Move everything out of AppData

[darkling]

Hey there,

Would it be a significant task for y'all to move all the user content into the Documents folder rather than AppData\Roaming?

I mean, gamemasters need access to those folders regularly for adding and removing and editing and it's buried away in AppData. Sure, I know where it is, so do many people, but let's face it: Windows does not treat that folder very well. Win10 loves to re-install in place regularly with updates, and the repair install nukes the AppData folder. People will lose campaigns like I have in the past. Since the files in there are ones we NEED TO KEEP, as well as access regularly, it'd really be smart to have them all in Documents.

- darkling

[Trenloe]

You can change the app data directory yourself - it is set in the Fantasy Grounds settings window. But, be careful, there have been instances of users changing the default directory and losing data (files not saving/updating etc.). To be honest, I've been using the default directory in AppData\Roaming for over 5 years now and never experienced an issue with the operating system or anything else messing around with my data. It's a tried and tested location. There were actually more issues when SmiteWorks moved the location of new installs to the Windows C:\ProgramData directory, so they have gone back to what works.

If you want quick access, all I do is add the FG data directory as a favourite in Windows file explorer and it is immediately accessible to me. No pain, no issues.

[dulux-oz]

Do what I do - make up a Folder where you want (in my case: d:\Fantasy_Grounds_Data) and then copy the relevant files and folders to this folder, then change the relevant setting in the FG Settings.

This is all covered in the first video of my Tutorial Video Series (links in my sig) - I've been running for years like this and I've NEVER had a problem :)

Cheers

Edit: Damn! Ninja'd by Trenloe :ninja:

[darkling]

First up, great there's an option to point it elsewhere in FG! So I'll do that, thanks. :) Helpful post is helpful.

Second, never in any point in history has "not on MY system" been a valid response to anything. Good for you but since the world doesn't revolve around you and your system, let's get back to the issue. It's a bad idea to put data people need to access manually and don't want to lose in AppData. Period.

Anyhow, that's all, bye. :)

[Trenloe]

Second, never in any point in history has "not on MY system" been a valid response to anything. Good for you but since the world doesn't revolve around you and your system, let's get back to the issue. It's a bad idea to put data people need to access manually and don't want to lose in AppData. Period.
Whoah, dude! Get off that horse. You failed to read "It's a tried and tested location" and also that there were lots of issues (experienced by more people than just me on "MY system") when the FG devs moved the default location from AppData. It's always nice when people who've been using an application for a while give people confidence by providing their own personal feedback. I wasn't being rude and I wasn't putting you down, so please don't throw it back in my face when all I was doing is letting you know my own experiences - as well as a lot of extra useful background information.

[Trenloe]

As further background info to file access issues experienced when the FG data files were moved out of App Data: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?28666-Release-v3-1-7&p=257920&viewfull=1#post257920 This is an FG developer posting.

@darkling: If you still have a strong desire for FG data to be installed somewhere else, please log it as a feature request on the FG wishlist here: https://fg2app.idea.informer.com/proj/ Thanks.

[Zacchaeus]

It also of course makes sense to include the AppData folder (or wherever you prefer it) in you regular back ups so that you won't lose data.

[Trenloe]

Backups are always an excellent idea.

As a note: don't use any active/cloud sync apps (dropbox, one drive, Google Drive, etc.) on your live FG data as this has been known to cause campaign data corruption. Do an offline/manual backup.