# What is the use of gramps.ini since this file is overwritten during startup? **URL:** \ **Category:** Help\ **Created:** [September 28, 2024, 12:22pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/what-is-the-use-of-gramps-ini-since-this-file-is-overwritten-during-startup/6131 "2024-09-28T12:22:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SU58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@SU58](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/SU58)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2024, 12:22pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/what-is-the-use-of-gramps-ini-since-this-file-is-overwritten-during-startup/6131/1 "2024-09-28T12:22:29Z")
Windows 11 GrampsAIO64-5.2.2 dutch version. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2024, 12:39pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/what-is-the-use-of-gramps-ini-since-this-file-is-overwritten-during-startup/6131/2 "2024-09-28T12:39:59Z")
The `gramps.ini` is almost continuosly updated. During startup that file would be updated with the history of which view category was last active and inserts it in the history of the last 10 view modes. ---
**Author:** ![SU58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@SU58](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/SU58)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2024, 12:49pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/what-is-the-use-of-gramps-ini-since-this-file-is-overwritten-during-startup/6131/3 "2024-09-28T12:49:32Z")
So I’m guessing that changing any setting here is useless? ---
**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:** [September 28, 2024, 12:56pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/what-is-the-use-of-gramps-ini-since-this-file-is-overwritten-during-startup/6131/4 "2024-09-28T12:56:52Z")
> [@SU58](#): > > changing any setting here is useless? Manually changing? I suppose the level of futility depends on which setting you change. What are you trying to accomplish? ---
**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:** [September 28, 2024, 1:14pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/what-is-the-use-of-gramps-ini-since-this-file-is-overwritten-during-startup/6131/5 "2024-09-28T13:14:47Z")
`Gramps.ini` is updated after changes are made in [Preferences](https://gramps-project.org/wiki/index.php?title=Gramps_5.2_Wiki_Manual_-_Settings#Preferences) and as you use and navigate your database. It remembers the last directory you used to add a media file. It remembers your last used view so if you set it to open in the last view in Preferences, it can do so. The only time it is created new, is if you have deleted the previous file. ---
**Author:** ![SU58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@SU58](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/SU58)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2024, 1:16pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/what-is-the-use-of-gramps-ini-since-this-file-is-overwritten-during-startup/6131/6 "2024-09-28T13:16:26Z")
I’m trying stop displaying use-tips (tooltips) when hovering over an area or button. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2024, 1:16pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/what-is-the-use-of-gramps-ini-since-this-file-is-overwritten-during-startup/6131/7 "2024-09-28T13:16:30Z")
> [@SU58](#): > > So I’m guessing that changing any setting here is useless? You should only manually change `gramps.ini` while Gramps is closed. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2024, 1:18pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/what-is-the-use-of-gramps-ini-since-this-file-is-overwritten-during-startup/6131/8 "2024-09-28T13:18:03Z")
> [@DaveSch](#): > > The only time it is created new, is if you have deleted the previous file. A caveat there… if you have previous version of the [Gramps User Directory](https://www.gramps-project.org/wiki/index.php/Gramps_Glossary#user_directory), it still doesn’t create “new”. Gramps will upgrade the `gramps.ini` from the previous version. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2024, 2:17pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/what-is-the-use-of-gramps-ini-since-this-file-is-overwritten-during-startup/6131/9 "2024-09-28T14:17:37Z")
> [@SU58](#): > > stop displaying use-tips (tooltips) That’s a tough one. Just looked up a few things. One reference noted that the `gtk-enable-tooltips` option in Gtk had been deprecated and is ignored in new releases. Another suggested hacking the timeout in the `gtk_tooltip.c` file and inserting an absurdly high. But that require recompiling Gtk in C language. That’s not viable for most users. I wonder if GREPping the Gramps source and plugins folders might not be a better option? Redefining the name of the tooltip string variable with search and replace might be risky but workable. Let’s see if I understand the problem you encounter… when trying to select objects (or open a context menu), sometimes the tooltips from an object obscure the target object. Thus making it frustrating to select any closely positioned objects. (Pins on maps being a prime example.) The problem can be alleviated (somewhat) by approaching with the mouse pointer from below rather than from above. But if the target is small, you may have to “wave off” attempts for the approach several times. (Still frustrating, but doable.) ---
