How do I tell which Gramps data file goes with which family tree?

Question

Gramps creates a hidden directory in your home directory called .gramps containing all the user-specific data. There is a directory in that directory called grampsdb (eg /Users/yourname/.gramps/grampsdb) that contains all your data stored in individual directories for each family tree. The directory names are not obvious matches to the family tree. How do I tell which directory goes with which family tree?

Answer 1

In each directory are many files ending in *.db that are the database tables. There is also a file called name.txt that contains the name of the family tree as it is known thru the gramps gui (eg "Family Tree 1").

If you have many directories, then from grampsdb directory on Linux or Unix-based systems (eg MacOS):

less */name.txt

and then ":n" thru each file until you find the one you are looking for.

Answer 2

If you are using Gramps on Windows then search for name.txt through the File Explorer to generate a list of files and then preview the contents of each file found within a Gramps folder (typically named with 8 apparently random alphanumeric characters).

If you don't like where Gramps chooses to put the data (on Windows) you can specify another location through the menu sequence Edit | Preferences | Family Tree.

Answer 3

You can let Gramps tell you by using a command-line flag:

% gramps -l
/home/dblank/.gramps/grampsdb/50f2e092 with name "data.gramps"
/home/dblank/.gramps/grampsdb/50f49851 with name "example.gramps"

% gramps -L
Family Tree "data.gramps":
   DB version: 16
   Last accessed: 01/16/2013 08:40:42 AM
   Locked?: no
   Number of people: 41
   Path: /home/dblank/.gramps/grampsdb/50f2e092
Family Tree "example.gramps":
   DB version: 16
   Last accessed: 01/14/2013 06:54:53 PM
   Locked?: no
   Number of people: 2090
   Path: /home/dblank/.gramps/grampsdb/50f49851