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186 lines
7.2 KiB
186 lines
7.2 KiB
14 years ago
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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<chapter id="details.formats">
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<chapterinfo>
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<authorgroup>
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<author>
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<firstname>Thomas</firstname>
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<surname>Baumgart</surname>
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<affiliation>
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<address><email>ipwizard@users.sourceforge.net</email></address>
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</affiliation>
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</author>
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</authorgroup>
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<date>2009-05-08</date>
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<releaseinfo>1.0</releaseinfo>
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</chapterinfo>
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<title>File Formats</title>
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<para>
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This chapter describes the formats in which &kappname; stores its data in
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permanent form on the user's storage device. In general, &kappname; stores its
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information in form of an &XML; document. Depending on the actual format, this
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&XML; document will be written
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<itemizedlist>
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<listitem><para>as a <link linkend="details.formats.plain">plain text
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file</link> encoded in UTF-8,</para></listitem>
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<listitem><para>as a <link linkend="details.formats.compressed">compressed
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file</link> using GZIP compression,</para></listitem>
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<listitem><para>as an <link linkend="details.formats.encrypted">encrypted
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file</link> using GPG encryption, or</para></listitem>
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<listitem><para>as an <link linkend="details.formats.anonymous">anonymous
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plain text file</link> encoded in UTF-8 but with all your personal data
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scrambled.</para></listitem>
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</itemizedlist>
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</para>
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<sect1 id="details.formats.plain">
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<title>Plain text file</title>
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<para>
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This is the most space consuming format supported, as no compression is
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performed. It is not intended for normal use, and is provided to support
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debugging purposes and the capability to modify the file manually. If you end
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a filename in <literal role="extension">.xml</literal>, the file will be
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stored in this format.
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<caution>
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<para>
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Manual modification of the file is not recommended to the normal user, and
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should only be performed if the internal working of &kappname; is fully
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understood or if instructions from the developers tell you what to do. Don't
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blame the &kappname; developers if you screw up your data: You have been
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warned!
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</para>
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</caution>
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</para>
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</sect1>
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<sect1 id="details.formats.compressed">
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<title>GZIP-compressed file</title>
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<para>
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This is the normal format used by &kappname; when you store a file with the
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extension <literal role="extension">.kmy</literal>.
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</para>
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<note>
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<para>
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If <link linkend="details.formats.encrypted">encryption</link> has been
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selected, the file will be stored encrypted.
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</para>
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</note>
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<para>
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If you want to look at the contents of a GZIP compressed file, rename it to a
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filename ending in <literal role="extension">.gz</literal> (e.g.,
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rename <filename>myfinances.kmy</filename>
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to <filename>myfinances.kmy.gz</filename>), then use <command>gunzip</command>
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to uncompress the file and look at it. You don't have to compress it before
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loading it into &kappname; the next time, because &kappname; can read the
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uncompressed data as well. Nevertheless, if you save it thereafter, it will be
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saved compressed again. Use
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the <link linkend="details.formats.plain">.xml</link> extension to write it in
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uncompressed format.
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</para>
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</sect1>
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<sect1 id="details.formats.encrypted">
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<title>GPG-encrypted file</title>
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<para>
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Using the GPG-encrypted file format is a very secure method of storing your
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personal finance data on your storage device. When &kappname; has been
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instructed through the settings dialog to store your data encrypted, it will
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cipher the data using GPG and the key you provided before actually storing
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it. When opening an encrypted file, you have to provide the passphrase
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necessary to open your keyring. The encrypted file itself will be stored in
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GPG's <emphasis>ASCII armored</emphasis> format.
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<note>
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<para>
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When using GPG encryption, GPG also compresses the file, so no extra
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compression is necessary.
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</para>
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</note>
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</para>
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<sect2 id="details.formats.encrypted.gpgkeys">
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<title>GPG-Keys</title>
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<para>
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If you have not done so already for mail encryption, you need to generate a
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key-pair in order to use the GPG encryption feature of
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&kappname;. Also, <application>GPG</application> must be installed on your
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system.
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</para>
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<para>
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The details about how to generate a key-pair and how to take care of it are
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beyond the scope of this document. A Mini Howto on this subject can be found
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at <ulink url="http://www.gnupg.org/documentation/howtos.en.html">http://www.gnupg.org/documentation/howtos.en.html</ulink>.
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</para>
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</sect2>
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<sect2 id="details.formats.encrypted.keysettings">
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<title>Setting the keys in &kappname;</title>
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<para>
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On the encryption page of the settings dialog, there is a drop down
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list where you can select the key that should be used for encryption and
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decryption. Additionally you can find a field where you can enter the
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key-id of a key not in the listbox. You can use either the key-id, the
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email address associated with this key, or any other valid GPG key
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identification as the value for this field. When you enter the key-id,
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&kappname; will check its validity and display a green LED icon in the
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dialog if a key is found.
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<caution>
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<para>
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Make sure you have both the public and the private key for this id. If you
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do not own the private key for the id entered, you will not be able to
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open the file again.
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</para>
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</caution>
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</para>
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</sect2>
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<sect2 id="details.formats.encrypted.recoverkey">
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<title>The &kappname; recover key</title>
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<para>
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Also on this page of the settings dialog you have the choice of selecting
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supplemental encryption with the &kappname; recover key. This option is
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available to you if that key is stored in your <application>GPG</application>
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keyring. Selecting this option will allow you to recover your data even in the
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case you lose your own private key. This is possible because the data is not
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only encrypted for your own key, but also for the &kappname; recover key. This
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key is only available to selected &kappname; developers (at the time of
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writing only to the author).
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</para>
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<para>
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Under normal circumstances, you will open/save/close your file as usual. In
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the abnormal case of loss of your key, you have the chance to contact one of
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the developers who has access to the &kappname; recover key and request help
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to recover your data. You may contact the developers via email to the
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&kappname; developer mailing list at &devlist;.
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</para>
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</sect2>
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</sect1>
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<sect1 id="details.formats.anonymous">
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<title>Anonymous file</title>
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<para>
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This format is not intended to be used for normal data storage. It is
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supported in case of a problem as a method of supplying the &kappname;
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development team with your file without disclosing any of your financial
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data. If instructed by the developers, use the <guimenuitem>Save
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as...</guimenuitem> menu item to store your data in anonymous format by
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selecting <literal role="extension">.anon.xml</literal> as the file
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extension. To verify that your problem still exists, reload this anonymized
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file and try to duplicate your problem. If the problem is still present, send
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the file to the developer mailing list at &devlist; for further
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investigation. If the problem does not show ... well, I don't want to think
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about this scenario right now.
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</para>
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</sect1>
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</chapter>
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