similar category names and pick one. If you plan to
     write scripts that will create transactions as ``batch jobs,'' then
     you'll have to ensure that the category is correct. I'm not sure how to
     best deal with the error condition of not having a correct category.
     Create ``ntxn'' (non-interactive txn) that reports an error and dies
     upon receiving a bad category, perhaps? An additional command line
     switch? Ideas anyone?
   * I have no further intentions to maintain the code that allowed
     deletion/reconciliation from the command line. The cbbsh of 1994 did
     provide this functionality, at the cost of a fairly painful user
     interface. It just makes too much sense to do transaction editing with
     a somewhat ``GUIed'' interface to bring most of the remainder of CBBSH
     up to date.

5.6.2 Emacs Forms Mode

Ravinder Bhumbla (rbhumbla@atol.ucsd.edu) has contributed an Emacs
forms-mode for browsing/editing .cbb files from within Emacs. Emacs version
19 has a forms mode which can be used to browse regularly ordered data. It
is a convenient tool when you are not at an X terminal.

Just read the file .../contrib/emacs-forms into an Emacs buffer. Edit the
path to your .cbb file where it says ``EDIT HERE'' and then type M-x
forms-mode. Emacs will ask if you want to evaluate the current buffer
contents. Type ``yes''. (Ravi)

5.6.3 Your Favorite Editor

CBB stores it's data file in a simple tab-delimited format. If you are
careful about maintaining the correct tab-delimited format, it is quite
possible to edit your files with just about any text editor. You will
definitely want to make a backup copy of your .cbb file before attempting
this. It is very easy to make a mistake and corrupt a transaction record.
However, this can be a useful technique for many tasks.

For instance, lets say my wife just informed me that comestibles are spelled
``Food'' not ``Fude''. I could use a text editor to do a global substition
through my entire .cbb file to fix this mistake. Another use could be for
deleting or duplicating blocks of transactions.

This simple format gives you last-resort options when you need to do
something that the graphical interface was not designed to do.

5.6.4 Other Options

Most spreadsheets and database applications can load tab-delimited files.
This is another alternative for manipulating or viewing .cbb files in ways
that the graphical front end cannot.

6 CBB Internals

6.1 The ``.cbbrc.tcl'' File

CBB stores the values of a few standard variables in the .cbbrc.tcl file.
Whenever CBB starts, it first sources this file. This file is regenerated
based on the current value of the relevant variables whenever an account is
created, loaded, or saved. Any additions/deletions will be lost. However,
changes to the values of the variables will be maintained. Some of the
preferences that can be set in your .cbbrc.tcl file are: debugging on or
off, balloon help on or off, USA or international date format, autosave
interval, main list box dimensions, account list box height, maximum number
of splits, font selection, color selection, and your favorite web browser.
Please look in your .cbbrc.tcl for a complete and current list of
preferences that can be set.

6.2 The External Menu

CBB has a user configurable menu entitled External. The file extern.conf
controls the contents of this menu. An example of an extern.conf file is:

    Calculator <Tab> xcalc
    Calendar   <Tab> ical

    -

    Install the Latest CBB   <Tab> xterm -sb -e \
        \$lib_path/contrib/fetch-latest.pl

The first field (everything before the <tab>) is the name to appear on the
External menu. The second field (everything after the <tab> is the command
line of the program to execute. Before launching the external program, CBB
will save the current contents of the buffer to a temporary file. This
allows the external program to have access to any changes that have been
made, but not yet saved. The %t is replaced with the full path name of this
temporary file. The %a is replaced with the full name of the current account
file.

6.3 Creating and Installing New Reports

CBB has a ``simple'' well defined interface for installing new reports. Each
report is a stand alone ``program'' which understands a predefined set of
command line options and displays its output to stdout.

When the Configure Reports program is launched, it looks for the file,
.../lib/cbb/reports/reports.conf. This file consists of entries like the
following:

  Transaction List        rep-txn-list.pl
  Txn List by Category    rep-by-cat.pl
  Short List by Category  rep-by-cat-shrt.pl

Each line contains two fields. The report name which will appear in the
dialog box, and the executable name of the report. CBB scans this file when
it starts up in order to create the Reports menu.

CBB assumes that all report executables will also be located in the
.../lib/cbb/reports/ directory. Each report must accept the following
options where date if of the form mm/dd/[yy[yy]] and account-list is a list
of a CBB (ASCII) format account files:

  Usage:  report [ -from date ] [ -to date] account-list

The report executable will read the entries in the specified account files,
ignore any entries outside the specified date range, and print its output to
stdout. The last thing the report should print is a single line containing
the text none.

When a report is selected from the Reports menu, CBB displays the Report
Configuration dialog box. When the user clicks on Generate Report, CBB saves
the current contents of its ``buffer'' to a temporary file. It then looks up
the corresponding report executable, and launches it with the above options.
CBB reads the output of the executable (stopping when it receives a line
containing only the text none) and routes it according what the user
specified in the Report Configuration dialog box.

6.4 Creating and Installing New Graphs

The procedure for creating and installing new graphs is analogous to the
reports procedure. One thing to note, the graph executable should wait for a
carriage return from stdin before exiting. This is CBB's way of letting the
graph executable know that the user is done looking at the graph.

6.5 The Devel Menu

When CBB is invoked with the -devel option, a Devel menu is added to the
menu bar. This menu will allow you to re-``source'' the various Tk pieces of
CBB. With this option enabled you can reload various pieces of the code
after modifying them without quiting and restarting CBB. This can greatly
speed up the development process in some situtations.

This works by executing the Tk source command on the selected file. To use
this feature effectively, you need to be aware of the contents of a
particular Tk file. Effectively, you are re-running that code at the time
you are sourcing it. Therefore, old procedure definitions will be replaced
if they were changed. The thing to watch out for is code that is executed
outside of procedure calls. This code will be executed when you re-source
the file. This may or may not cause a problem if this code is intended to be
run only once on startup.

Activating and using this menu is something you only need to be concerned
about if you are actively developing code.

6.6 Logging

7 Frequently Asked Questions

The FAQ tends to resist emacs TeX mode. This is most annoying. Because of
this I have placed the FAQ in its own separate file called ...Ta da!!!
...``FAQ''. The FAQ is also available on the CBB web page at:
http://www.menet.umn.edu/~clolson/cbb/

About this document ...

CBB
A Check Book Balancer
for Unix/X11

This document was generated using the LaTeX2HTML translator Version 96.1-h
(September 30, 1996) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, Nikos Drakos,
Computer Based Learning Unit, University of Leeds.

The command line arguments were:
latex2html -split 0 -show_section_numbers cbb-man.tex.

The translation was initiated by Curtis L. Olson on Tue May 6 20:38:52 CDT
1997
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Curtis L. Olson
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