Genealogy Chat

Susan, The 'add fact' feature in Roots Magic is a Roots Magic feature and is not part of the Gedcom file specification. Therefore it will not be included in the Gedcom file that you export from Roots Magic or even if it is it will only be recognised by another Roots Magic installation. Most family history software packages have some sort of feature that is only available in that software. The Gedcom file specification is a standard for exchanging information between different packages and therefore will not include the extra bells and whistles. In relation to the multiple occupations, I really wouldn't worry about it. If you make a contact via GR it is on the name, then the birth year then the place. Occupation is not shown in the search nor in the Hot Matches. No other fields are used for searching. So whilst the additional information is useful for verifying a contact, it is not used to find that contact. Contacts will only be able to see the additional information once you give them permission to view your tree. Just import your Gedcom and see what happens. Paul

Hi Paul, I haven't created any user defined events in Rootsmagic. When I want to add another birth event, I just use Add Fact, and pick birth from the list. The program doesn't prevent me from having multiple birth events or facts, in the same way that it doesn't prevent me from having multiple census events. It is actually one of the selling features of the program I believe. Perhaps the trial version doesn't allow this, I don't know. I always intended that when I found the real birth date for a person then I would add all the birth years and places gleaned from censuses into the notes for the real date, and eliminate the multiple birth events, but haven't yet done so. But there are always going to be people in my file that I never find the birth date for. So either I have to change my recording methods, which I may do, or live with having to update two files. I can't get around the problems with occupation though. I have people in my files who have had four different occupations in four different censuses, so I'm going to have to choose between for example grocer and builder. Which one do I choose ? Regards, Susan

Hi Susan, I have just downloaded the trial version of Roots Magic and imported a small Gedcom to have a look. There is only one birth event for an individual, however I assume that you have created the other birth event fields by using the feature that allows user defined events. If that is the case these 'user defined events' will either be ignored or rejected by software that does not support them if they are actually included in a Gedcom export from Roots Magic. The GR Gedcom import will only recognise the field that has the flag 'birth' for birth date, as I believe will most other family tree software. Any other alternative birth date will have a different flag in the file and will therefore be ignored. I think you should try a sample import into GR. If it looks wrong you can always delete it. Paul

Hi Peter, I understand what you are saying e.g. all my census and/or residence records will be eliminated because there is no facility to display them. But I have the problem in my original family history file of multiple birth years and occupations according to the census record I've found. I think I have to go through the file and determine the most likely birth year and place to trigger a match with a real relative. (For many people this may be the year and place of birth, and occupation of the 1881 census since this is freely available at familysearch for England and Wales - doesn't follow for Scotland and I'm half-Scottish.) If I don't do this then I think I cannot control which of the many birth years and places will display and also which occupation will display. It leaves me with the scenario that as I discover new facts I will have to update two files rather than one, then update GR accordingly. Seems to be a bit of a pain, but what else can one do ? Susan

Susan, There is no need to tailor you file before you upload it to GR. All you need to do is to mke sure that it only contains the names of those you potentially want to share as if you chose to allow other members to see your details they see the entire tree - there is no facility to share selectively. Where GR does not support some of the features of your home FT program it will just ignore them. The whole rationale behind gedcom files is to share data between different programs without having to worry about compatibility.

Thanks for the info Paul. I know GR is not intended to replace my own family history software (I use Rootsmagic which does allow me to have multiple birth events for an individual by the way) but I hadn't realised that I would have to take a copy of my usual family history then tailor it so much for GR. With hundreds in my file it is going to take a while. That's life I suppose. Susan

Hi Susan, One thing to remember is that the GR family tree should not replace your own local copy using software on your PC. GR tree is primarily to allow contacts to be made with possible relatives. As such it is only a basic tree viewer. Anyway to answer your questions:- 1) Christenings and Baptisms are essentially the same thing, it just depends which religion, so it should not matter - it is the same field in a Gedcom file as far as I know. 2) There is only 1 occupation field. I suggest that you use notes to include others. 3) You can only include one birth year - your own software will be the same, although you can use 'C' for circa or about. 4) I don't believe that any sources upload into GR - if you want them in you would have to use notes. Any fields in your Gedcom file that are not used by GR are simply ignored. All of the above only reinforces the fact that the GR tree does not have the same features as most family history software, and it is not designed to. Paul

Hi Folks, I have only joined as a full member to Genes Reunited recently and still have to import a gedcom file. I have found the faq to be completely inadequate for this process. My questions are : (1) I always use Christenings rather than Baptisms - the faq only mentions Baptisms, do I have to change all my Christening events to Baptisms ? (2) Many of my family tree have several occupations gleaned from various sources. Can I include multiple occupations for one person ? (3) Many of my family tree have multiple possible birth years and/or birth places depending on the census I consult. Can I upload several birth years and places for an individual ? (4) If I have several sources to back up a single fact can I upload all those sources ? Hope somebody can help, and also hope the faq will be expanded mightily to be more precise and helpful ! Susan