# Need OS reference data for filepaths to create Wiki Pages

**URL:** <https://gramps.discourse.group/t/need-os-reference-data-for-filepaths-to-create-wiki-pages/3397>\
**Category:** Development\
**Created:** [March 13, 2023, 3:20am UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/need-os-reference-data-for-filepaths-to-create-wiki-pages/3397 "2023-03-13T03:20:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 9\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![emyoulation](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/gramps.discourse.group/emyoulation/32/67_2.png) [@emyoulation](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/emyoulation)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 3:20am UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/need-os-reference-data-for-filepaths-to-create-wiki-pages/3397/1 "2023-03-13T03:20:22Z")

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Need some help with the macOS section below, which is missing a couple filepaths. And for the listed paths to be double-checked in each OS. (The Linux items were checked with Fedora. Are they compatible with other distributions?)

While attempting to expand the GtkFileChooser documentation, some deficiencies popped up. I intended to follow the pattern of [Gramps User Directory](https://gramps-project.org/wiki/index.php/Gramps_Glossary#user_directory) wiki article for similar articles on the application install path, example files path, Bookmarks path in the various OSes. (The User Directory page is still too tangled to be used as a quick reference. So revision can start with inserting the following in outline overview section into the article. Then streamline the rest of the article.)

What other paths would be useful? Obviously it is useful to note that _most_ of the “User Defined” paths in the Preferences are found in the `gramps.ini`. The exception being the Relative Media path… which is stored in each Tree.

* * *

* * *

**Linux**

- _application_  
`/usr/lib/python3.11/site-packages/gramps`
- _example files_  
`/usr/share/doc/gramps/example`
- _[Gramps User Directory](https://gramps-project.org/wiki/index.php/Gramps_Glossary#user_directory)_  
`~/.gramps`
- _GtkFileChooser bookmarks_  
`~/.config/gtk-3.0/bookmarks`

**macOS**

- _application_
- _example files_  
`Contents/Resources/share/doc/gramps/example`
- _[Gramps User Directory](https://gramps-project.org/wiki/index.php/Gramps_Glossary#user_directory)_  
`~/.gramps`
- _GtkFileChooser bookmarks_

**Windows**

- _application_  
`%programfiles%\GrampsAIO64-5.1.5\`
- _example files_  
`%programfiles%\GrampsAIO64-5.1.5\share\doc\gramps\example`
- _[Gramps User Directory](https://gramps-project.org/wiki/index.php/Gramps_Glossary#user_directory)_  
`%appdata%\gramps`
- _GtkFileChooser bookmarks_  
`%appdata%\local\gtk-3.0\bookmarks`

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![GaryGriffin](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/gramps.discourse.group/garygriffin/32/6525_2.png) [@GaryGriffin](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/GaryGriffin)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 7:13am UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/need-os-reference-data-for-filepaths-to-create-wiki-pages/3397/2 "2023-03-13T07:13:21Z")

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In my Mac system:

application folder:

> /Applications/Gramps.app/

application executeable:

> /Applications/Gramps.app/Contents/MacOS/Gramps

example file:

> /Applications/Gramps.app/Contents/Resources/share/doc/gramps/example/gramps/example.gramps

[Gramps User Directory](https://gramps-project.org/wiki/index.php/Gramps_Glossary#user_directory) with all of the .ini files:

> ~/Library/Application\ Support/gramps/gramps51/

GtkFileChooser folder:

> ~/.config/gtk-2.0

(this folder has a gtkfilechooser.ini file. I also have an empty gtk-3.0 folder. I have not done any customization, so maybe that is why gtk-3.0 is empty.)

My ~/.gramps folder is empty.

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**Author:** ![DaveSch](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/gramps.discourse.group/davesch/32/40_2.png) [@DaveSch](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/DaveSch)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 11:01am UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/need-os-reference-data-for-filepaths-to-create-wiki-pages/3397/3 "2023-03-13T11:01:58Z")

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> [@emyoulation](#):
>
> - _example files_  
> `%programfiles%\GrampsAIO64-5.1.5\share\doc\gramps\example`
> - _[Gramps User Directory](https://gramps-project.org/wiki/index.php/Gramps_Glossary#user_directory)_  
> `%appdata%\gramps`

- example files  
`%programfiles%\GrampsAIO64-5.1.5\share\doc\gramps\example\gedcom`

- User Directory  
`%appdata%\roaming\gramps`

- User spellcheck folder  
`%appdata%\local\enchant`

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![emyoulation](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/gramps.discourse.group/emyoulation/32/67_2.png) [@emyoulation](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/emyoulation)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 11:49am UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/need-os-reference-data-for-filepaths-to-create-wiki-pages/3397/4 "2023-03-13T11:49:47Z")

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> [@GaryGriffin](#):
>
> (this folder has a gtkfilechooser.ini file. I also have an empty gtk-3.0 folder. I have not done any customization, so maybe that is why gtk-3.0 is empty.)
> 
> My ~/.gramps folder is empty.

