Software files and User settings files

There are two groups of files for running Ancestris.

• The software files run the application,
• The user settings files store user preferences.

You may lose the software files because you can always get them from the Ancestris website;
but you should backup you user settings files as they are specific to you.

Software files

Ancestris software files will be inside the ancestris folder used during the installation.

You can type whereis ancestris on a terminal on Linux, or locate ancestris on macOS, or  dir ancestris /s /p on Windows to find out what that folder is.

This ancestris folder contains the following sub-folders.

• ancestris
• bin
  • ancestris : executable file to start Ancestris under macOS and Linux
  • ancestris.exe : executable file to start Ancestris under Windows
    
  • ancestris64.exe : executable file to start Ancestris under Windows with Java 64-bit architecture (recommended)
    
  • ancestris.gif : Ancestris icon to use when creating an application launcher shortcut
  • other Ancestris icons
• etc
  • ancestris.conf : application configuration file
• harness
• platform

When you reinstall Ancestris, you simply replace those software files.

User settings files

The User directory

Ancestris user settings files are in the user directory.

You can see the location of the user directory on the About dialogue.
This dialogue can be accessed from the main menu / Help / About Ancestris or else by clicking on the About button .

Example :

This user directory depends on your operating system.

• Windows : C:\Users\[your name]\...\.ancestris\<version>
• macOS : ${HOME}/Library/Application Support/ancestris/<version>
• Linux : ~/.ancestris/<version>

Where <version> is the installed version number.

• 11 : in this case, the main version 11
• trunk : in this case, the daily version 12

So the user directory, where the personalisation of Ancestris is located, is, according to your system:

• Windows :
  • Version 11: C:\Users\[your name]\...\.ancestris\11
  • Version 12: C:\Users\[your name]\...\.ancestris\trunk
• macOS :
  • Version 11:  ${HOME}/Library/Application Support/ancestris/11
  • Version 12: ${HOME}/Library/Application Support/ancestris/trunk
• Linux :
  • Version 11:  ~/.ancestris/11
  • Version 12: ~/.ancestris/trunk

In case your have reinstalled Ancestris from a previous version, and if you want to continue using your previous personalisation, you just have to copy the user directory of the previous version to the  user directory of the new version.

The User Configuration file and the log file

There are two especially important files in the user's folder for startup and diagnostic of eventual bugs.

• The configuration file : <user's folder>/etc/ancestris.conf defines the launch settings.
• The log file : <user's folder>/ancestris/ancestris.log stores all warnings and error messages occurring while you use Ancestris.

Here are also located your preferences and customised templates.

• Your preferences : <user's folder>/ancestris/config
• Your personal templates : <user's folder>/ancestris/blueprints
• Your almanacs : <user's folder>/ancestris/almanac
• Your individual and family record templates : <user's folder>/ancestris/gedart
• Your history of modifications : <user's folder>/var/cache/ModificationsHistory

Please check the user guide to learn what these templates are for.

Ancestris uses two configuration files, both named ancestris.conf
1/ The first one is the Application Configuration file, which is part of the Application directory and it is created during the installation of Ancestris. 
2/ The other one is the User Configuration file, which is part of your User directory, and created when you change some Preferences when using Ancestris.

The User Configuration file takes precedence over the Application Configuration file 

So the configuration file to check and update is the User Configuration file if it exists, the Application Configuration file otherwise.
- If you are installing Ancestris, you will probably need to update the Application Configuration file.
- If you have already used Ancestris and want to change the java version, you will probably need to update the User Configuration file. 

Detailed description

~/.ancestris/trunk	User directory
ancestris	User defined templates
almanac	Almanacs for the chronology view and for chronology reporting.
blueprints	Blueprints available for displaying genealogy information in dynamic tree view, Gedcom editor, etc.
gedart	Standard models and user-defined models for the individual and family record / Gedart report.
ancestris.log	Ancestris log file. This is the file Ancestris support might need in case you submit an error. You can define the size of the log file in the Preferences.
config	User defined preferences
Modules	User preferences of installed extensions
Preferences	User preferences of all views and tools except those of the installed extensions
Toolbars	Main toolbar settings
Windows2Local	Position of windows
shortcuts.html	Shortcuts
etc
ancestris.conf	Ancestris configuration file for Launch settings This configuration file complements the Ancestris application configuration file placed in the software files described above.
modules	Installed extensions
update_tracking	Installed extensions update information
var
cache
ModificationsHistory	Modification history of Gedcom files opened by Ancestris
...	Temporary information stored by Ancestris
log	Temporary log files

When you reinstall Ancestris, user settings files are not modified and you should be able to run the updated version with all your previous settings.

However, there could be some changes in the way the new version uses some of the settings.
   - If this is the case, we recommend you to only keep the ancestris, config, etc and ModificationsHistory folders.
   - If you have trouble with the windows, we recommend you to remove the Windows2Local folder.

Uninstall Ancestris

To uninstall Ancestris, just delete the 2 folders of the software files and the user settings files.