From beeee221f3edc455a0a84af227e7cfc4752ab1cc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: scoobybejesus Date: Sat, 14 Nov 2020 17:11:00 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] README: modify Excel warning; include workaround. --- README.md | 12 +++++++----- 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-) diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 1d040bc..d7cc9e0 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -52,18 +52,20 @@ when appreciated cryptocurrency was used to make a tax-deductible charitable con * Precision is limited to eight decimal places. Additional digits will be stripped during import and may cause unintended rounding issues. -* Microsoft Excel. Don't let this cause you to bang your head against a wall. +* Microsoft Excel. Don't let Excel cause you to bang your head against a wall. Picture this scenario. You keep your transactions for your input file in a Google Sheet, and you're meticulous about making sure it's perfect. -You then download it as a CSV file and import it into `cryptools`. +You then download it as a CSV file and import it into `cryptools`. It works perfectly, and you have all your reports. Then you realize you'd like to quickly change a memo and re-run the reports, so you open the CSV file in Excel and edit it. Then you import it into `cryptools` again and the program panics! What happened is most likely that Excel changed the rounding of your precise decimals underneath you! -As a result, it appears your input file has been clearly incorrectly prepared -because it appears that you're spending more coins than you actually owned at that time. +Depending on the rounding, `cryptools` may think your input file has been incorrectly prepared +because you've supposedly spent more coins than you actually owned at that time. `Cryptools` does not let you spend coins you don't own, and it will exit upon finding such a condition. -The program is right, and your data is right, but Excel modified your data, and it can be infuriating when the program crashes for "no reason." +The program is right, and your data is right, but Excel modified your data, so the program crashed for "no reason." +The solution is to have Excel already open, then in the ribbon's Data tab, you'll import your CSV file "From Text." +You'll choose Delimited, and Comma, and then highlight every column and choose Text as the data type. ## Installation