You might want add a bookmark (your Media relative path tends to be useful) just to verify whether Gramps is using the 2.0 or 3.0 Gtk. If you’re using Gimp, this may add a bookmark there too. (That’s useful if you’re servicing the media objects. Since metadata) In linux, the bookmark appears in the OS filechooser.

If the ~/.gramps folder is empty, then that isn’t the right path. Let’s work backwards from your plugins folder. (Then see if a shorthand element substitution is needed to make the path work for everyone.)

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**Author:** ![GeorgeWilmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@GeorgeWilmes](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/GeorgeWilmes)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 1:22pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/need-os-reference-data-for-filepaths-to-create-wiki-pages/3397/5 "2023-03-13T13:22:49Z")

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My folders are the same as @GaryGriffin’s. But my gtk-3.0 folder isn’t empty; there’s a “custom-papers” file there, containing the details of a custom page size that I saved at some point. So it seems to be usinf that one.

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**Author:** ![trlvn](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/gramps.discourse.group/trlvn/32/1148_2.png) [@trlvn](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/trlvn)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 1:40pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/need-os-reference-data-for-filepaths-to-create-wiki-pages/3397/6 "2023-03-13T13:40:11Z")

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> [@emyoulation](#):
>
> **macOS**
> 
> […]
> 
> - _example files_  
> `Contents/Resources/share/doc/gramps/example`

Can I just say this is not a good place to store a file that a new user might be very interested in?

I would hazard a guess that _most_ Mac users are unaware that an “application” is actually a special type of folder with numerous files stored inside. Apple goes to considerable lengths to maintain the illusion that an app is a single monolithic thing. Trying to get a new Gramps users to navigate _into_ the application’s bundle is far from intuitive. I think a better approach would be a Help menu item that launches the user’s default browser to a web page where they can download any example files that interest them.

[/climbs down off soapbox]

Craig

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![emyoulation](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/gramps.discourse.group/emyoulation/32/67_2.png) [@emyoulation](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/emyoulation)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 3:49pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/need-os-reference-data-for-filepaths-to-create-wiki-pages/3397/7 "2023-03-13T15:49:38Z")

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> [@trlvn](#):
>
> Can I just say this is not a good place to store a file that a new user might be very interested in?

If there was a way for the installer (in all OSes and distributions) to put the Examples folder into the [Gramps User Directory](https://gramps-project.org/wiki/index.php/Gramps_Glossary#user_directory) location, it would be FAR more appropriate than bury it so deeply in the Application. (That might not be possible to integrate into the macOS one-and-done drag"n’drop install. So maybe have them as a ZIPped file in the Application Share path that is unpacked to that location when Gramps is initially registered. The initial building of cached binaries from the python source is already a slow process. An unZIP might not be too much more overhead?)

Unlike the protected Application area, Users would have the ability to tweak the Example files if they were in the User Directory. And Addon plugins could be built that would expand the Examples. So perhaps another set of CSV examples might be added to demonstrate its import capabilities. Or sample files could be provided to demonstate the feature of the Addon.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![GaryGriffin](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/gramps.discourse.group/garygriffin/32/6525_2.png) [@GaryGriffin](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/GaryGriffin)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 4:42pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/need-os-reference-data-for-filepaths-to-create-wiki-pages/3397/8 "2023-03-13T16:42:51Z")

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Om the Mac, Plugins are at :

> ~/Library/Application Support/gramps/gramps51/plugins

Other interesting file locations (which seem to be independent of gramps version):

> ~/Library/Application Support/gramps/recent-files-gramps.xml  
> ~/Library/Application Support/gramps/report\_options.xml  
> ~/Library/Application Support/gramps/tool\_options.xml  
> ~/Library/Application Support/gramps/grampsdb/

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![GeorgeWilmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@GeorgeWilmes](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/GeorgeWilmes)\
**Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 5:13pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/need-os-reference-data-for-filepaths-to-create-wiki-pages/3397/9 "2023-03-13T17:13:23Z")

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Other folders underneath ~/Library/Application Support/gramps:

maps (caches of map tiles)  
thumb (thumbnails of images)

I also have folders named css and env which are empty.
