---
title: "Work with database hierarchy nodes"
canonical: "https://help.vicon.com/space/Nexus212/11246873/Work%20with%20database%20hierarchy%20nodes"
format: markdown
---
You view and manage the nodes created for the database hierarchy on the **Data Management** tab of the **Communications** window.

The data management function keeps all files associated with a Vicon motion capture trial together in a strict hierarchical order. The database hierarchy can contain up to four levels (**Database**, **Patient Classification**, **Patient**, and **Session**) to define the appropriate hierarchical structure for your motion capture trial as defined in the database template (.eni ) file on which the database is based.

Each level (node) in the hierarchy has its own properties and can contain only certain types of data. The top-level node for the hierarchy has the same name as the database, with sub folders for each node. Sub-sessions and trials do not have their own folders but are sets of files within the session folder. 

> ❌ **Caution**   
> ❌ The hierarchy shown on the **Data Management** tab is mirrored in the folder system on your hard drive. Under no circumstances should you manually change these folders on your hard drive as this will prevent your database system from functioning correctly. Make any changes from within the **Data Management** tab in Nexus.

You can expand and contract the nodes in an database hierarchy as you would with standard file explorers. Additionally, you can identify a node for which you want to perform an action in the following ways:

- **Marked node** A marked node will be acted on by buttons selected from the **Data Management** toolbar.  
A marked node is highlighted with a red check mark across the node icon. Its row has a red background, unless it is also selected, when it is gray.

- **Selected node** A selected node will be acted on by commands selected from the context menu displayed when you right-click on the node.  
A selected node is highlighted with a gray background for its row.

After you have selected or marked a node, you can carry out the operations described below.

# Manage database nodes

After you have created one or more nodes in a trial database, on the **Data Management** tab you can create, delete, rename, and move folders and files to meet your requirements.

You can manage database nodes using the mouse and/or the following commands from the  context (right-click) menu :

- Open Patient/Session/Trial/Subject
- Rename
- Delete
- Create copy of Master with tag  
This can be one of Labeled, Modeled, Filtered, or Backup.
- Mark   
When you mark one or more nodes, the **Show/hide marked nodes** button > Macro (inline-media-image)

 is displayed in the Data Management toolbar, enabling you to display only marked nodes on the Data Management tab.
- Clear All Marks
- Create Backup (Session node and below)
- Archive (Session node and above)
- Restore

For information about archiving, backup and restoring, see [Archive and backup data](#ArchiveBackup).

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### About Data type icons

View and open the different data types saved for a motion capture trial using the Data Type icons on the **Data Management** tab.

The icons for the standard data types that can be associated with Vicon motion capture trials are shown here in the default order in which they appear from left to right in the **Files** column:

| **Icon** | **Data type** | **Description** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ![image](media://7f5623f0-99bc-44a2-84c9-ca5d92475132) | Movie File | Multimedia sound and moving picture data in .mpg or .avi format files |
| ![image](media://132b985e-a1c5-47a7-a050-9cc68b7d3ed1) | Raw Analog Data | Unprocessed analog data (e.g., from force plates) in .x1d format files |
| ![image](media://6df6daed-f320-42a0-ba96-00ad7aa11da6) | Model Parameter File | The model's parameters for Plug-in Gait or BodyLanguage models |
| ![image](media://9b95868b-a377-42be-b166-9df4d07cf545) | Centroid/Grayscale File | Unprocessed Vicon video data from Vicon cameras in .x2d format files |
| ![image](media://52d25853-56b1-4dfc-b593-ed4ecd56a3d7) | Processed Capture Data | Processed Vicon 3D motion data in .c3d format files |

Archived nodes are displayed with a red cross over them, to indicate that they cannot be used until restored.

You may also see additional icons for file types of motion data created in earlier Vicon motion capture application software or exported for use in third-party applications (such as animation software or Excel spreadsheets).

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## Manage data files

View and manage the motion capture data saved to a trial database on the **Data Management** tab. The data files associated with a motion capture trial are indicated by data type icons in the **Files** column to the right of a node name in the database hierarchy.


**To open a trial:**


In the database hierarchy, double-click the node name.

Nexus opens the trial, and the reconstructed data (and the associated movie file if present) is displayed in the view pane.

** To open a data file:**   
In the database hierarchy, click a node icon and in the context menu, click the required file name.

Nexus opens the specified data file, displays system and subject data in the appropriate **Resources** pane and displays the visual data in the current view pane.


**To delete a data file:**


In the database hierarchy, right-click the desired node name and on the context menu click **Delete "** *Filename* **"**.

The specified data file is deleted from the current database hierarchy, and the associated folders and files are deleted from your hard disk.

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Archive and back up data

Archiving and creating backups enables you to save your data (optionally in compressed format), so that it can be restored when required.

Archiving (moving files to a specified location (optionally a .zip file) so that they can be restored when required) can be applied to the Session node and all nodes above it in the hierarchy. When you archive a node, data from the node and all nodes below it in the hierarchy are moved to the archive and can be restored to the same location when required. The archived node is indicated by a red cross over its icon > Macro (inline-media-image)

. This is useful if you need to save space.

Creating a backup (creating a zipped copy of a node, but leaving the original node(s) in place) can be applied to all nodes in the hierarchy. When you back up a node, data from the node and all nodes below it in the hierarchy are copied to the backup (a .zip file) and can be restored to the same location when required. This is useful if you want to share files with Vicon Support or with your colleagues.


**Archive a node:**


1. On the **Data Management** tab, in the pane on the right, right-click the required node.
2. On the context menu, click** Archive** and in the **Create Archive** dialog box:
  1. Enter or browse to the required location.
  2. Ensure that the**Options** line is as required.
  3. Click **Start/Stop**.
  The bar displays the progress of the archiving.
3. When all the files have been processed, click **Close**.  
The node is saved to the specified location, as a zip file if this option was selected in step 2.  
On the **Data Management** tab, the archived node is shown with a red cross over it and cannot be used until it is restored.

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**Restore an archived or backed up node:**


1. In the **Data Management** hierarchy, locate the node that you want to restore and in the pane on the right, right-click the required node.
2. On the context menu, point to **Restore Backup** and then click the required file name.
3. In the **Restore Backup** dialog box:
  1. Ensure the path is as required, or enter or browse to the required location.
  2. Ensure that the **Archive Name** field displays the name of the required archive.
  3. Click **Start/Stop**.
  The bar displays the progress of the restoration.
4. When all the files have been processed, click **Close**.


**Back up a node:**


1. In the **Data Management** hierarchy, right-click the required node.
2. On the context menu, click **Create Backup**.
3. In the **Create Backup** dialog box:
  1. Ensure the path is as required, or enter or browse to the required location.
  2. Ensure that the**Options** line is as required.
  3. Click **Start/Stop**.
  The bar displays the progress of the backup.
4. When all the files have been processed, click **Close**.  
A .zip file containing the backup is saved to the specified location. This can be sent to Vicon Support or shared within your organization as required. The original node is unaffected.  
To restore a backup, follow the procedure in [Restore an archived or backed up node](#Restore).