**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:** [September 28, 2024, 2:39pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/what-is-the-use-of-gramps-ini-since-this-file-is-overwritten-during-startup/6131/10 "2024-09-28T14:39:25Z")
> [@emyoulation](#): > > I wonder if GREPping the Gramps source and plugins folders might not be a better option? Redefining the name of the tooltip string variable with search and replace might be risky but workable Put the question to Perplexity and this was its response: _**(untested)**_ To rename the `gtk_widget_set_tooltip_text` method to something innocuous that accepts the same parameters and can be easily reversed, you could use a unique and descriptive name like `gtk_widget_ignore_tooltip_text`. This name is unlikely to conflict with existing functions and makes it clear that the function is intended to be a placeholder without functionality. Here’s an example of how you might perform the search and replace using `grep` and `sed`: ```bash grep -rl 'gtk_widget_set_tooltip_text' ./ | xargs sed -i 's/gtk_widget_set_tooltip_text/gtk_widget_ignore_tooltip_text/g' ``` This command searches for all occurrences of `gtk_widget_set_tooltip_text` in the current directory and replaces them with `gtk_widget_ignore_tooltip_text`. Citations: [1] [Gtk.Widget.set\_tooltip\_text](https://docs.gtk.org/gtk3/method.Widget.set_tooltip_text.html) [2] [Gtk.Widget:tooltip-text](https://docs.gtk.org/gtk3/property.Widget.tooltip-text.html) [3] [[SOLVED] Disable GTK3 Tooltips - Clean Or Dirty / Applications & Desktop Environments / Arch Linux Forums](https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=232019) [4] [button - Add tooltip to GtkButton - Stack Overflow](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/16586635/add-tooltip-to-gtkbutton) [5] [GtkTooltips](https://www.geany.org/manual/gtk/gtk/GtkTooltips.html) [6] [[Question] How to 'disable' a tooltip? · Issue #6690 · PySimpleGUI/PySimpleGUI · GitHub](https://github.com/PySimpleGUI/PySimpleGUI/issues/6690) [7] [Gtk.Tooltip](https://docs.gtk.org/gtk3/class.Tooltip.html) [8] [How to turn off tooltips in wxpython - Stack Overflow](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/31179134/how-to-turn-off-tooltips-in-wxpython) ---
**Author:** ![SU58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@SU58](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/SU58)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2024, 4:13pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/what-is-the-use-of-gramps-ini-since-this-file-is-overwritten-during-startup/6131/11 "2024-09-28T16:13:26Z")
This problem description is correct. So, to my understanding use-tips or tooltips is beyond control of Gramps software and originates from GUI framework (Gtk) used? ---
**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:** [September 28, 2024, 4:22pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/what-is-the-use-of-gramps-ini-since-this-file-is-overwritten-during-startup/6131/12 "2024-09-28T16:22:53Z")
> [@SU58](#): > > my understanding use-tips or tooltips is beyond control of Gramps software and originates from GUI framework (Gtk) used To a certain degree. The original text (content) of the tooltip is controlled by Gramps. That includes choosing whether to associate _ **any** _ text for a tooltip text for a specific Gtk element. The rendering (font family, font size, color of foreground and background, opacity, container shape, offset, connector) is of the tip is controlled by CSS theme. (I recall seeing semi-transparent tooltips in some themes.) And there is a translation abstraction layer too. Gtk combines all these factors, tracks what is being indicated by the mouse pointer, and determines how (and how quickly) the tooltip is displayed. ---
**Author:** ![SU58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@SU58](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/SU58)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2024, 4:30pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/what-is-the-use-of-gramps-ini-since-this-file-is-overwritten-during-startup/6131/13 "2024-09-28T16:30:58Z")
1. I’ve been looking in the gramps.ini file and found under the section [behavior] an item ;;use-tips=0. 2. all Gtk widget appears to have an parameter like this: button.set\_has\_tooltip(True) Any comments on these two points? ---
**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:** [September 28, 2024, 4:32pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/what-is-the-use-of-gramps-ini-since-this-file-is-overwritten-during-startup/6131/14 "2024-09-28T16:32:26Z")
> [@emyoulation](#): > > The rendering (font family, font size, color of foreground and background, opacity, container shape, offset, connector) is of the tip is controlled by CSS theme. While expanding the description of the probably CSS options, the thought occurs that it might be possible to adjust the offset. So the box might be moved further out of the ‘hot area’. It would take some exploring of the CSS to see if that is true. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2024, 4:36pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/what-is-the-use-of-gramps-ini-since-this-file-is-overwritten-during-startup/6131/15 "2024-09-28T16:36:21Z")
> [@SU58](#): > > - I’ve been looking in the gramps.ini file and found under the section [behavior] an item ;;use-tips=0. > - all Gtk widget appears to have an parameter like this: button.set\_has\_tooltip(True) > Any comments on these two points? You’ve now exceeded my experience. I _ **suspect** _ that this is a relict of a deprecated feature that was available in a superseded release of Gtk. It might also just be the following Preferences option, Which would have the “saved immediately” set\_tooltip wrapped in an `if` condition: ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/free1/uploads/gramps/original/2X/1/1e6cd11a6ae9b2bbf076c38c2114c1a5b52e7ef6.png) “ **Suppress tooltip warning about data being saved immediatly** ” is the `immediate-warn` boolean setting in `[behavior]`. Counter to typical settings, Suppress/Hide is `1` (True) and Show is `0` (False). ---
**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:** [September 28, 2024, 8:47pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/what-is-the-use-of-gramps-ini-since-this-file-is-overwritten-during-startup/6131/16 "2024-09-28T20:47:09Z")
> [@SU58](#): > > ’ve been looking in the gramps.ini file and found under the section [behavior] an item ;;use-tips=0. This setting refers to displaying the Tip of the Day on startup. ```python self.add_checkbox( grid, _("Display Tip of the Day"), row, "behavior.use-tips", start=1, stop=3, tooltip=_("Show useful information about using " "Gramps on startup."), ) ``` ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/free1/uploads/gramps/original/1X/2ac1e712b7adf612e31ca08a55419f4cf37c0158.png) [@system](https://gramps.discourse.group/u/system)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 8:47pm UTC](https://gramps.discourse.group/t/what-is-the-use-of-gramps-ini-since-this-file-is-overwritten-during-startup/6131/17 "2024-10-28T20:47:35Z")
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