Open and save a file

To open a file, choose the Open command from the File menu, or use the corresponding icon in the Toolbar.

Opening a file

Data on the disk is loaded into memory, where it can be processed.

• Accounting files can be opened in Banana Accounting if they are on the local computer or if they are accessible through a network.
  If they have been sent by email, you need to move them to a computer folder before opening.
• Only one user at a time can edit a file.
  If you edit a protected file or a file already in use by other users, you will need to save the file with different name in order to save your changes.
• If the file is protected by a password, the password dialogue is displayed.
• The Banana Accounting program, notifies you that you have opened a read-only file in the following cases:
  • the file is located on a non-writable disk (CD-ROM)
  • the file is located on a temporary non-writable folder
  • the file is protected or the user doesn't have rights to edit it
  • the file has already been opened by another user
  • the file has already been opened by the same user but in another session

How to look for your *.ac2 accounting files

If you don't remember in which directory your accounting files are located, you can use the search Windows Explorer or the Mac finder search tool.

Find your accounting file on a Windows computer

Banana Accounting files have an .ac2 extension. The Windows search tool will vary depending on your Windows version.

• Windows 10: click on the Search icon on the Applications bar and enter "ac2" or your file name and click on the Documents arrow.
• From the Explorer File Manager enter the "*.ac2" extension or your file name and let Windows look for it.
• When in Banana Accounting, click on the File menu > Open, enter the "*.ac2" extension in the top right search box of the dialog window and then click on the look in the whole PC icon, or select the directory where you want Windows to look for your file.

Find your accounting file on a Mac computer

• In Banana Accounting, in the opening dialog File menu > Open, enter "ac2" or a word that is part of the file name in the top right Search box. With the icons, select where you want to look for your file (in the entire computer or in selected folders).
• Open the Finder and enter "ac2" or  a word belonging to the file name in the search box.
• Right click on the Finder icon, then click on Search, and then enter "ac2" or a word belonging to the file name.

Saving a file

With the Save or Save as... command, the data is saved on your computer or the chosen storage unit (external drive, memory stick, Google Drive, Drop Box, or other cloud systems). Existing data on the disk is replaced with the new one. Banana files are saved with the ".ac2" extension, which is different from the program's extension, ".exe".

• A single file can be saved by only one user at a time.
  The file can be saved by the user and only if it is not also being used by other users
• Files can be saved anywhere.
  You can enter the file name and destination when saving it for the first time or when using the Save as command from the File menu
  As a first option, Banana Accounting will suggest the Documents folder as destination folder for the .ac2 files, but this can be changed with the Browse button.
• If you are managing different accounting files, we suggest you create a separate folder for each company and for each accounting year. Also check the page Organize Your Work.
• Each file can be password protected.

Warning: Banana files are not saved within the program but on the storage unit chosen by the user, like any other file, such as Word or Excel.

Automatic saving

Banana Accounting automatically creates and saves your work in a temporary file that ends with ".autosave" . When you save a file or you exit the program, this temporary file is deleted. In case your computer should crash or turn off in the middle of your work, it would be possible to recover your data by opening this file.

When the program is reopened after a crash, it will check that the temporary autosave file was not deleted, a message appears, Recover autosave file, asking whether you want to retrieve the file.

In the Program Options of the Tools menu, it is possible to setup how frequently Banana Accounting should execute this autosave.

Accounting files (*.ac2)

• Files created with Banana Accounting have an ".ac2" extension, regardless of the operating system being used.
• The .ac2 file format is specific for Banana. When saving, all data are compacted and saved in bulk.
• Ac2 files are compatible between different operating systems (Windows, Mac and Linux)
  You can save a file with Windows, then open it and edit it on a Mac, and then reopen in it a Linux or Windows computer.
• Each file can be sent as an email attachment, edited on different operating system and resent to the sender.
• Accounting files are completely separated from the software Banana Accounting itself, that has an .exe extension for Windows,
• The installation files for Mac have a .dmg extension and a .deb, .rmp .run or .tgz extension for Linux.