What should I bear in mind when reporting a problem or error?

English
1

Reporting an Errors - How to Do It Right

If you’ve encountered an error or observed unexpected behavior, it might be a bug. Bugs can only be fixed if they are known - so please report them! To do this as effectively as possible, please follow these guidelines.

Table of Contents

  1. Before Reporting an Error
  2. What Belongs in a Good Error Description?
  3. How Do I Create a Minimal Example?
  4. Screenshots - Done Right
  5. How Do I Mark a Topic as Solved?
  6. Other Helpful Resources
  7. Report Errors Directly on GitHub

Before Reporting an Error

  1. Use the Latest Version of Portfolio Performance Check if you have the latest version installed. Errors in older versions may have already been fixed.
  2. Search the Forum for Similar Problems Use the forum search with a concise part of the error message or relevant keywords. Your error may have already been reported or resolved.

What Belongs in a Good Error Description?

When creating a new topic, please provide the following information:

1. Framework Conditions

  • Operating system (e.g., Windows 11, macOS, Linux…)
  • Portfolio Performance version
  • Java version (especially for startup or display issues)
    • Menu → “Help” → “About Portfolio Performance”
  • Menu → “Help" → "Show Error Log“

If possible, also include the log file if an error occurs that is not directly visible from the user interface. You can find the log under “Help” → “Show Error Log”.

2. Steps to Reproduce

What do you have to do to produce the error? Describe the steps so that others can easily follow them:

Example:

  1. Create a new security
  2. Record a purchase transaction of 100 units
  3. Open rebalancing → error occurs

3. Expected Behavior

What should happen in your opinion?

4. Actual Behavior / Error Pattern

What happens instead?

  • Does the program display an error message? Copy the full text (not just a screenshot).
  • Are incorrect values displayed?
  • Does a function not respond as expected?

“Doesn’t work”
is not enough – the more specific, the better.

5. Your Own Assumptions (Optional)

If you have an idea of what is causing the error, feel free to share it – please keep it clearly separate from the observed facts.

How Do I Create a Minimal Example?

A minimal example helps enormously in narrowing down and analyzing the error. Here’s how to proceed:

  1. Create a copy of your portfolio file (do not work with the original file!).
  2. Remove everything that is probably not relevant (accounts, transactions, securities…).
  3. Check after each change whether the error still occurs.
  4. Once only the necessary elements are included and the error is still visible, you have a minimal example.
  5. Remove sensitive data and unnecessary historical prices before uploading the file.

Note:
Files you upload are publicly visible. Pay attention to data protection! Remove all personal data and make sure that no confidential information (such as complete account details or historical prices) is included in the file before uploading it.

Screenshots - Done Right

Screenshots can be very helpful if:

  • They show the complete relevant area (including filters, headings, etc.)
  • The display is easy to read (no cropping, no blur)
  • They can be inserted directly into the forum via copy & paste

How Do I Mark a Topic as Solved?

If the problem has been solved, you can mark the post that led to the solution by clicking on the solution checkmark. The topic will then be marked accordingly in the overview.

Other Helpful Resources

→ Official Handbook
The handbook contains many detailed explanations of functions, views, and settings.

→ Trouble shooting - Portfolio Performance Manual
Display & Save the Error Log

→ How-To - Portfolio Performance Forum
Many instructions and explanations in English

→ How-To - Portfolio Performance Forum
Many instructions and explanations in German

→ Extracting PDF documents for debugging
*Instructions for extracting PDF errors and all currently supported PDF importers. (English)

→ Extracting PDF documents for debugging
Instructions for extracting PDF errors and all currently supported PDF importers. (German)

Report Errors Directly on GitHub

If you want to report the error directly on the GitHub issue page, you can open a new issue there. On GitHub, you can describe errors in detail, which can be directly tracked by the developers. When creating a GitHub issue, please provide the same information as in the points mentioned above to enable a quick analysis.

Note: If you use GitHub, make sure to include all relevant data, such as error messages or log files. You can also track the error report there.

Thank you for your support! The clearer and more structured your report is, the faster the error can be found and fixed.

Your Portfolio Performance Team

5 Likes