The files in C:\Documents\My Games\FINAL FANTASY XIV - A Realm Reborn

[Angelhearth]

Has anyone made a list of what the different files are for? As of now I just copy the whole directory when I make a new character, but it would be nice to copy only those files needed, so when making changes to the UI, you can copy those changes to all your characters.

[Enkidoh]

Most of the folders and files are rather self-explanatory - 'Downloads' holds the patcher program for the launcher and handles the patching for the game, so it's important not to delete. 'Screenshots' is where your screenshots are saved, 'Web' holds the cookies for settings for the the launcher such as language settings and saving your SE login name (as it uses a web browser to access news and info from SE, default is usually Internet Explorer), and the various folders that start with 'CHAR' hold your specific interface settings for each character (like hotbar icons/macros and chat log settings).

The files below these folders 'FFXIV.cfg' and 'FFXIV_BOOT.cfg' are config files for the launcher and the game client - these are very important as they determine how the game boots at the start, such as whether you skip the initial 'sign up' page, so it's especially important to keep these files backed up too (if something goes wrong with the launcher carefully tweaking settings in these files using Notepad usually fixes it).

Finally the various DAT files underneath are the save files for if you save character appearences during character creation (this is not your actual character data, it's just a set of parameters you can load into character creation later to make multiple characters with the same appearence). These character creation files are also able to be used in the Benchmark programs.

All these files and folders are used in one way or another by the game so it's best to just back up the whole folder if making UI changes as it's simpler that way.

[Angelhearth]

Most of the folders and files are rather self-explanatory - 'Downloads' holds the patcher program for the launcher and handles the patching for the game, so it's important not to delete. 'Screenshots' is where your screenshots are saved, 'Web' holds the cookies for settings for the the launcher such as language settings and saving your SE login name (as it uses a web browser to access news and info from SE, default is usually Internet Explorer), and the various folders that start with 'CHAR' hold your specific interface settings for each character (like hotbar icons/macros and chat log settings).

The files below these folders 'FFXIV.cfg' and 'FFXIV_BOOT.cfg' are config files for the launcher and the game client - these are very important as they determine how the game boots at the start, such as whether you skip the initial 'sign up' page, so it's especially important to keep these files backed up too (if something goes wrong with the launcher carefully tweaking settings in these files using Notepad usually fixes it).

Finally the various DAT files underneath are the save files for if you save character appearences during character creation (this is not your actual character data, it's just a set of parameters you can load into character creation later to make multiple characters with the same appearence). These character creation files are also able to be used in the Benchmark programs.

All these files and folders are used in one way or another by the game so it's best to just back up the whole folder if making UI changes as it's simpler that way.

So you actually don't know what the individual files in this folder are? That's what I'm asking. You don't destroy the game copying them to the new folder for your new character, but there will be a few strange results. Like your character jobs already existing in the list, even though the new character doesn't have them. All spells from the same level as your other character showing up in the hotbars. All macros from the other character. And so on, and so on. So the thing here is that I want to know which files are for what.

[Lozza]

Enkidoh likely misunderstood what you were asking.

ACQ.DAT - Frankly no idea.
ADDON.DAT - This is your HUD/UI
COMMON.DAT - This has the colour of your chat text settings. Probably has other things that I haven't noticed. Colour settings for channels only though, other chat settings are in another file.
CONTROL0.DAT - This is config for controller.
CONTROL1.DAT - Another config for controller. I don't know what the differences are since I use KB+M.
GEARSET.DAT - These are your gearsets.
GS.DAT - This is for gold saucer stuff. Realistically I think it only effects TT decks since other GS stuff is kept server side.
HOTBAR.DAT - This is your skill bar for all classes/jobs, shared bars included.
ITEMFDR.DAT - Not really sure about this one or the next, they are relatively new. I've seen suggestions that they control item sort settings for retainers.
ITEMODR.DAT - See above.
KEYBIND.DAT - These are the keybinds.
LOGFLTR.DAT - This is your chat settings, minus colour. So what channels you are seeing in what tabs, whether you have a time stamp etc.
MACRO.DAT - This is character macros. Shared macros are not kept in this file.
UISAVE.DAT - This is for the UI save stuff. If you only use the one HUD setting then this file is not necessary for you - ADDON.DAT is your HUD layout.

As for the log folder it keeps a log of stuff the char has done recently in game. It's not an important folder/file.

All this stuff applies specifically to characters.

[JamesRaithe]

I found this looking for the same information:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme...er_data_files/

This post should fill the gaps in information here.

ACQ.DAT: This is recent tell contacts
CONTROL0.DAT - This is config info for Mouse & Keyboard settings.
CONTROL1.DAT - This is config info for Controller/Gamepad settings.
ITEMFDR.DAT - Item search index, used when searching for similar items.
ITEMODR.DAT - This contains Inventory and Retainer item sort positions.

Between this post and the Reddit link I've added above, it looks like if you want to copy a Config from one character to another, you want to copy all of the files EXCEPT the following as they are strictly character specific.

ACQ
GEARSET
GS
HOTBAR
ITEMFDR
ITEMODR
MACRO

You can copy the following if you want the info, but it's not required for copying the settings and HUD. These files can mess things up depending on what you are doing on the other character.

GEARSET
HOTBAR
MACRO

While the Macro info could be useful, it's easier just to use the shared macro tab for Globally saved Macros.