Genealogy Chat

I seem to have an awful lot of thoses little boxes on my Desktop the ones that either have Red or Blue Stripes what are you supposed to do with them thanks , can I safely delete them ???

If they end in .FBK or .FTW the DO NOT Delete them as they are he files for your tree. If you have lots of them then you must have started lots of different trees. Wendy

Hi Wendy I was trying to split my Tree into 4 families but think I might have messed up hence all these little boxes what do I do now thanks ???

I'm not 100% sure about this, but I think the red boxes are the backups and the blue ones are the trees that are in use. Does that make sense? I'm not very tech minded! I've got mine all in my documents in a file for all my family history, I do sometimes delete the red ones, when there are too many! But don't think you should delete the blue ones as you may lose your information. Oooh, that does sound very garbled, sorry! I'm not good at explaining! Hope someone else can do better! As I'd like to know how those red boxes are generated too! Sue

Sue I have a very pretty Desktop covered in them boxes and lots in my documents too. dont know what I do wrong . How did you get yours into a file ???

Each blue image is the tree file. The red one is the backup. If you open the blue ones you should be able to see what you have in that tree. You may be ok and have split them succcessfully. If you want to put them all in a folder, you can, but FTM will say it can't find a file when you try to open it. Just tell FTM to open a tree and go to the folder where you have saved it. Next time FTM will go straight to that file. Does that make sense? Wendy

You should be able to delete them off your desk top Val. If you click on them and delete them it will tell you you are not deleting the program or file, only the icon. To delete a file you have to go to where they are stored, usually in FTM file in 'My Documents' Hope this helps Kat

thanks Wendy can I delete the back up ones then ???

Only delete them if they are shortcuts to the actual file. Should have a little tick in the corner. otherwise you will loose all your trees! Wendy

thanks for that Kat I wish I understood how it works better than I do I get panicked when I see the Backup happening

Yes backups can be deleted safely. Wendy

thanks again Wendy you must think I am stupid I just cannot get my head around this FTM I did have 4 lovely Trees now I have a huge mess, of bits and pieces of mine and Hubbys.

Not to worry, we all have to start somewhere. I've using FTM for several years now and I have a very helpful son who is an IT Consultant who helps me out. Hope everything works out OK. Wendy

Wendy what does he charge send him over NOW Seriously what are the little Trees for on my Desktop are they my Files

Oh Valerie! Don't know how mine all go in my family history folder! (lol pure luck, me thinks!) All I know is that I keep the most recent red box and all the blue ones! Sorry, I'm not much help, but looks like some of your other replies may be more helpful! Sue

Yes they are all your files. each one is a seperate tree. I would suggest you open them and see what each one contains, then you can sort out what to keep. I don't know where you live but you can borrow my son (he's 21) , might be a bit expensive as we live on the Isle of Wight. Wendy

Valerie, I think the little pictures of trees are the gedcom file. I have a couple of those from where I uploaded to tribal pages. Do they look like a tree with the roots in a tied-up sack? If you've been splitting trees, this may be your new files? Sorry if I'm talking rubbish..lol Sue

I dont mind maybe he can come here Lincs on Holiday a bit different from the I.O.W

you are not talking rubbish but I am. yes thats right like when you buy Rootstock from the Garden centres !!!

Another 50pence tip from the helpcentre, Question There are times when Family Tree Maker files can get saved to the Desktop of your computer where all of your program icons are located. This can cause confusion because icons will appear for both working and backup Family Tree files. In addition, clicking on these icons will only start Family Tree Maker and open the last file that was being worked on. Answer To avoid this confusion, use the following steps to move your files to the My Documents directory. By having all of your family files in one location, you will have a much easier time locating them and a cleaner Windows Desktop. Moving a Family Tree Maker File Close Family Tree Maker. On your Desktop, right-click the file you would like to move, and from the pop-up menu, select Cut. Open your My Documents folder from its shortcut (usually located either under your Start menu or on your Desktop). From the Edit menu, choose Paste. Once your files have been moved, Family Tree Maker may need to be told where to look for your files. The next time you start Family Tree Maker, a message will appear indicating that your file could not be found. Click Cancel to close the message. Another message will ask if you wish to open a backup file; click Cancel again to close this message. Now, go to the File menu and click Open. In the dialog window that appears, change the 'Look In' field to your My Documents folder. Your files will now appear in the main section of the Open Family File dialog. Click once on a file to open and then click on Open. Glen