# Recovering Tree from "Hex" Named Folder **URL:** \ **Category:** Help\ **Tags:** data-recovery\ **Created:** [November 21, 2024, 9:19pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/recovering-tree-from-hex-named-folder/6478 "2024-11-21T21:19:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TC\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e274bd/32.png) [@TC\_Cat](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/TC_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 9:19pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/recovering-tree-from-hex-named-folder/6478/1 "2024-11-21T21:19:58Z")
GrampsAIO64-5.0.0-alpha1 on Windows 10. I realize my version of Gramps is out of date, but I am trying to get to a stable and safe state before moving forward. Skipping the long story part, I have access to several of my old “hex-named” data folders. Is there a way to get Gramps to read the data from these folders? The fundamental issue is that the “recent files” file is missing. Thank you in advance! TC\_Cat ---
**Author:** ![anon44746896](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e99b99/32.png) [@anon44746896](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/anon44746896)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 9:26pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/recovering-tree-from-hex-named-folder/6478/2 "2024-11-21T21:26:36Z")
> GrampsAIO64-5.0.0-alpha1 That is a really 2016 old [alpha test version](https://github.com/gramps-project/gramps/releases/tag/v5.0.0-alpha1), hopefully you don’t have issues because of it! > [@TC\_Cat](#): > > I have access to several of my old “hex-named” data folders. Is there a way to get Gramps to read the data from these folders? Do you mean the **Gramps [User Directory](https://gramps-project.org/wiki/index.php/Gramps_5.2_Wiki_Manual_-_User_Directory)**? If so before you start backup of your gramps user folder by archiving and copying the backup elsewhere. You should be able to install the current Gramps version and when each of the family trees is loaded they will be converted to the current version. The only additional thing you might need to do is [Convert BSDDB Family Trees to SQLite](https://gramps-project.org/wiki/index.php/Gramps_5.2_Wiki_Manual_-_Manage_Family_Trees#Converting_a_BSDDB_Family_Tree_to_SQLite) ---
**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:** [November 21, 2024, 9:48pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/recovering-tree-from-hex-named-folder/6478/3 "2024-11-21T21:48:05Z")
> [@TC\_Cat](#): > > Skipping the long story part, I have access to several of my old “hex-named” data folders. Is there a way to get Gramps to read the data from these folders? Those are typically the database files and are normally located in the your [Gramps User Directory](https://www.gramps-project.org/wiki/index.php/Gramps_Glossary#user_directory), for Linux systems that would typically be in the `.gramps/grampsdb` folder. The “hex-named” is the Gramps generated “handle”. Trivia: the [handle can be decoded](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/reversing-an-object-handle-to-its-creation-date/2614) to the extract the date the Tree was created. After you [make a backup](https://www.gramps-project.org/wiki/index.php/Gramps_5.2_Wiki_Manual_-_Manage_Family_Trees#Backing_up_a_Family_Tree) of the folder, point your [Gramps Preferences](https://www.gramps-project.org/wiki/index.php/Gramps_Glossary#preferences) for the “Family Tree” tab’s “Database path” to that folder. (Remember the old path.) The dialog from “Family Trees → Manage Family Trees…” should list more trees in the old BSDDB format… which would need to be converted to SQLite: ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/free1/uploads/gramps/original/2X/6/6b91e44c7ebb3a0633e4558582ffa490555ec2d4.png) ---
**Author:** ![TC\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e274bd/32.png) [@TC\_Cat](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/TC_Cat)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2024, 12:13am UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/recovering-tree-from-hex-named-folder/6478/4 "2024-12-02T00:13:16Z")
Gioto and emyoulation, thank you for your suggestions! Currently, I am trying to get my backup folder organized and use it to set a working folder. One issue I have run into is a file called `log.0000000001` in the “hex” (coded date) folders. On my network storage they seemed to have been created with elevated permissions and I have not been able to move them yet. (A case of too many things going on 🙂 ) While my plan is to move to the SQLLite format, I would like to understand the contents of the “hex folder” a bit better. Based on naming, they appear to be data file for the various “fields” (eg surname, address, etc, etc, etc) in the family tree. Is it as simple as that? TC\_Cat ---
**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:** [December 2, 2024, 1:11am UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/recovering-tree-from-hex-named-folder/6478/5 "2024-12-02T01:11:40Z")
Those are log files written by the BSDDB during certain error handling functions. More of them shouldn’t appear after the SQLite conversion. Found a discussion archived from the old Gramps support mail lists. They talk about the user’s wife having a lockup after a long data editing session. And after the repair, those edits were lost. Yet they were still in the logs. (I haven’t used the logs. So my knowledge about them is minimal.) There’s a discussion of tools for reading them in this site for another application: > ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/free1/uploads/gramps/original/1X/2ac1e712b7adf612e31ca08a55419f4cf37c0158.png) [@system](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/system)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 1:11am UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/recovering-tree-from-hex-named-folder/6478/6 "2025-01-01T01:11:52Z")
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