Genealogy Chat

n RIta

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Linda You can create a gedcom from your FTM and then upload it to Genes. If you look on page 1 of this thread i have outlined how to create a gedcom using FTM, the post is about fourth or fifth from the bottom of the page (the last few on the page are nudges). Glen

I am getting very muddled here. As I am basically an idiot when computer talk starts getting technical, would I be sensible to just ignore any reference to Gedcom, or should I learn? I'll guess I'm not the only one wondering this! Duncan

Please note, Cheryl mentioned about the freebie FTM giveaway with a Sunday paper. Not all the features are enabled in these giveaway versions. It is possible to upgrade them but it costs more than buying a full working version in the first place. You can enter names and dates etc, save images and notes for individuals but the reports, books, some tree printing options and exporting of files options are not enabled in the freebie. If you have a free version DON'T UPGRADE IT BY PURCHASING AN UNLOCK CODE,............IT IS CHEAPER TO BUY THE FULL VERSION FROM MORRISONS SUPERMARKET OR TWR COMPUTING.

Legacy is a free program that you can use with a Gedcom file. You only need to use gedcom files to transfer data between differant programs. If you don;t need to do this don;t worry about it.

nudgety bump

Book marking...thanks

Nudge, Nudge, for future reference. Thanks Glen. Shiela

Just for info, if anyone fancies a bit of a techie challenge, this is a fantastic article about converting text or spreadsheet files to a gedcom: http://www.tedpack.org/text2ged.html I had what amounts to a spreadsheet of BMD entries for a single surname, over 2000 of them, and I wanted to put them in FTM so that I could start linking the families. I could either convert them to a gedcom and upload it to FTM that way, or type them all in again manually. Thanks to the above article, I managed to create a gedcom in about an hour. It works very well, but you need to be familiar with using functions in MS Excel and Word, or their equivalents. :-) Chris

nudge nudge

nudged again RIta

My tree on GR is only a part of what I have on my FMT database, so when I upload it I usually create a version which only has our direct descendants in it and related cousins. To do this I create a number of FTM files using the report/export function and then merge them together into a single file which I then export as a gedcom for uploading to GR. Last time I did this I thought that I would try using gedcoms rather than FTM files for the extracts. One thing that I did find though was that if you export a gedcom of an FTM file and then load it back in, the results are not necessarily the same. I did not spend too much time trying to find out why but suspect it is because certain FTM fields don't map directly to the gedcom format and are ''doctored'' to fit. So, when you reload the gedcom back you dont get the same result that you started out with.

Each data field is 'tagged' (titled if you prefer). These tags can be either abbreviated or longhand, for instance one programme maye have the tag 'occupation' and another 'occu'. The difficulty is where the exporting programme and the receiving programme use the different tags, this can cause some items to either transfer incorrectly or not transfer at all. In total there are 256 different tags available but the more basic tree builder used by GR cannot use abbreviated tags or the entire 256 different tags available. If the limits of the 'lesser' programme are known it is possible to examine a gedcom file in Word and replace the tags with the alternative versions. Not a quick process for a large file though.

Great info Lesley

Glen your message has been like a bright light in a dark room, just one query, I have already started a tree on TP, if I import my Genes tree to TP will it override the info already there, I did try importing my tree to another programme that I had started and the whole thing went corrupt with my Dad having married my Mum about 4 times and no way I could delete three of them.

Hi Not sure what happens on TP as i never use it, it could either just use the new information or combine the new and the old together. Really you need a TP expert for that one i'm afraid. Glen

Thanks Glen - bookmarking. Liz

Worth a nudge up the board

Glen, Thanks for this - very clear and useful. (This time I've saved it!) Bx