Files missing

[quark12000]

All of my characters' files seem to have evaporated. Any way to get them back?

[Trenloe]

A bit more information please.

What ruleset?

Where were you storing them? In Manage Characters based off the ruleset? In a campaign within Manage Characters? In a campaign? In XML files?

[quark12000]

This is for D and D 5e. They were being stored on my computer's hard drive. I still see them in Manage Characters, but cannot import newer versions.

[Trenloe]

This is for D and D 5e. They were being stored on my computer's hard drive. I still see them in Manage Characters, but cannot import newer versions.
I'm not sure what exact problem you're experiencing. So that we can assist you further, please give full details of the exact issue you're having. Steps to reproduce the issue - where things fail, etc.. Thanks.

[LordEntrails]

Import from where? Can you edit the existing one sin Manage Characters? Are they within a campaign within Manage Characters? (If so, you can not modify or overwrite those, intentionally).

[quark12000]

I'm not sure what exact problem you're experiencing. So that we can assist you further, please give full details of the exact issue you're having. Steps to reproduce the issue - where things fail, etc.. Thanks.

Okay, we'll do this the long way. I did the most recent update and got a dialog box that said my character files would have to be 'migrated', whatever that means. I clicked the yes button. When I next booted up Fantasy Grounds, I went into Manage Characters to see if this had happened. Older versions of my characters are still there marked 'Local'. When I tried to import newer versions of the characters, I got a Program Files box headed "This PC > Windows (C:) > Program Files (x86) > Fantasy Grounds. The only thing here was a file marked "patchnotes.xml". Nothing else.

[Moon Wizard]

If you selected No during the migration dialog, then your player cache was cleared and you will need to connect to the GM machine again to get copies of your characters for that campaign. This was highlighted in the migration dialog. (Basically, migrate quickly but redownload player data from GMs; or migrate slowly and keep player data.)

Regards,
JPG

[Trenloe]

Okay, we'll do this the long way.
Thanks for providing detailed info of your problem. Sorry, but the very basic info you provided before was insufficient to identify what your issue was.


I did the most recent update and got a dialog box that said my character files would have to be 'migrated', whatever that means. I clicked the yes button. When I next booted up Fantasy Grounds, I went into Manage Characters to see if this had happened. Older versions of my characters are still there marked 'Local'. When I tried to import newer versions of the characters, I got a Program Files box headed "This PC > Windows (C:) > Program Files (x86) > Fantasy Grounds. The only thing here was a file marked "patchnotes.xml". Nothing else.
As Moon Wizard mentions, if you were getting read-only copies of your campaign PCs from the Manage Characters cache, these have been cleared when you selected the option to migrate the cache.

If you have copies of the PCs in XML format on your computer, then clicking the Import button will prompt you to select the XML files you have previously saved. There is no default for this location, so you will need to remember/find where you previously saved PC XML if you previously exported your PCs to a local file on your computer.

[quark12000]

As I said, I clicked the Yes button. Not No.

[quark12000]

Thanks for providing detailed info of your problem. Sorry, but the very basic info you provided before was insufficient to identify what your issue was.


As Moon Wizard mentions, if you were getting read-only copies of your campaign PCs from the Manage Characters cache, these have been cleared when you selected the option to migrate the cache.

If you have copies of the PCs in XML format on your computer, then clicking the Import button will prompt you to select the XML files you have previously saved. There is no default for this location, so you will need to remember/find where you previously saved PC XML if you previously exported your PCs to a local file on your computer.

I never had to input a file location before. When importing or exporting characters, the program always took me to where they were saved. What has changed?

[Trenloe]

I never had to input a file location before. When importing or exporting characters, the program always took me to where they were saved. What has changed?
The process hasn't changed. The windows file dialog will default to the application executable location if the previously used location is no longer available. Where were you storing the PC XML files before? If they were in <FG App Data>\cache then they have probably been deleted - as this is the player data cache used by FG, which had data removed as part of the recent data maintenance option. Any user data files (such as exported PC XML files) shouldn't be stored in the FG data cache directory - they should be stored in a place where you usually store documents/etc. on your computer - somewhere that is not part of an application operational data store.

If you did store the files elsewhere, just navigate in the import window to where those files are stored.

[quark12000]

The process hasn't changed. The windows file dialog will default to the application executable location if the previously used location is no longer available. Where were you storing the PC XML files before? If they were in <FG App Data>\cache then they have probably been deleted - as this is the player data cache used by FG, which had data removed as part of the recent data maintenance option. Any user data files (such as exported PC XML files) shouldn't be stored in the FG data cache directory - they should be stored in a place where you usually store documents/etc. on your computer - somewhere that is not part of an application operational data store.

If you did store the files elsewhere, just navigate in the import window to where those files are stored.

I stored them where the program sent me when I wanted to export a character. So, you're telling me they've been erased, even though I chose the migration option? Then why even give it as an option?

[Trenloe]

I stored them where the program sent me when I wanted to export a character. So, you're telling me they've been erased, even though I chose the migration option? Then why even give it as an option?
I honestly don't know where you saved them, or where the application would have defaulted based off your individual installation.

Moon Wizard can comment more on exactly which file locations might have been erased/changed as part of the migration process.

I know it's not what you want to hear, but if you're saving any data files that are important to you on *any* computer, you should put them in a place where you usually save important files - for example, a document directory, a directory that is synced to the cloud, etc.. Hopefully you can get some PC files back from the GMs whose games you used them in, and then setup a safe area to store them for future use.

[Moon Wizard]

If you chose No during migration or if you specifically cleared cache, then the cache subfolder of the FG data directory would be deleted. Otherwise, no other folders or files would have been touched.

Regards,
JPG

[quark12000]

If you chose No during migration or if you specifically cleared cache, then the cache subfolder of the FG data directory would be deleted. Otherwise, no other folders or files would have been touched.

Regards,
JPG

So, where are my characters?

[Zacchaeus]

Have you tried a file search?

[quark12000]

Have you tried a file search?

I'm not sure how to do that.

[quark12000]

Wait, I think I've found them. They were under 'Documents' for some reason. Now how do I import from there?

[Moon Wizard]

In the Manage Characters mode, there is a button inside the Character Selection Window to perform an Import Character.

Regards,
JPG